For several decades, the artist José de Guimarães has been an avid collector of objects that, depending on perspective and context, oscillate between ethnographic and artistic classifications. These objects originate from different peoples of Central and West Africa and were acquired through the specialized European market dedicated to their trade. His fascination with such objects was sparked in 1967 during a visit to the Museum of Angola in Luanda, shortly after his arrival there to undertake military service. This formative experience left indelible marks on his work that endure to this day.

From an early stage, the collector’s passion was accompanied—and continually nourished—by the acquisition of knowledge through visits to ethnographic museums around the world and through the study of the collected objects and the peoples and cultures from which they originate. Part of his vast collection of traditional African art, which now exceeds 3,000 items, is on deposit at the CIAJG, where it has held a place of particular prominence in the exhibition programme since the outset.

From October 2022, and for more than three years, these artefacts were presented within the framework of the exhibition Heteroclites: 1128 Objects, coexisting and intermingling with numerous works by José de Guimarães from different series and periods, as well as with a smaller number of pieces from his collections of pre-Columbian art (from present-day Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, and Costa Rica) and ancient Chinese art. These collections were likewise entrusted to the CIAJG under a loan agreement established in 2011 with the Municipality of Guimarães.

The core collection of traditional African arts held by the CIAJG—significantly strengthened in 2024 by the artist’s donation of a further 65 objects to the municipality—is now presented autonomously and through a markedly different curatorial articulation, occupying all the galleries on the ground and lower floors. In this presentation, a large and striking ensemble of masks once again stands out.