Sonia Gomes reflects upon challenges and achievements as a black woman artist

Decolonial curatorships have started to gain ground in more traditional institutional Brazilian environments – what is your take on that? Which paths are we yet to go through?

SG: I am feeling that there is an increasing movement of inclusion. In the exhibition “A nova mão afro-brasileira” [The New Afro-Brazilian Hand], held at Museu Afro Brasil in 2013, I was the only woman, and this was very questioned by women artists back then. Such a thing would not happen today. My gallery, for instance, has four other black artists other than me. Yet, if we take into account that we, black people, are more than half of the population, this proportion is still wrong.

It is important to say that our insertion in the market did not happen thanks to some “godfather,” but rather through resistance. It is an achievement. I hear a lot of people asking about when this “black wave” will pass. It is not a wave, it has come to stay, and good artists simply remain. One cannot speak about Brazilian art without black people. Here we are and there is no way back. This process of achievement is only moving forward. When I was young, it was not a topic of discussion. Now I see younger people with a lot of attitude: they speak, shout, style their hair way up – I even get goosebumps, I find it wonderful. This young movement is being a very important contribution.

In your view, how important is the artistic circuit outside galleries and institutions, and how do you think it influences artistic practice?

SG: The alternative circuit has to exist, and it is an important movement. You cannot rely exclusively on galleries. The artist’s need is to show their work, no matter where. I used to present my work at any space that would be open to receive me, whether it was a restaurant or any other place. I don’t have this prejudice of showing my work exclusively at galleries and institutions.

Many other reactions to my production have been taking place beyond the gallery environment. There are many textbooks, state schools, and art educators making new readings of works with children. I feel like I am making this contribution. Of course, every artist wants to sell, because it is a métier, a job like any other one, but these reactions are very positive and nourishing for us.

It is also important to remain alert and to support one another. Even us, who are black, we do not remember of black professionals at times. It is so structural. For this reason, I try to remain alert, and I have already recommended Janaina Barros and Fabiana Lopes to write about my work for two international exhibitions. They are very competent people, we are not doing any social assistance.

In 2015, you were part of the Venice Biennale. In 2018, you had your two first monographic institutional exhibitions in Brazil, one at Masp – Museu de Arte de São Paulo, and the other at Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói. Can you tell us a bit about these milestones of your career?

SG: The Venice Biennale was indeed a milestone. I never had the pretension to become a big artist, of participating in this international exhibition. When I was invited, I even thought it was a prank: “Venice Biennale? Wait, what?”

The assistant curator contacted me after my participation in the exhibition “Feito por brasileiros” [Made by Brazilian], curated by Marc Pottier at Cidade Matarazzo, in 2014. They asked me to talk about my installation in the space and did not say a word for a long time. I thought: “it’s not going to happen this time.” The confirmation of the invitation arrived when I was in South Africa for an exhibition. It was a life-changing experience. On the way back from Venice, I thought: “Wow, my career is consolidated, that’s it. Nothing else is going to happen.”

The invitation for a solo exhibition at MASP was equally a surprise, I had never even been invited to any group shows at the museum. Curators Adriano Pedrosa and Amanda Carneiro believed in me and gave me freedom to do whatever I wanted. I was starting a new series that I wanted to present, appropriating myself of tree branches and trunks I found. One of the things I wanted to do was to open all those curtains at MASP and allow nature in. The garden is beautiful, so I wanted to establish this dialogue between the gardens of Lina Bo Bardi and my work. It was a very nice moment of visibility, and I felt very respected as an artist.

Things happen first abroad: first, the Venice Biennale, then, major Brazilian institutions. But I am glad this is all happening. Each experience is an aggregating element. People are believing in my work, and so much is still happening abroad. I am receiving all of this from the universe with major gratitude.

Do you have any black women artists to recommend?

SG: I did not have much contact with artists in Belo Horizonte. My work was all me, by myself. Here in São Paulo this range has broadened up. And young artists come to me a lot. I try to recommend emerging names: Lidia Lisboa, Janaina Barros, Priscila Rezende, and Renata Felinto. In addition to Rosana Paulino, who is also a reference, and Marga Ledora, who I invited to join me in the exhibition “Casas e Bichos” [Houses and Beasts] at Mendes Wood DM, at the end of last year.