Rodrigo Mabunda Seguir artista +

Born in 1985 in Maputo, Mozambique, Rodrigo Armando Mabunda lives and works in his hometown. Self-taught, he started working at age 15 to support himself. He held various jobs as a market vendor and mechanic while trying to continue his studies, which he ultimately did not complete. During these long hours, he discovered drawing, initially as a way to stay awake. He experimented with various types of paper, but it was on recycled cardboard that he found the ideal medium to develop his original work.

Over time, Rodrigo created his own visual language. His drawings, made with ballpoint pen on cardboard boxes, reveal dense and chaotic narratives, full of figures that intersect and contort. These compositions reflect Mozambican daily life: festivals, markets, ceremonies, and streets always bustling with activity. 

His older brother, the artist Gonçalo Mabunda, It was a constant influence. However, it was only in 2015, after a visit from a collector, that Rodrigo realized his work had real potential. From that moment on, and encouraged by Kris Khachatourian, he began producing more consistently. Shortly after, he started participating in exhibitions in Dubai through Akka Project, which now represents him internationally.

Group Exhibitions and Artist Residencies
Throughout his career, Rodrigo Mabunda has participated in numerous group exhibitions, most notably in 2019's "Mozambique: Exploring The In Between," presented at the Akka Project Venezia in Italy, and "The Mabundas" at the Portuguese Cultural Center in Maputo, Mozambique. The previous year, in 2018, he was part of several exhibitions, including the Núcleo de Arte in Maputo; the Joburg Art Fair in Johannesburg, South Africa; "Xitiko Ni Mbaula" at Roda Viva in Lisbon, Portugal; the Tokyo International Art Fair in Japan; "Redimensão" at Gallery 1834 in Maputo; and the World Art Dubai fair in the United Arab Emirates. In 2017, he also participated in the "Colecção Crescente" exhibition at the Kulungwana Gallery in Maputo. Simultaneously, she undertook an artistic residency in Óbidos, Portugal, between May and June 2018, an experience that contributed to deepening her practice and developing her original work.