Januario Jano, (B.1979), is an Angolan, multidisciplinary visual artist with interests in sculpture, textiles and performing arts, video, and photography. In 2020, Januario Jano obtained a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from Goldsmith University in London. In addition, Jano founded the Cultural Collective Pés Descalços and has been organising TEDxLuanda since 2012. To produce his work, Jano is interested in the use of textiles, fabric, and other materials to display researched ideas such as worldly topics, economics, and politics. Some of his other interests include the relationships between fiction and reality and human and non-human co-existance. He often thinks about the space that surrounds him and the role of the body in certain contexts as well as the way he can interact with them. In order to show this, he often uses photography and videography as a base medium to create live performance, displays and installations.
Solo exhibitions include Arquivo Mestre, curated by Mahret Ifeoma Kupka, Jean Claude Maier Gallery, Frankfurt, Germany (2021); Broken Bodies, Primae Noctis Art Gallery, Lugano – Switzerland (2019); Ambundulando, curated by Paula Nascimento and Suzana Sousa, Portuguese Cultural; Center, Luanda – Angola (2017); Kwika: Love Or Hate, curated by Sonia Ribeiro, Galerie Thorigny, Paris - France Fragmentation 1.0, curated by Sonia Ribeiro, Gallery of Economic Bank, Luanda Angola (2016).
Group exhibitions include BRR-ARB, Curated by Ana Teles and Luis Sandes, Triangel Gallery, Chelsea Collge of Arts, London (2022); New Era for Humanity, Marvilla Art District & Movart Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal (2021)Around the table, No 20 Arts, London, UK (2021);Redirecting, Tree Art Museum, Beijing, China (2021); London Grads Now (Flatten the dream: The exit), curated by Januario Jano, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK, (2020); Africa Universe II, Curated by Gallery team, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy (2020); Taxidermia do Futuro, curated by Paula Nascimento and Bruno Leitão, National Museum of Natural History, Luanda, Angola (2019).
Highlights and collections
Januario was awarded the LAGUNA ART PRIZE and has recently been nominated for The Norval Sovereign African Art Prize. His work can be found in prominent collections such as Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London; The Marino Golinelli Collection, Italy; Taguchi Art Collection, Japan; Damian Grieder Collection, Switzerland; Economic Bank of Angola, Angola; BFA Bank Angola Collection, Angola; Portuguese National Archive; Portugal; Private Collections (Angola, France, USA, England, Portugal, Brazil, South Africa, Italy, Hong Kong).