Agnaldo [Agnaldo Manoel dos Santos]
1926, Ilha de Itaparica | BA - Brazil - 1962, Salvador | BA - Brazil
Agnaldo Manoel dos Santos (1926-1962), born on the Island of Itaparica, Bahia, is widely recognized as one of the most notable sculptors of Brazilian modernism. His work reflects a unique synthesis of Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions and the languages of modern art, with a style deeply rooted in wood, his primary medium.
His artistic journey began in 1952 while working in the studio of sculptor Mario Cravo Júnior, where he displayed remarkable talent and embarked on a significant yet brief career, cut short by his untimely death at the age of 36.
A self-taught artist, Agnaldo was influenced by African sculpture—discovered through Pierre Verger’s photographs—and by visual traditions from Brazil’s Northeast. He developed a distinctive style that integrates elements of African and Brazilian cultures, creating sculptures that transition between masks and human figures, each imbued with profound meanings. Guided by intuition, his creative process avoided preliminary sketches; he carved directly into the wood, respecting its natural characteristics. Master Guarany, a celebrated sculptor of carrancas (figureheads), mentored Agnaldo in working with cedar, ensuring the durability and beauty of his pieces.
The recognition of Agnaldo’s work was significantly bolstered by Lina Bo Bardi, who organized the 1961 exhibition Agnaldo: Sculptures at the Museum of Modern Art of Bahia. From there, his work began to gain international attention, being showcased at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and in exhibitions in Nigeria that highlighted the cultural connections between Salvador and the African continent.
Combining inventiveness and technical precision, his sculptures embody a dialogue between the popular and the modern, cementing his role as one of the great figures of 20th-century Brazilian sculpture. Agnaldo’s works are part of important collections and exhibitions, underscoring his relevance in both national and international art scenes. Praised by critics as an intuitive creator, his pieces reflect the resonances of the African diaspora and a quest for universal expressions through art.
Individual Exhibition:
2023 Agnaldo Manoel dos Santos – The Conquest of Modernity, MAM/BA - Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia, Salvador - BA, Brazil
2022 – 2023 Agnaldo Manuel do Santos – The Conquest of Modernity, MAR - Museu de Arte do Rio, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
2021 Agnaldo Manuel do Santos – The Conquest of Modernity, Almeida&Dale Galeria, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2019 Agnaldo dos Santos, Paulo Darzé Galeria, SP-Arte, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1992 Agnaldo dos Santos: the unconscious revealed, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1988 Agnaldo dos Santos: Sculptures , Núcleo de Artes do Desenbanco, Salvador - BA, Brazil
1966 Agnaldo, special room at 1° Biennale of Bahia, Salvador - BA, Brazil
1961 Agnaldo’s Sculptures, Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia, Salvador - BA, Brazil
1959 Solo exhibition, Galeria Ralf, Salvador - BA, Brazil
1958 Solo exhibition, Galeria Gea, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
1958 Solo exhibition, Galeria Oxumaré, Salvador - BA, Brazil
1956 Solo exhibition, Petite Galeria, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
Collective Exhibitions:
2024 Metamorphoses e Distances, Galeria Estação, São Paulo – SP, Brazil
2023 "Reverses and Transverses": Artists Outside the Mainstream (and Friends) at the Biennials, Galeria Estação, São Paulo – SP, Brazil
2023 Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence e o Clube Mbari, Toledo - OH, USA
2023 Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence e o Clube Mbari, New Orleans - LA, USA
2022 Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence e o Clube Mbari, Norfolk - VA, USA
2022 “Margens de 22: presenças populares”, Sesc Carmo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2022 Brazilian stories, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2022 “Raio-que-o-parta: ficções do moderno no Brasil”, Sesc 24 de Maio, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2021 Terra and Temperaure, Almeida&Dale Galeria, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2021 They Were Already Here, Galeria Base, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
2021 Memory is an invention, MAM/RJ - Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
2019 “Entre Aiyê e o Orum”, Caixa Cultural Salvador, Salvador - BA, Brazil
2018 Exhibition Lina Bo Bardi Tupí or not tupí?, Fundación Juan March, Madrid, Spain
2018 Afro-Atlantic History, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2016/1969 The Hand of the Brazilian People, MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2012 - 2013 Janete Costa “Um Olhar”, Museu Janete Costa de Arte Popular, Niterói - RJ, Brasil
2012 Samba Session: Afro-Brasilian Art and Film, Arthur Ross Gallery , Philadelphia - PA, USA
2010 “Elos da Lusofonia”, Museu Histórico Nacional, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
2010 “Elos da Lusofonia”, Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araújo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2010 "AFRO MODERNISM - JOURNEYS THROUGH THE BLACK ATLANTIC", TATE Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
2009 “Ocupando o Espaço”, MAB/FAAP - Museu de Arte Brasileira, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2007 “Encuentro entre dos Mares” - Bienal de São Paulo, Valência, Convento del Carmo, Valencia, Spain
