For more than 40 years, Alberto Pitta has cultivated a life deeply connected to the arts. In recent years, his busy life in Salvador has expanded beyond Carnival productions and his leadership of the Oyá Institute to include a steady rhythm of commissioned works and international exhibitions. In the second half of 2025 alone, he will participate in the São Paulo Biennial, present solo exhibitions at Nara Roesler in São Paulo and New York, and stage a solo project at Frieze London. This publication, which offers a concise introduction to the artist for a broader public, especially international audiences, is therefore both timely and essential.

The publication includes three key texts: an introduction by Vik Muniz, who has known Pitta for over 30 years and first connected him to the gallery; an essay by curator Galciani Neves, who organized Pitta’s São Paulo exhibition; and an interview conducted in May of this year with curator Jareh Das, based between West Africa and the United Kingdom. We are grateful for their contributions, which frame Pitta’s practice within wider conversations.

Alongside these texts, this volume brings together a selection of historical works, including drawings from the 1980s and 1990s, as well as more recent pieces. The result is a presentation of more than 50 works that reveal Pitta’s universe, at once intimate and erudite, public and popular, demonstrating how his life and work resonate on an exponential scale.

In shaping this publication a recognition for the importance of honoring the technique that has defined Pitta’s career for decades: screen printing. The graphic design draws directly from the silkscreens used to print his fabrics, almost always made of green synthetic mesh with a hollow image. This reference also inspired the creation of a multiple, the sale of which has made this book possible: Kosi Ewê, kosi Orixá [Without leaf, there is no Orixá]. The multiple features the image of an oil palm leaf, Ewê Mariwô, a sacred element present in the garments of the Orixás and in Candomblé temples and rituals. Pitta has long used this symbol across his work, varying its size, color, and placement with characteristic mastery. Traditionally associated with protection, these leaves were also chosen to screen print the cover of this book, extending Pitta’s symbolic language to the very surface of this publication.