JOSÉ ADÁRIO DOS SANTOS

For the originality and consistency of his objects, José Adário has become not only the most celebrated blacksmith-sculptor in the Candomblé ceremonies of Bahia but an artist recognized for honoring the Afro-diasporic roots that make up the culture of his region. Based on Candomblé traditions, the canons of Yoruba art, and the different expressions made possible by iron, José produces sculptures that can be found in “terreiros” (temples of Afro-Brazilian religions as Candomblé and Umbanda), museums, private collections, and galleries, giving life to sacred entities and dialoguing with the iron power of his ancestors and of Ogum, the entity who rules his work: iron.

Among his main exhibitions are: Alagbedé - O Ferreiro dos Orixás, Arco 26, Salvador, 2021; A Cidade da Bahia, das baianas e dos baianos também_,_ Museu Afro Brasil, São Paulo, 2019; Axé Bahia: the power of art in an Afro-Brazilian metropolis, Fowler Museum, Califórnia, 2018; Afrikanische Religiosität in Brasilien; Kunst und Afro-Brasilidad, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, 1994. Eight of his sculptures are part of the collection of Museu Afro Brasil, in São Paulo.

Text courtesy Galatea.