Born in Camabatela-Ambaca, Kwanza Norte Province, Angola, on March 12, 1968, Sebastião Joaquim N'debela Cassule is currently in his third year of the Visual and Fine Arts program at the Faculty of Arts, University of Luanda, Angola. He is a member of the National Union of Plastic Artists (UNAP) and of the International Association of Fine Arts L'Aigle de Nice, headquartered in Nice, France.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Memories of Travels, Geographies of Affection, Portuguese Cultural Center (2019)
Nine Moments of Gestation of Ideas, MAAN (2018)
Dialogues | Characters, Territories and Situations, ELA – Espaço Luanda Arte (2015)
The Proverbial Singularity of the Baobab, Portuguese Cultural Center (2012)
Work vs Cri$is – Cri$es vs Work, Portuguese Cultural Center (2007)
Retrospective Exhibition, Siexpo – International Art Exhibition Hall (2003)
Back to the Origins, Siexpo – International Art Exhibition Hall (2001)
The Baobab Will Bloom, Le Bistrot Gallery (1999)
Light and Transparencies, Portuguese Cultural Center (1998)
We Are Those Whom You Await, Vila Espa (1997)
Awakening, Hotel President Meridien (1996)
Tones, Lines, and Charms, Hotel Trópico (1994)

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Participated in over 60 group exhibitions in Angola, China, the United States, France, Cape Verde, South Korea, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Highlights include:
Grand International Prize of Fine Arts L’Aigle de Nice, Nice, France (1998 and 2007)
Exhibition at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA (2003)
Collective mural at Kyta Metro Station, Yokohama, Japan (2006)
1st Luanda Triennial (2007)
2nd Luanda Triennial (2010)
8th Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art, Italy (2009)
9th Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art, Italy (2011)
Nine editions of Coopearte, Celamar Gallery, Luanda

COLLECTIONS
His works are part of institutional, corporate, and private collections in Angola and abroad, including:
4 de Fevereiro International Airport
TPA – Public Television of Angola
Angola Telecom
BCI – Bank of Commerce and Industry
World Bank/Angola
BAI – Angolan Investment Bank
BESA – Espírito Santo Bank Angola
BFA – Bank of Development Angola
Banco Sol
ESSO Angola / Oil
ENI Angola / Oil
EDEL – Luanda Electricity Distribution Company
ENSA – National Insurance Company of Angola
Hotel Mundial
Hotel President Meridien
ISUTIC – Higher Institute of Information and Communication Technologies
IBM Angola
INAC – National Institute for Children
Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology
Sonangol Headquarters / Oil
Sonangol Research and Production
Sonangalp
Sonils / Oil Logistics Support
TOTAL Angola / Oil
Austria / Vienna – OPEC – Angola Representation
Brazil
Embassy of Angola in Zimbabwe
United States of America
Spain
France / Paris – Angola Representation at UNESCO
Italy / Rome – Vatican
Italy / Rome – FAO / UN Headquarters
Italy / Rome – Embassy of Angola to the Holy See
Japan / Yokohama – Kyta Metro Station
Morocco
Norway
Portugal

AWARDS
2nd Prize – 5th Regional Council PACA, “Ville de Roubion”, France
2nd Prize – Guest of Honor Alexis MORI, Grand International Prize of Fine Arts L’Aigle de Nice, France (1998)
French Merit and Dedication Award by the National Association of Merit and Dedication of France (2007)
National Prize for Culture and the Arts (Visual Arts), Angola (2019)

ARTIST STATEMENT
“I am an artist seeking to recreate my own memory. As a creator with 31 years of experience, I have been summarizing my artistic journey in each current work: the concept is to reprogram an authorial, self-referential strategy of intertextuality between new artworks of mine, proposing a dialogue with past works in order to consolidate my poetics. It is about reactivating the past in the present. I am versatile and multifaceted, both conceptually and formally; I have maintained a strong presence in the Angolan art scene, with some forays into the international circuit, producing a wide range of individual and collective exhibitions and working across various media. I invest in renewal and bold innovation, exploring diverse themes (portraits, urban and suburban landscapes, personal travel memories, collective memories, spirituality, politics, religion, and culture, with observations and references ranging from the local to the global). Since receiving the National Prize for Culture and the Arts / Visual Arts in 2019, I have sought to present a synthesis of my work, produced over 30 years of my career. I aim to create a new way of showing this journey by producing new works that recover the essential marks of my artistic discourse since 1994, the year of my first solo exhibition. I seek to implement various resources in the conception of my works: intertextuality, transculturality, found and acquired objects, conceptual and thematic recycling, all viewed through a new and updated lens; I adopt a variety of formal solutions (acrylic on different surfaces, collage, installations, and more). National and international artistic references are also an important part of the construction of my work. Thus, my pieces bring together a set of symbols that are both self-referential and universal, forming an intertextual and emotional discourse. My motivation and inspiration come from the need to reveal the archives of my memory and consolidate my artistic poetics. My thematic approach revolves around the concept of transculturality, based on my intimate experiences and life stories. Today, I am a visual artist with the privilege and opportunity to draw from my memory and personal mark to share with the universe, striving to develop my professional identity. I research and aim to deepen my knowledge through experimentation and innovation—to inspire more, connect more, transform more, and provoke reflection, dialogue, and sociopolitical, environmental, and cultural engagement, in conversation with other disciplines”.