THÓ SIMÕES
Visual artist | Angola / Brazil
Thó Simões (1973), visual artist, did his art education at the National Institute of Art and Culture (INFAC) in Luanda / Angola and is a graffiti artist working in various art disciplines, including painting, spraying, photography, film, installations and performances.
PORTRAIT
Thó Simões works from his base at the bustling Angolan capital city of Luanda, where he derives his inspiration from. He works mostly with reclycled materials and combines in his work the symbolism of old African traditions with the graffiti language from the streets of Sao Paulo and creates with this his vision on life in African inner cities.
As such, his world is populated with ordinary people from the street, whom he considers with great warmth and compassion. He sees a world around him, which is in disenchantment in many respects. In the inability of people to deal with diversity and inclusion. In how they interact in societies full of inequalities, conflicts and corruptions, destroying their natural environment. His works show this vulnerable side of life with strength and determination, worth protecting, worth a humane life in sustainable harmony with nature.
His works and performances call for social transformation, embracing the otherness, embracing the environment, the vulnerable part of life and celebrating its diversity.
Thó Simões, contemporary visual artist, did his art education at the National Institute of Art and Culture (INFAC) in Luanda / Angola and is a street artist working in various art disciplines, including painting, spraying, photography, film, installations and performances.
In his own country Simões belongs to the national top and is one of the key artists in the international Leba Murals project in which 6000 m2 of murals are realized in the provinces of Namibe and Huila. As one of the drivers behind the Fuckin’ Global collective in Luanda, he is synonymous with regular high-profile street art murals, installations, videos and performances.
He has participated since 2001 in many solo and group exhibitions in various countries, including Angola, Brazil, South Africa, Ghana, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Thó Simões works from his base at the bustling Angolan capital city of Luanda, where he derives his inspiration from. He works mostly with reclycled materials and combines in his work the symbolism of old African traditions with the graffiti language from the streets of Sao Paulo and creates with this his vision on life in African inner cities.
As such, his world is populated with ordinary people from the street, whom he considers with great warmth and compassion. He sees a world around him, which is in disenchantment in many respects. In the inability of people to deal with diversity and inclusion. In how they interact in societies full of inequalities, conflicts and corruptions, destroying their natural environment. His works show this vulnerable side of life with strength and determination, worth protecting, worth a humane life in sustainable harmony with nature.
His works and performances call for social transformation, embracing the otherness, embracing the environment, the vulnerable part of life and celebrating its diversity.
Thó Simões, contemporary visual artist, did his art education at the National Institute of Art and Culture (INFAC) in Luanda / Angola and is a street artist working in various art disciplines, including painting, spraying, photography, film, installations and performances.
In his own country Simões belongs to the national top and is one of the key artists in the international Leba Murals project in which 6000 m2 of murals are realized in the provinces of Namibe and Huila. As one of the drivers behind the Fuckin’ Global collective in Luanda, he is synonymous with regular high-profile street art murals, installations, videos and performances.
