Exhibitions

Mederic Turay: Inspirational Dreams is still on view at OOA Gallery in Barcelona, Spain until October 22, 2023

Mederic Turay’s art showcases vibrant colors and intricate designs that draw viewers in. His creative process is driven by a need to fill the canvas entirely, and this instinctual approach connects his personal experiences with a broader cultural and spiritual context. Mederic’s art weaves together his African roots, urban art influences, and a fascination with the invisible world. His paintings often feature intricate details that create a sense of interconnectedness. These details, reminiscent of a quantum universe, symbolize the hidden aspects of reality. The characters in his paintings radiate auras and exhibit powerful gazes, representing nonverbal communication that transcends time and culture.

Mickalene Thomas: je t’adore is still on view at Yancey Richardson in New York, United States until November 11, 2023

In je t’adore, Thomas presents 13 large-scale mixed media photo collages inspired by her research into the imagery of Black female erotica featured in the calendars of Jet magazine and the pages of the 1950s French publication, Nus Exotique. This research has informed the artist’s long exploration of the Jet beauties of the month and inspired her personal engagement with an array of familiar, yet anonymous women, simultaneously reflecting the complexities imposed on the artist’s own body. The exhibition expands upon Thomas’ existing series of collages that reference the status of Jet calendars within the history of African American art while challenging society’s traditional notions of beauty, erotica, and sensuality.

Unbind is still on view at the Goodman Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa until November 11, 2023

Unbind is an exhibition of key works by a selection of artists living in Angola and South Africa alongside diasporic artists with ancestral roots in Tanzania, Algeria and Morocco – bringing together a chorus of influential international voices all with significant ties to the African continent. Featured works provide a variety of perspectives on Africa’s inherited colonial past, with artists like Zineb Sedira drawing on powerful visual strategies, known as joyful resistance, for processing this past in the present and for unshackling from its bind. The featured artists including Yto Barrada, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Grada Kilomba, Kapwani Kiwanga, Zineb Sedira, Sue Williamson, have prominent international moments happening around the world.

Art Fairs

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair will open at Somerset House in London, United Kingdom from October 12-15, 2023

This edition of 1-54 London will host over 60 international exhibitors, its largest number to date. One third of these international exhibitors are from the African continent and 14 galleries will participate at the fair’s London edition for the first time. New and returning exhibitors will present over 170 artists from 31 countries working across an array of mediums from painting and sculpture to mixed media and installation. Works from established artists such as Joana Choumali, Ibrahim El Salahi and Soly Cissé to young and emerging artists including Josué Comoe, Anya Paintsil and Edozie Anedu will be on view.

AKAA will open at Carreau du Temple in Paris, France from October 20-22, 2023

This year, AKAA (Also Known As Africa) is highlighting curatorial practice in the context of a fair and its market. Led by Artistic Director, Armelle Dakouo, a number of invitations have been extended to curators and artists to present projects, installations and critical pieces that question curatorial practice and the stakes it defends, enabling critical thought regarding the artist’s approach while giving them access to different types of exhibition space and thus, of expression. Curatorial practice contributes by shifting its impact, to the visibility of an artist, a scene and/or an artistic community. Curatorial practice makes a lasting contribution to the artist’s career and growth.