Aboudia
Jack Bell Gallery continues its fruitful relationship with Ivorian artist Aboudia this year, with a solo exhibition of his new series of paintings. Quitte Le Pouvoir addresses the ongoing struggle for existence in the city of Abidjan in the aftermath of 2010-11’s Ivorian crisis, when violence broke out in the streets forcing the artist to take refuge in a basement.
Show: until 16th February
Opening hours: Tues-Sat, 10-6
Jack Bell Gallery
13 Mason’s Yard, St James’s, London
SW1Y 6BU
Coupé/Décalé (2010) (Video, 3:54 min) – Camille Henrot
There’s still time to catch Shifting Gazes, an exciting group exhibition put together by Christine Takengny and Gaia Tedone for Shonibare Studio’s Guest Projects. The show critically examines the visual imaginaries of tourism and travel, raising questions about how we see ‘other’ places and our relationship to them. Participating artists are Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin (who I wrote about here), Camille Henrot, Maha Maamoun, Uriel Orlow and Maria Domenica Rapicavoli.
Show: until 31st Jan
Opening hours: Tue-Fri 2-8, Sat 11-6 pm
Guest Projects
1 Andrews Road, Hackney, London
E8 4QL
Regular followers of this blog may have noticed an unusual lapse in posting over the last month or so… my apologies. There’s a good excuse, though, which is that I have recently relocated to New York, to take up a job at the Museum for African Art! I’ll be getting involved with some exciting projects over the next couple of years, including this exhibition by Jane Alexander which is coming up soon at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The Museum for African Art is currently in a transitional period and awaiting the opening of its new building, but there is plenty going on in the meantime, which you can find out about here.
I’m thrilled about my new position but sad to leave London and all the exciting things happening there. Most of all, I think it’s important to keep documenting and sharing all the great work relating to Africa that’s being done by artists, curators, gallerists and others in London right now. So I’m looking for a volunteer to take over updating this blog, and its Twitter feed.
It’s not a difficult or especially time-consuming job, and can be very rewarding. In fact, it’s really whatever you want it to be. The blog archive that has built up over the last few years offers a good starting point in terms of identifying some of the key museums, galleries and individuals working in the area, but there’s always more to add. I’ve tended to focus on contemporary visual arts, but there’s definitely scope to broaden the range of topics covered. Staying up to date with everything that’s going on is a challenge (and I haven’t always succeeded…) but I’m very happy to work with the new writer on ways of keeping track of events, developing useful contacts etc.
If you’re interested, please get in touch with me (Evelyn) at africanartinlondon@gmail.com, telling me a little about yourself and why you’d like to take charge of African Art in London. Possible things to include:
You’ve got until the end of January. Good luck!
139 (2012) – Alexandra Makhlouf
South African artists seem to be taking over London (or at least this blog) at the moment: William Kentridge has just been occupying one of Tate Modern’s Tanks, Peter Clarke has a big solo exhibition at Iniva, and now relative newcomer Alexandra Makhlouf has a show at Fred [London]. Using watery ink, she creates ghostly forms whose presence on paper seems only transitory; the artist describes this impermanence as a ‘return to blankness’, relating it to the silencing effect produced by certain political machinations in South Africa. More info here.
Show: until 23rd Feb
Opening hours: Tues-Fri 10-6, Sat 11-6 or by appointment
Fred [London]
17 Riding House Street, London
W1W 7DS
Peter Clarke
To welcome in the new year, Iniva presents Wind Blowing on the Cape Flats, a major retrospective of the work of South African artist Peter Clarke. Clarke has chronicled South Africa’s social and political history for the last sixty years, but his work is largely unknown to UK audiences; this show promises to change that.
There’s a curator’s tour on 31st January with Tessa Jackson, and several other events to keep an eye on, including a talk by Professor Annie E. Coombes on 7th March, exploring ‘women’s art practice in South Africa as an alternative political arena’.
Show: until 9th March
Opening hours: Tues, Weds, Fri 11am – 6pm, Thurs late opening until 9pm, Sat 12-6pm
Rivington Place, London
EC2A 3BA
African Art in London 