2007 “Do Tamanho do Brasil”, Sesc Paulista, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2006 “SOMOS” - the popular Brazilian creation, Centro Cultural Santander, Porto Alegre - RS, Brazil
2006 – 2010 The Nemirovsky Foundation Collection: The Collector's Look, Estação Pinacoteca, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2006 “Viva Cultura Viva do Povo Brasileiro”, Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araújo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2005 Year of Brazil in France, Carreau du Temple, bairro de Marais, Paris, France
2005 Never to Forget. Black Memories, Memories of Blacks, MON - Museu Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba - PR, Brazil
2004 Form, Color and Expression, Galeria Estação, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2004 The Century of a Brazilian Man: Roberto Marinho Collection, Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
2002 Brazil Body and Soul, Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA
2002 Wild Mirror: Modern Art in Brazil in the first half of the 20th Century / Nemirovsky Collection, MAM/SP - Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2002 Pop Brasil: Folk Art and the folk in the Art, CCBB - Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2002 Arte Brasileira na Coleção Fadel: da inquietação do moderno à autonomia da linguagem, CCBB - Centro Cultural do Banco do
Brasil, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
2002 Brazilian Art in the Fadel Collection: from the restlessness of the modern to the autonomy of language, CCBB- Centro Cultural do Banco do
Brasil, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2000 Brasil + 500 Rediscovery Exhibition Biennial Pavilion, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1999 The Female Figure in the MAB Collection, MAB/FAAP - Museu de Arte Brasileira, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1995 The Heirs of the Night: fragments of the black imaginary, Centro de Cultura de Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte - MG, Brazil
1994 The Heirs of the Night: fragments of the black imaginary, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1994 Afro-Brazilian Art and Religiosity, Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
1992 “Vozes da Diáspora”, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1988 The afro-brazilian mother, MAM/SP - Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1984 Tradition and Rupture, synthesis of Brazilian art and culture, Biennial Pavillion, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1974 Brazilians and their universe, Funart, Brasília - DF, Brazil
1977 2° Festival de Artes Negras, Lagos, Nigeria
1966 Bienal Nacional de Artes Plásticas, Convento de Nossa Senhora do Carmo, Salvador - BA, Brazil
1966 Primeiro Festival de Artes Negras, Dakar, Senegal
1962 Agnaldo e Alberto Zaluar, Petite Galeria, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
1962 Brazilian Folk Art: yesterday and today, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
1960 Agnaldo e Marques de Sá, Petite Galeria, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
1959 8° Salão Nacional de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
1958 Group Exhibition, Galeria Forte de Monte Serrat, Salvador - BA, Brazil
1957 We and Folk Arts, Galeria Oxumaré, Salvador - BA, Brazil
1957 4° Bienal de São Paulo, Fundação Bienal, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1956 Modern Artist of Bahia, Galeria Oxumaré, Salvador - BA, Brazil
1956 5° Salão Baiano de BelasArte, Salvador - BA, Brazil
Public Collections:
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
MAM/RJ - Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araújo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
Fundação Nemirovsky, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
Selected Publications:
2021 Agnaldo Manuel do Santos – The conquest of Modernity, Roberto Conduru and Thais Darzé texts, Almeida&Dale Galeria, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2018 Arte popular brasileira: olhares contemporâneos, Editora WMF Martins Fontes, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2018 Histórias Afro-atlânticas (vol. 1), MASP - Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2012 Janete Costa Um Olhar, Museu Janete Costa de Arte Popular, Niterói - RJ, Brazil
2012 Samba Sessão: Afro-Brasilian Art and Film,Arthur Ross Gallery and University of Pennssylvania, USA
2007 Viva a Cultura Viva do Povo Brasileiro, Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araújo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2002 POP Brasil | A Arte popular e o popular na Arte, CCBB - Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
2000 Mostra do Redescobrimento- Brasil 500 anos | Arte Popular, Takano Editora, Brazil
1995 Os Herdeiros da Noite: fragmentos do imaginário negro: 300 anos de Zumbi, Ministério da Cultura, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1988 A Mão Afro-Brasileira | Significado da Contribuição Artística e Histórica , Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araújo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1988 Agnaldo dos Santos: esculturas. Núcleo das Artes do Desenbanco, Salvador - BA, Brazil
1984 Tradição e Ruptura, síntese de arte e cultura brasileiras, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
1983 Agnaldo Manoel dos Santos: origem e revelação de um escultor primitive, Afro-Ásia, Salvador - BA, Brazil
1974 7 Brazilians and their universe | arts crafts origins permanencies, national government publication, Brasília - DF, Brazil
