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| Photo by Max Dereto |
Obituary
for Alex da Silva (1974 – 2019)
Author: Joe Pollitt
As a young boy Alex excelled at sports in and out of the
water; he was a competitive basketball player and a veritable trailblazer,
introducing his friends to the joys of body-boarding and spear-fishing.
Initially, he had his sights on becoming a Marine Biologist but harbouring in
the back of his mind where thoughts of being an international artist. It wasn’t
long before São Vicente seemed rather
claustrophobic for an ambitious and confident young artist. In 1993, aged 19,
he was granted the prestigious Prince Claus Scholarship to Willem de Kooning
Academy in Rotterdam to study Art and Architecture. Alex welcomed the challenge
and found the Academy to be the perfect institution for his style of art.
At the Academy, he worked diligently on his technique,
exploring the human anatomy, stretching limbs and torsos; creating tortured
exaggerated figures on the canvas. To
the artist’s delight the Academy allowed him to explore and develop his own
distinctive “Xand” style and after three amenable years, Alex da Silva
graduated with honours in 1996.
A year later, the artist participated in the ‘SOCRATES-ERASMUS Exchange Programme’ and he
was able to study a further two years at Alonso Cano Faculty of Fine Arts in
Granada, Spain. Being in Granada, the heart of flamenco country, Alex
surrounded himself in the rich Spanish culture and cuisine; enjoying the music,
dance, olive oil and red wine.
In 1999 he exhibited in Cape Verde, the Netherlands and
Spain. The shows where received well by the critics but sales of his works
where not forthcoming. In 2000, he returned to the Netherlands and gained his
Post-Graduate and Masters of Art, at Minerva Academy, Groningen. After his
initial exhibitions news quickly spread and Alex became a “jobbing-Artist”,
which meant that he was invited to attend workshops, be apart of group shows
and create his own solo exhibitions. During the following decades Alex was
constantly working and invited to exhibit in United Arab Emirates, Dak’Art
(off) Senegal, Luxembourg, Curaçao,
Açores, Macau and China. He also attended various workshops in France,
Portugal Norway and Italy.
In 2007, Alex went to São
Vicente to construct and set up ZeroPoint Gallery. The gallery
quickly became the cultural hub, boasting international architects, dancers,
musicians and even writers. To support the new-build, Alex taught both drawing
and architecture classes at the University of Mindelo. By 2008 the Gallery was
almost complete and Alex returned back to Rotterdam. Now, having a permanent
space, the artist started to split his time between two worlds. He became increasingly interested in the
development and global positioning of Contemporary African Art.
In 2012 he was assigned to create a monument, entitled
“Clave”, in Rotterdam, to celebrate 150th anniversary of the abolition of Dutch
slavery from the Surinam and Antilles in the Dutch Caribbean. This was a great
honour as Rotterdam has one of the finest Sculpture Collections in the world.
Alex certainly felt that this was a turning point in his artistic development.
He worked with some very talented architects from Mindelo, Moreno
Castellano and Eloise Ramos | Ramos Castellano Architects. At the base of the monument there are words stencils in Dutch, "Het lichaam
dat slaaf is vertrekt de ziel die vrij is blijft" (The body of the slave
is taken but their spirit remains forever free) from a traditional Cape Verde
'Morna' folk song. The sculpture was unveiled in 2013. This monument honouring
the Slaves is now a permanent fixture in the Cityscape of Rotterdam. Alex da
Silva is today housed among some the greatest sculptors of all time: Henry
Moore, Auguste Rodin, Picasso and Carl Nesjar, Ossip Zankine, George Rickey and
many others. All credit to the multicultural Rotterdamians for paying homage to
an African artist and placing his Masterpiece “Clave” in such a prominent
location, at the mouth of the world famous Rotterdam harbour at Llody Pier.
Although Alex will perhaps be best remembered for his “Slave
Monument”, it is his paintings, his complex brutal agonizing figures and
multiple portraits that need more exploration and exposure. As an artist he was
prolific and leave a substantial amount of artworks behind. Alex had an
incredible ability to work with paint, mix media, sculpture and architecture.
He comfortably manoeuvred between the different mediums with such ease. His
passing leaves a vacuum in regards to the cultural development of Creative
Africa.
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| Alex da Silva in the Studio |
Alex da Silva leaves behind his partner Brenna and
their six year old daughter Odile.
For further information contact:
Alex da Silva | http://alexdasilvaxand.com/work/
Morena and Eloise | https://www.ramoscastellano.com/
Rotterdam Sculptors | https://www.cbkrotterdam.nl/en/2013/06/18/onthulling-slavernijmonument-rotterdam/
Willem de Kooning Academy | https://www.wdka.nl/news-events/in-memoriam-alex-da-silva-1974-2019
Alex da Silva | http://alexdasilvaxand.com/work/
Morena and Eloise | https://www.ramoscastellano.com/
Rotterdam Sculptors | https://www.cbkrotterdam.nl/en/2013/06/18/onthulling-slavernijmonument-rotterdam/
Willem de Kooning Academy | https://www.wdka.nl/news-events/in-memoriam-alex-da-silva-1974-2019