He has participated since 2001 in many solo and group exhibitions in various countries, including Angola, Brazil, South Africa, Ghana, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
WORKS
CREDENTIALS
Solo & duo exhibitions
2021
- Entre Monstros e Homens, Galeria Banco Economico/Gallery MOVART, Luanda Angola
2017
- Senhores do Vento, Gallery Movart, Luanda Angola
- From the South, from the people, incl. performance Papâ Kitumba, gallery Tamar Golan, Luanda, Angola
- Lords of Wind, Galery Mov’Art, Luanda, Angola
- Na’ Jibo – Mgt Solutions, incl. Papâ Kitumba performance, Luanda, Angola
Group exhibitions
2021
- Fuckin’Globo VII, Hotel Globo, Luanda, Angola
- Nachtbroetchen Art Drive-In via OpenArtExchange, Airport Cologne, Germany
- World Art Day, Galeria Banco Economico, Luanda, Angola
2020
- African Galleries Now online fair via Gallery MOVART, AGAA/Artsy
- MAD: New era for Humanity, gallery MOVART, Luanda, Angola
- ARCO Lisboa online via Gallery MOVART/Artsy
2015-2020
- International ‘Leba Murals -Angola 40 years”-project (> 6000 m2), Angolese government, Namib and Huila provinces, Angola
2019
- Untitled02, Galeria Bano Ecnómico, Luanda, Angola
- ArtUp! Lille art fair, via OpenArtExchange, Lille, France
- Hello 2019!, OpenArtExchange, Schiedam (Rotterdam region), Netherlands
2018
- Luxembourg Art Fair, via OpenArtExchange, Luxembourg
- Fuckin’ Globo V, Hotel Globo, Luanda, Angola
- #Exchange (duo), OpenArtExchange, Schiedam (Rotterdam-region), Netherlands
- 25 in 7 tones, incl. Sound installation #Registo_09172013_purgatorio, Purgatorio, Luanda, Angola
- Fuckin’Globo IV, incl. Performance Congolandia, Mausoleum Dr. António, Agostonho Neto (MAAN), Luanda, Angola
2017
- Black november, The colors of Snake street Art Festival, Salvador, Brazil
- Kaluandando, Luanda, Angola
- FNB, Johannesburg Art Fair, Gallery MOVART, Johannesburg, South-Africa
- Chale Wote Street Art Festival, Accra, Ghana
- Fuckin’Globo III, Luanda, Angola
Artistic residencies
2021
- Fuckin’Globo VII, Hotel Globo, Luanda, Angola
2020
- Vila Sul, Goethe Institute, Salvador, Brazil
2018
- OpenArtExchange, Schiedam, The Netherlands
Awards
- Nominee Angolan government for International Biennale Beijing 2019
2021
- Entre Monstros e Homens, Galeria Banco Economico/Gallery MOVART, Luanda Angola
2017
- Senhores do Vento, Gallery Movart, Luanda Angola
- From the South, from the people, incl. performance Papâ Kitumba, gallery Tamar Golan, Luanda, Angola
- Lords of Wind, Galery Mov’Art, Luanda, Angola
- Na’ Jibo – Mgt Solutions, incl. Papâ Kitumba performance, Luanda, Angola
2021
- Fuckin’Globo VII, Hotel Globo, Luanda, Angola
- Nachtbroetchen Art Drive-In via OpenArtExchange, Airport Cologne, Germany
- World Art Day, Galeria Banco Economico, Luanda, Angola
2020
- African Galleries Now online fair via Gallery MOVART, AGAA/Artsy
- MAD: New era for Humanity, gallery MOVART, Luanda, Angola
- ARCO Lisboa online via Gallery MOVART/Artsy
2015-2020
- International ‘Leba Murals -Angola 40 years”-project (> 6000 m2), Angolese government, Namib and Huila provinces, Angola
2019
- Untitled02, Galeria Bano Ecnómico, Luanda, Angola
- ArtUp! Lille art fair, via OpenArtExchange, Lille, France
- Hello 2019!, OpenArtExchange, Schiedam (Rotterdam region), Netherlands
2018
- Luxembourg Art Fair, via OpenArtExchange, Luxembourg
- Fuckin’ Globo V, Hotel Globo, Luanda, Angola
- #Exchange (duo), OpenArtExchange, Schiedam (Rotterdam-region), Netherlands
- 25 in 7 tones, incl. Sound installation #Registo_09172013_purgatorio, Purgatorio, Luanda, Angola
- Fuckin’Globo IV, incl. Performance Congolandia, Mausoleum Dr. António, Agostonho Neto (MAAN), Luanda, Angola
2017
- Black november, The colors of Snake street Art Festival, Salvador, Brazil
- Kaluandando, Luanda, Angola
- FNB, Johannesburg Art Fair, Gallery MOVART, Johannesburg, South-Africa
- Chale Wote Street Art Festival, Accra, Ghana
- Fuckin’Globo III, Luanda, Angola
2021
- Fuckin’Globo VII, Hotel Globo, Luanda, Angola
2020
- Vila Sul, Goethe Institute, Salvador, Brazil
2018
- OpenArtExchange, Schiedam, The Netherlands
- Nominee Angolan government for International Biennale Beijing 2019
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