Manuela Sambo - Roots
31 January—28 February 2026
Opening: 30 January 2026, 6—9 pm

• Press Release EN / DE (PDF)
• CV (PDF)
• Artist page: Manuela Sambo

Michael Janssen Gallery is pleased to announce the new exhibition ‘Roots’ by Angolan artist Manuela Sambo. For this exhibition, Sambo has invited Canadian artist Curtis Santiago to develop a sound installation. This will be presented for the first time on the evening of the opening.

At the centre of the show is a monumental mask sculpture that imposingly spans two floors and permeates the gallery space. This impressive installation symbolises the unstoppable spread of roots – independent of time and space. Roots as a metaphor for invisible but nevertheless powerful forces. The mask embodies not only the increasing interpenetration of different cultures in the present, where African and Western traditions interweave, but also personal elements, such as her spiritual inner life and cultural roots, which are becoming increasingly present in her.

In addition to this sculptural work, the paintings selected for the exhibition also address the themes of origin and identity, creation and destruction, and traditional collective and universal spiritual knowledge. Sambo's more recent works are characterised by questions about these aspects, some of which go beyond her own cultural sphere to address universal human conflicts, such as the fate and attitudes of people, especially women, in repressive systems and in war. This takes place on a highly intuitive level, in which symbols enter the picture that the artist uses more intuitively than consciously. Noteworthy are paintings such as Wake Up, Child!, which depicts a genderless being holding a motionless child in its arms. In another work, two beings – one female and one cat-like with a human face – encounter each other in a protective bubble: eyeless, without direct eye contact, in a non-verbal, deeply spiritual communication.

Manuela Sambo, born in Luanda (Angola) and a long-time resident of Berlin, combines African mask traditions with influences from Western art history, which she explores in her artistic work. In 2020, she received the Falkenrot Prize in conjunction with an exhibition at Künstlerhaus Bethanien. In 2024, the Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt/Main (MMK) acquired numerous works for its renowned collection.

The exhibition opens on 30 January 2026 and can be seen at the Michael Janssen Gallery until 28 February 2026. We cordially invite you to experience these profound works and the artistic dialogue between the two artists.

Image:
Manuela Sambo, Kranzmaske, 1988, Pappmaché, Draht, Holz, Strick, Ölfarbe, 125 x 80 x 55 cm