Sideboard
Created by Rubem Valentim
Brazil, n.d.
Carved and assembled wood
Measurements
169 cm x 41 cm x 70h cm
66,5 in x 16,1in x 23,6h in
Provenance
Private collection
Edition
Unique Piece
About
This wooden buffet by Rubem Valentim embodies the artist’s singular approach to form, where spirituality, cultural identity, and modernist abstraction are seamlessly integrated. Constructed from interlocking geometric volumes in carved and assembled wood, the work functions simultaneously as an object of contemplation and a symbolically charged construction.
Created without a title or date, the piece reflects Valentim’s broader investigation into a visual language rooted in Afro-Brazilian cosmology—particularly the ritual emblems and symbology of Candomblé. The composition evokes the formality of totemic structures or architectural models, yet resists legibility in favor of coded meaning. Its presence is both grounded and transcendental.
Unlike many of his contemporaries in Brazil’s postwar art scene, Valentim did not turn to geometry as a purely formal exercise. Instead, he infused geometric order with ancestral resonance, embedding his work with narratives of resistance, continuity, and belonging. This sculpture exemplifies his commitment to merging the sacred and the constructed—an approach that aligns spiritual practice with modern design sensibility.
Biography
Rubem Valentim (1922–1991) was a key figure in the art renewal movement in Bahia during the mid-20th century, whose work merged spiritual symbolism, Afro-Brazilian heritage, and geometric abstraction into a distinct visual language. Born and raised in Salvador, the city with the largest Black population outside the African continent, Valentim was immersed in the mystic symbolism of African religious traditions in Brazil, particularly Candomblé and Umbanda, which play a central role in his artistic universe.
Throughout his career, Valentim resisted both folkloric exoticism and purely formalist abstraction. Instead, he developed a sophisticated visual system built on syncretic symbols, particularly those derived from Candomblé and other Afro-Brazilian religions. His work bridges the sacred and the modern, the ritualistic and the rational—creating compositions that function like visual mandalas or conceptual totems. The ritual instruments, physical structures of the terreiros (ceremonial houses), and the symbolism of the deities are depicted in his work as signs—stylized images that result from a refined aestheticization of these figures. Two defining characteristics of his art are the symbolic use of colors associated with the orishas and the recurring geometric shapes, including rectangles, circles, triangles, and trapezoids. These elements are meticulously arranged in his paintings, prints, reliefs, and sculptures. Valentim transcends a simple formalist approach to religious imagery, maintaining a strong connection to its origins and reinforcing the meanings tied to these symbols—such as protection, sexuality, birth, death, rebirth, and the natural cycle of life.
While spending formative years in Europe in the 1960s, Valentim absorbed modernist influences, but never abandoned his cultural grounding. Upon returning to Brazil, he became a key figure in affirming Afro-Brazilian identity through form—often working across painting, wood assemblage, and architectural interventions. His visual language is instantly recognizable: modular, coded, and deeply intentional.
Valentim's work stands out not only within the history of Latin American abstraction but also in the broader conversation about how cultural specificity can redefine the boundaries of modernism and design. His pieces have been exhibited internationally and form part of major collections including the MoMA (New York), Centre Pompidou (Paris), and MASP (São Paulo).
