Basic information

Name: Nelson Carrilho, 30 March 1953- 2026
Place of birth: Willemstad, Curaçao
Discipline: Sculpture, public art, performance, poetry, dance and music

BIOGRAPHY

Nelson Carrilho was born in 1953 in Domi, Curaçao, near the Shell refinery. In 1964, his family moved to the Netherlands and settled in Osdorp, Amsterdam. His mother, who came from Antigua and did not speak Dutch, experienced depression after discrimination experiences. His parents did not speak about slavery; instead, they encouraged their children to develop their abilities and pursue education. Carrilho was permitted to attend art academy on the condition that he worked hard and earned a diploma.
At the age of seventeen, Carrilho began exploring his Antillean culture and reconnecting with his African roots. Africa became a central source of inspiration for his powerful bronze sculptures, which engaged with Black history, cultural memory, dignity and liberation. He challenged representations that reduced Black history to enslavement and victimhood, arguing instead for images of beauty, greatness and sovereignty. His sketches reveal the ideas and convictions behind the sculptures and are integral to his artistic process.
Carrilho believed that Afro-Caribbean heritage could be expressed most fully through a combination of sculpture, poetry, dance and drum music. His performances drew on African oral traditions and on tambú, in which stories are told through music. Expression, rhythm and movement therefore played an important role in his work. He worked as a professional artist from 1980 and maintained a studio in Tuinstraat, Amsterdam, from 1982 on.

EDUCATION

1975–1980 — Academy of Visual Arts Artibus, Utrecht, the Netherlands
1966–1973 — Hervormde MULO Osdorp, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

Selected Solo exhibitions since 2000

2007 – Gallery Alma Blou, Curaçao
2016- Gallery Alma Blou, Curaçao
2000 — Kunstenaarscentrum Bergen, Bergen, the Netherlands

Selected Group exhibitions since 2000

2006 — Identity, Art in Red Light, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2006 — Sparkasse Nord-Ostsee, Germany
2006 — De Compagnie, Dordrecht, the Netherlands
2005 — Den Haag Sculptuur 2005, The Hague, the Netherlands
2005 — Art in Red Light, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2005 — SBK, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2004 — Olympic Games NOC, Athens, Greece
2004 — Galerie Helga Hofman, Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands
2004 — Galerie Stills, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
2003 — Galerie de Vijf Eiken, Arnhem, the Netherlands
2003 — Bogaard Art, Helmond, the Netherlands
2003 — Clemens Briels Centre, Aalsmeer, the Netherlands
2002 — Gallery Jos Art, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2001 — Art Miami 2001, Miami, USA
2000 — Galerie Andere Wereld, the Netherlands
2000 — World Art Foundation, the Netherlands
2000 — 7th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba
2000 — Galerie Helga Hofman, the Netherlands
2000 — Kunstenaarscentrum Bergen, the Netherlands

Selected commissioned monuments and public works

2022 — The Other Face, San Ferdinando, Italy
2004 — Unity, Philadelphia Foundation, the Netherlands
2003 — Road to Freedom, Social Services, Amsterdam Zuidoost, the Netherlands
1997 — Untitled, Fortis, Curaçao
1997 — The Child Reads, Public Library, Curaçao
1991 — Steven van Dorpel, Amsterdam Zuidoost, the Netherlands
1989 — Bearers from Afar, Westerpark, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
1984 — Mama Baranka, Vondelpark, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Nelson Carrilho, Een man van verre en van vlakbij; Stichting Nymfaeusm Pers – 2010
Three Caribbean Artists; LM Publishers ISBN 978-94-6022-491-1

AWARDS

G.A.O. Municipality of Amsterdam Prize
Curaçao Trophy
Bronze Bull Award
Cosmic Theater Award
Postbank Award
Phenix Foundation Award
Uitmarkt Roots & Routes Award, Diversity Platform, Municipality of Amsterdam
VSBfonds Poetry Prize
Phenix Foundation Essay Prize

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Ricoh, Brussels, Belgium
Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Coopers & Lybrand, Utrecht, the Netherlands
National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica
Stichting Vrijwilligers Management, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Bank of Curaçao and St. Marten
Maduro & Curiel’s Bank Curaçao