The least you can say about Antonio “Oba’s” chosen pseudonym is that it was predestined. “I’m very interested in ancestrality, and I wanted to bear an African reference,” explained the Brazilian painter. In the Yoruba language, oba means “king,” but it also designates a warrior deity of the candomblé, one of the Afro-Brazilian religions. “In three letters, the word expresses three things that are very important to me: dignity, strength and mysticism,” he explained.
At 41, Antonio Leonardo de Paula (his real name) is indeed one of the princes of contemporary Brazilian painting. His work has been exhibited all over the world, including at François Pinault’s Bourse de Commerce in Paris, which acquired five of his works. Several of his paintings are currently on display at the Parisian gallery Mendes Wood DM, located on Place des Vosges. This is the artist’s first solo show in France.
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