Alberto Pitta (1961) centers his artistic practice on textile printing and screen printing, though in recent years he has also dedicated himself to painting and sculptural works. With a career spanning over four decades, Pitta’s production is deeply connected to popular festivities and often intersects with other forms such as clothing design. His work has a strong public dimension—he created textile prints for Afro-Brazilian Carnival groups such as Olodum, Filhos de Gandhy, and his own, Cortejo Afro.

Pitta has participated in major exhibitions in Brazil and abroad. Highlights among his solo shows include Outros Carnavais at Nara Roesler, Rio de Janeiro (2024); Mariwó at Paulo Darzé Galeria, Salvador (2023); and Eternidade Soterrada, organized by Carmo & Johnson Projects, São Paulo (2022). Notable group shows include the 36th São Paulo Biennial (2025); Joie Collective – Apprendre à flamboyer at Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2025); Biennale of Sydney (2024); and Um Defeito de Cor at the Museu de Arte do Rio (2022). His work is part of institutional collections such as Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Museu de Arte do Rio, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Buenos Aires (MACBA), and Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia, Salvador.

In Exu Funfun II (2025), the mythical figure of Exu is revealed through the traditional “white-on-white” visual motif, a recurring element in Alberto Pitta’s work. The central figure, translucent and serene, emerges as a luminous apparition against a vibrant field of geometric patterns in red, yellow, and black—tones that represent him and affirm his dynamic power.

In his right hand, the Ogó, the phallus, symbol of potency and movement; in his left, the gourd represents wisdom and communication between worlds. The white that covers the body does not erase but rather illuminates—it suggests subtle inscriptions and drawings, as if the body holds a spiritual cartography.

In the background, the repetition of triangles builds a rhythmic field that evokes ritual textiles and the visual traditions of African and diasporic cultures. In the face, the African mask reaffirms ancestry and the power of passage.