1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair 2023

Vast and fascinating exhibition at Somerset House of African contemporary art.

I had wrongly assumed this would be a small show in the galleries around the courtyard of Somerset House but its spread into all areas of the modern Embankment galleries at the back as well. As I’d only set aside the afternoon for it I had rush a bit to get round it all.

There was an amazing selection of work presented by selling galleries. Obviously, a lot of the work addressed colonial and environmental issues. Sadly I have lost the notes I made at the time so this review is a bit patchy.

I did pick up postcards from stalls I particularly liked but not all of them had them so I may have forgotten some work I like. I do still have a card from Athenkois Kwinana who paints beautiful self-portraits highlighting her Albinism and Vivien Kohler who used found ceramic plates which she tweaked, my favourite being a classical blue and white plate of Olaudah Equiano.

A couple of works I remember, but whose artists names I didn’t note, quoted art history from a take on Caravaggio’s John the Baptist to a version of Rembrandt’s Anatomy lesson with an African statue as the cadaver.

I’ll certainly go again next year and try to not loose my notes!

Closed 15 October 2023


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