Richard Saltoun
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Artists
  • Exhibitions
  • Saltoun Online
  • Art Fairs
  • Events
  • News
  • Shop
  • Contact
Cart
0 items £
Checkout

Item added to cart

View cart & checkout
Continue shopping
Menu
  • Current and Forthcoming
  • Past

Bertina LOPES

Past exhibition
9 March - 7 May 2022 Rome
  • Overview
  • Installation Views
  • Publications
  • Related Artists
Overview
Bertina LOPES, Totem n. 1, 1968
Bertina LOPES, Totem n. 1, 1968

Richard Saltoun Gallery inaugurates its programming in Rome with a special solo exhibition of works from the estate of Mozambican-Italian painter Bertina LOPES (1924–2012). Considered the mother of contemporary African painting, Lopes was one of the earliest pioneers to bridge the gap between African and European art. Her work has become a symbol of political activism and social criticism, and her story is unique in contemporary art and politics.

 

Born under colonialism in Mozambique, Lopes completed her art studies in Lisbon and returned to Maputo as a teacher in 1953. Her contact with her country’s poets, writers, and political activists was fundamental in forming her anti-fascist and anti-colonial beliefs. This forced Lopes to leave Mozambique in 1961, returning to Lisbon to continue her artistic work. Prosecuted by the PIDE (Portuguese International and State Defence Police), she fled Portugal, arriving in Rome in 1963 thanks to a scholarship from the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon.

 

Although it was not easy for an African artist in Italy to attain recognition, Lopes covered a vital role in the capital, later serving as the cultural attaché of her country's Embassy. Her rooftop apartment was famous for its dinners hosted with her husband Francesco Confaloni; a salon for African and European diplomats, journalists, and intellectuals. She befriended many of the protagonists of the Italian art scene, including Marino Marini, Renato Guttuso, Carlo Levi and Antonio Scordia as well as critics and museum directors. 

 

Lopes represented Mozambique in numerous official cultural exhibitions worldwide, twice in the Venice Biennale, and received awards and citations for her efforts in promoting both art and peace. Despite her trailblazing work - subject of two exhibitions at the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon (1973; 1979) and two major retrospectives in Rome at Palazzo Venezia (1986) and Palazzo della Cancelleria Apostolica (2002) - Lopes rarely worked commercially. 

 

Marking the 10th anniversary of the artist's death, the exhibition at Richard Saltoun Gallery celebrates her 70-year-long career by bringing together an important historical selection of Lopes' paintings. These include Grido grande [Big cry] (1970) and In memoriam de Picasso [In memory of Picasso] (1974). The latter is one of Lopes’ most important and intense works on canvas, a homage to the death of Picasso, whom she had met in the last days of his life and considered the “genius of the 20th century”.


The Archivio Bertina Lopes played a pivotal role in the production of this exhibition, which marks the debut of the gallery’s collaboration with the Lopes Estate and the artist’s first commercial international representation. Archivio Bertina Lopes was founded after the artist's death in 2012 to preserve her legacy and her house/studio. A catalogue with a text by Mary Angela Schroth, director of Sala 1 in Rome and long-time friend of Bertina, will be published to accompany the exhibition.

Share
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Email
Download Press Release
Installation Views
  • Gb11869
  • Gb11876
  • Gb11882
  • Gb11891
  • Gb11901
  • Gb11894
  • Gb11879
  • Gb11893
Publications
  • Bertina Lopes

    Bertina Lopes

    Catalogue 2022
    Paperback 47 pages
    Publisher: Richard Saltoun Gallery
    Dimensions: 27 x 21 cm
    Read more

Artist page

  • Bertina Lopes

    Bertina Lopes

Back to Past exhibitions

Richard Saltoun Gallery| LONDON

41 Dover Street,
London W1S 4NS

 

RICHARD SALTOUN GALLERY| ROME

Via Margutta, 48a-48b

00187 Rome

 

RICHARD SALTOUN GALLERY| NEW YORK

19 E 66th St

New York, NY 10065 

Opening Hours | LONDON

Tuesday – Friday, 10am – 6pm

Saturday, 11am – 5pm

 

OPENING HOURS | Rome

Tuesday - Friday, 10:30am - 6pm
Or by appointment

 

OPENING HOURS | NEW york

Monday – Friday, 11am – 6pm

Contact

London: 

+44 (0) 20 7637 1225

info@richardsaltoun.com

 

Rome:

+39 06 86678 388

rome@richardsaltoun.com

 

New York:

+1 (646) 291-8939

nyc@richardsaltoun.com

Mailing List

Join our mailing list

Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Youtube, opens in a new tab.
Vimeo, opens in a new tab.
Join the mailing list
Artsy, opens in a new tab.
View on Google Maps
Tiktok, opens in a new tab.
Ocula, opens in a new tab.
Privacy Policy
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025 Richard Saltoun
Site by Artlogic

We use cookies on our website to improve your experience. You can find out why by reading our Privacy Policy. By continuing to browse our site you agree to our use of cookies.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences
Close

Join our mailing list

Sign-up

* denotes required fields

We will process the personal data you have supplied to communicate with you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.