Nelson Carrilho (1953-2026)

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di 7 juli 2026, 12:00 hour

Nelson Carrilho (1953-2026)

It is with sadness that we have learned of the passing of sculptor Nelson Carrilho. From his studio on Tuinstraat in the Jordaan neighborhood, Nelson built an impressive body of work. He himself considered his sculptures in Amsterdam’s public spaces to be among his most important works: Dragers van verre in Westerpark and Mama Baranka in Vondelpark.

At the Amsterdam Museum, we remember Nelson as a deeply committed artist who tackled difficult subjects such as racism, slavery, and colonialism with tireless optimism. In our 2021 exhibition on the Golden Coach, he presented an impressive and poignant altar dedicated to his great-grandmother Elisabeth Moendi, who was “exhibited” at the 1883 World’s Fair on Museumplein in Amsterdam.

In 2023, an exhibition was held featuring Mama Baranka, the sculpture Nelson created in 1984 in response to the murder of Kerwin Lucas Duinmeijer a year earlier. Forty years after that murder, the museum acquired a small version of that sculpture for its collection. The exhibition explored the historical context surrounding the murder and the sculpture.

In connection with that exhibition, we asked Nelson to give a guided tour of the exhibition and Panorama Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Museum’s collection presentation at the time:

https://youtu.be/MREvItuKgWA?si=RQxmgN0Tj0HUqTKy