The Fernando Leite Couto Foundation inaugurated this Wednesday (6th), at 6pm, the exhibition entitled "Mahanhela", by sculptor Mapfara and painter Phambi. The exhibition, curated by Yolanda Couto, will be on display until August 30th.
"Mahanhela" is the theme for the meeting of two generations of artists, two languages and a multiplicity of representations about the collective, communion, this sense of being and being together, experiences.
With oil paintings on canvas, Phamby's works stand out for representing "human acts", in their lifestyles, behaviors and peculiarities. While some give their own body to the weight of life, others cling to leisure and entertainment or will it be both, with one complementing the other. But the message is deeper than simple materialism.
Mapfara's ceramic sculptures show the interior and exterior simultaneously, refuse a single form, the faces multiply before our eyes and guide us through winding paths that surpass reason. With closed eyes they avoid deciphering themselves, leaving the spectator the task of the exorcist.
Phamby, pseudonym of Isac Abílio Tivane (1996), lives and works in Maputo. He began dedicating himself to painting in 2015, becoming a member of Núcleo d'Arte in 2017. Since then he has had his first works exhibited at Núcleo d'Arte. He gained more experience working with other artists, mainly with Butcheca and has participated in several collective exhibitions such as: "Colecção Crescente" (2018) at Kulungwana Gallery, "Feições para um Retrato" (2018) in honor of the poet Fernando Leite Couto, at FFLC Gallery. He stood out in third place in the painting contest "With the Sea on the Horizon" promoted by Núcleo d'Arte.
Mapfara, artistic name of António Horácio Sitoe, was born in Maputo on October 29, 1979, beginning his career in 1999, when he joined ACHUFRE (Cultural Association). It is here where he learns to make ceramics as a self-taught and over the years he has been developing his own style and techniques influenced by modern and traditional Mozambican ceramics.
The most recent exhibitions he held were "The spirit of Mpfara" (2024), Maputo Port Gallery and had his work represented at "Expo Dubai 2020" Mozambique Pavilion and at the Collective Exhibition "Three Dimensions: Paths, Densities and Possibilities" (2021), at CCBM and CCFM.
Among several distinctions he won the third prize of the FOOTARTE 2010 contest, with the theme "I hate football or I love football"; he received an Honorable Mention from the TDM biennial, 2009, and won the Commonwealth arts and Crafts Award 2007/2008 from the Commonwealth Foundation.
