Austin Martin White: the lusophile

Capitain Petzel, Karl-Marx-Allee 45, 10178, Berlin

September 10, 2026 – October 17, 2026

Capitain Petzel presents ‘the lusophile’, Austin Martin White’s second solo exhibition. The exhibition takes the legacy of Brazilian Baroque sculptor Antônio Francisco Lisboa (ca. 1738-1814), known as Aleijadinho, as its starting point, whose life oscillates between documented history and national myth. White shows portraits of the artist as well as depictions of his prophetic figures at the Santuário do Bom Jesus de Matosinhos in Congonhas. Other works refer to the woodcut covers of ‘literatura de cordel’, a popular literary tradition in north-eastern Brazil that brings together folklore, religion, politics and history. In works made of polyethylene film, screen fabric, pigment, rubber, vinyl and spray paint, White examines the construction of historical memory. It addresses postcolonial stories, the role of images in shaping cultural narratives, and the unstable relationship between historical fact, national myth, and cultural identity.