Q&A | Eugénio Novikoff Sales, Painter: ‘There is no system that protects local artists and Macau should have one’

An exhibition featuring the recent works of the renowned Macau-born artist Eugénio Novikoff Sales kicked off yesterday at Albergue SCM.

Showcasing 14 acrylic works in the exhibition titled “Kiss Africa – Macau+Lusofonia,” the paintings are filled to the brim with color and express Sales’ affection for different cultures.

Speaking to the Times, Sales, who is also a member of the prestigious OFAA-Olimpia Fine Art Association, expressed his concern that Macau lacks a system to promote local artists.

According to him, it would further hinder the growth of the local art industry, which would in turn affect the development of the region’s culture.

Sales also claimed that several remarkable artists have stopped creating artworks due to limited sponsorships given to them. The artist was born in Macau in 1960 but moved to Mozambique, Africa, at the age of six. His father was from Macau and his mother from Belarus under the former Soviet Union.

Macau Daily Times (MDT) – What is the reason behind naming the exhibition ‘Kiss Africa?’

Eugenio Novikoff Sales (ENS) – Usually when I see [promotions] about Africa, it’s ‘embrace Africa’, ‘help Africa’ or ‘donate something to Africa.’ So ‘Kiss Africa’ is like an air of kiss for the good and bad experiences I’ve had before. One thing I’m happy  about the exhibition is that it’s the first time the Chinese community can see my paintings in a not-so-far away place.

MDT – As a Macau-born artist who has traveled across many regions, how has your experience influenced your artworks?

ENS – My painting has an African influence. It’s not an influence that I wanted to [have] but it happened naturally because of my childhood. I used to play with many African communities from different tribes so this influence came naturally. My paintings have some savage [elements]; something that I cannot explain but happened nonetheless.

MDT – So your childhood experiences in Africa played a significant part in the current artworks you are creating?

ENS – I started to paint in Macau more than 30 years ago and did my first official exhibition in Macau. At that time, my paintings were maybe Picasso or Matisse, but nobody knew for sure what I was doing. Until recently, in 2014, I was doing my sole exhibition at the Portuguese Consulate and many African lusophonists looked at my painting and they said it’s lusophone art. And from there onwards, I was baptized and was considered as the father of lusophone art all over China, including Macau.

MDT – What is the significance of the presence of lusophone art in a region that serves as a platform between China and Portuguese speaking-countries?

ENS – For me, the way the government is [promoting] local art is not correct because everything is under the Cultural Affairs Bureau [IC], and it cannot be like this.

We know what happened last time with the previous president of IC, Ung Vai Meng. He invited his staff to work there so all the people who worked there were his friends. There is an elite group of them. Other artists who are doing real promotion of Macau art cannot [have a breakthrough] especially if they [IC] didn’t like [them]. I think the government should consider [implementing a system], as they do in many countries, [so] that if a local artist has made at least three international exhibitions, their name should be immediately be available for any sponsorship.

Now what happens in Macau? The associations are getting sponsorship but the associations only care about who’s going to cut the ribbon in the exhibition, […] while the artists are left behind. […] In my case, Macau Foundation never gave me any sponsorship. I don’t know why they don’t have a system that can recognize which artists are promoting art outside of Macau.

MDT – What should the government do?

ENS – There is no system that protects local artists and Macau should have one. The Macau government said they want to build a good culture for Macau. Here, one artist becomes famous, but after changes in government [department heads], their sentiment for this artist is different. So this artist will immediately [stagnate]. In other countries it’s not like that because they show respect and protect them and give them what they need because [they know] that art is a way to promote the standard of the culture of a country. […] Macau lacks these things.

MDT – Up to what extent will this “lack of system” hinder the growth of the local art industry?

ENS – We have good artists who have been creating paintings for a long time but because of the lack of system, they stopped. […] The prizes and awards that I get outside of Macau have [promoted] my art. When they put me up, they’re also putting up the Macau culture. Tomorrow I’m having an exhibition in Hong Kong in Ink Global 2017. The exhibition features 500 famous artists in the world, and in this 500, there are 100 artists that are part of a ‘special selection’ and I’m among these artists. So I’m thinking, what is the Macau government doing? What are they thinking to do about my art?

MDT – Is this discouraging you and/or other local artists?

ENS – Of course. They only like to promote the artists that they want, whether a good one or a bad one. […] Macau really has no system [to protect local artists]. I don’t know if they have this system in the music sector but for painting, absolutely nothing.