Diego Mouro São Bernardo, b. 1988
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Biography
"Diego, a virtuoso of line and color, does not treat his already recognized technical and formal qualities as ends in themselves. An avowed heir to the pictorial tradition mentioned at the end of the previous paragraph—which he regards as his 'strong root'—our artist seeks to tell a story, or perhaps several stories; or maybe just a few stray threads from those countless tales of Black people and their deeds—tales that could not, cannot, and will not be told, and which, for that very reason, must be told."
— Ricardo Aleixo
Diego Mouro's work originates from the traces of Afro-diasporic ancestry to construct a poetics in which gesture, memory, and spirituality intertwine. Moving between contemporary muralism and studio painting, his practice is grounded in elements of popular daily life, traditional knowledge, and ritual practices, evoking that which resists the passage of time and remains inscribed in bodies, affections, and the celebrations of the people. Anonymous figures, flower vases, religious icons, musical groups, and elements of material culture emerge in compositions marked by a sense of suspension: as if inhabiting a dimension of their own, between appearance and dissolution, between the visible and the intangible. In his works, the pictorial gesture acts as a thread connecting the past and the present, between what was forgotten and what insists on remaining. With a sensitive palette, pictorial solutions aimed at high density, and a vocabulary that crosses regionalism, the sacred, and the popular, Diego Mouro transforms painting into a territory of reconnection and reinvention — a way of affirming the permanence of the invisible, the right to subjective complexity, and the power of symbols in motion.
His solo exhibitions include: Povoada (2023, Museu Afro Brasil Emanuel Araújo, São Paulo – Brazil) and E também as flores (2024, Mitre Galeria, Belo Horizonte – Brazil). Mouro has participated in group exhibitions such as: Mães no imaginário da arte (2023, Museu Afro Brasil, São Paulo – Brazil) and Back to the City Festival (2019, Johannesburg – South Africa).
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Works
Diego Mouro São Bernardo, b. 1988
Festa na terra (Celebration on Earth), 2026Oil on canvas80 x 120 cm
31 1/2 x 47 1/4 inCopyright The ArtistThe painting evokes an episode found in oral narratives about the emergence of Our Lady of the Rosary. According to the elders, at the moment the saint is rescued from...The painting evokes an episode found in oral narratives about the emergence of Our Lady of the Rosary. According to the elders, at the moment the saint is rescued from the waters, some congadeiros kneel to pray; when they rise, they see among them the figure of a woman participating in the celebration—understood as Our Lady herself present among the people.
The scene also represents a celebration of the Reign of the Rosary. Congadeiros wear their festive garments while dancing around the saint, who appears illuminated and covered in flowers.
Inspired by a painting by Ernie Barnes, the composition emphasizes movement and collective joy. Black bodies dance and celebrate, affirming the festive and communal dimension of the tradition. The presence of the ox also evokes recurring symbols found in the reign festivals and in the celebrations of May 13th, connecting spirituality, memory, and celebration.
Exhibitions
