Saquarema, RJ, Brazil, 1995
Lives and works in Saquarema, RJ, Brazil
Born João, grew up as Mulambö in Praia da Vila, Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, where he lives and works. In his work, he uses symbols and everyday materials in search of a re-foundation of the narratives surrounding popular expressions. Football, carnival, his family, and the stories that built the ground where he lives emerge in his works through paintings, objects, flags, and installations, reinforcing the idea that he makes art to affirm that “there is no museum in the world like our grandmother’s house.”
He presented his work in two highly acclaimed solo exhibitions in 2019: “Tudo Nosso” at Museu de Arte do Rio – MAR; and “Prato de Pedreiro” at the Hélio Oiticica Municipal Art Center, both in Rio de Janeiro. In 2021, he held his first solo exhibition at Portas Vilaseca Galeria, “Mulambö all in gold.” That same year, he was selected to exhibit internationally for the first time at Das Schaufenster in Seattle (USA), where he presented the solo show “Out of many, muchos más,” as well as participating in the group exhibition “SWEAT”, at Haus der Kunst in Munich (Germany), curated by Anna Schneider and Raphael Fonseca.
In 2022, he was commissioned to develop the painting series “O couro come” for Inhotim, in Minas Gerais, and also the installation “O penhor dessa igualdade” for the Exhibition Program at CCSP – São Paulo Cultural Center. In 2023, he took part in the “Homesession” residency program in Barcelona, Spain, where he presented the solo exhibition “Punta de Lanza.” In 2024, he presented his second solo exhibition at Portas Vilaseca Galeria, “Saquarema,” featuring a critical text by Tiago Sant’Ana.
Recent group exhibitions include: “Lélia em nós: festas populares e amefricanidades,” curated by Glaucia Britto and Raquel Barreto, SESC Vila Mariana, São Paulo, SP, Brazil (2024); “Dos Brasis,” curated by Igor Simões, Lorraine Mendes, and Marcelo Campos, SESC Belenzinho, São Paulo, SP, Brazil (2023); “Direito a forma,” curated by Igor Simões, Deri Andrade, and Jana Janeiro, Inhotim, Brumadinho, MG, Brazil (2023); “Histórias Brasileiras,” curated by Adriano Pedrosa, Lilia M. Schwarcz, and others, MASP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil (2022); “Quilombo: vida, problema e aspirações do negro,” curated by the Inhotim team, Inhotim, Brumadinho, MG, Brazil (2022); among others.
His works are part of important institutional collections in Brazil, including the Museu de Arte do Rio – MAR; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Museu Ingá Museum (Niterói, RJ), and Inhotim.
When speaking with visual artist Mulambö, it’s not uncommon to hear him talk about the place where he was born and currently lives: Saquarema, in the Região dos Lagos (“Lake District”) of Rio de Janeiro state. He not only comments on the idyllic beaches but also on the cultural scene and, most of all, the people who shaped him. For Mulambö, Saquarema is not merely a backdrop or landscape behind moving figures. Instead, it serves as a strategy through which he constructs his own cosmology, grounded in knowledge acquired through oral culture and interactions with his elders—whether they are his kin, surfers, or fishermen.
