Benigno Mangovo

Angola

Mangovo Symbolic and Abstract Contemporary Paintings

Expressive Fine Art Exploring Memory and Resilience

Painting Identity, Territory and Transformation

"Mangovo’s work draws deeply from personal memory, emotional experience, and cultural reflection. Recurring themes such as family, interpersonal dynamics, resilience, dreams, and the fragility of the human condition emerge in his canvases as layered visual meditations. At the core of his practice is a constant search for reinvention — of texture, form, and symbolic depth.

His compositions often feature intricate semiotic structures, evoking energetic circuits and synaptic exchanges, which echo the vernacular and spiritual traditions of his native Cabinda. These layered backdrops create a sense of motion and inner tension, constructing symbolic landscapes rooted in both ancestral memory and contemporary reflection.

Mangovo’s practice continues to evolve as a poetic, symbolic, and politically resonant exploration of identity, territory, and transformation.
"

MEET

Benigno Mangovo

Born in Cabinda, Angola, into an artistic family, Benigno Mangovo developed an early fascination with painting. Since 2017, after joining Patrício Mawete’s painting studio in Luanda, he has dedicated himself fully to his artistic practice, refining a distinctive visual language shaped by introspection and experimentation.

In recent years, Mangovo’s trajectory has expanded internationally. In 2022, he was selected for the NESR Art Foundation residency in Angola, followed by a second residency in 2023 in Morocco, hosted by the Arkane Association. His first solo exhibition, Kaleidoscope – Portraits of a Traveler (2024), was presented in Luanda, following a residency at THE CUBE, the creative incubation space of THIS IS NOT A WHITE CUBE gallery.

That same year, his work reached new audiences through participation in the group show Embodied Narratives in Lisbon, coinciding with the city’s major contemporary art week and ARCOlisboa. He also took part in the RMB Latitudes Art Fair in Johannesburg, engaging with artists from across Africa and the diaspora in an expansive artistic exchange.

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