It is the new year and th art world is never tired of presenting shows worth viewing. Here are some art shows for you this January.
Young Contemporaries 2023
Gallery: Rele Gallery
The Rele Arts Foundation announced on the 2nd of Janurary their 8th edition of the Young Contemporaries programme. Initiated in 2016, the programme identifies, mentors and promotes early-career artists from Africa, by equipping them with tools and resources for artistic development.
The Young Contemporaries 2023 project will open on the 8th of January, and will present new projects done over the course of 6 months by seven artists —Adeniyi Adewole, Adetutu Adediran, Hanson Okere, Yoma Emore, Seidougha Linus Eyimiegha, Elfreda Fakoya and Tosobuafo Matilda Bardi — working across a diverse range of mediums from textile material to aluminum dust; engaging complex issues from diasporic and familial identity to migration and urban traffic culture.
uBuhle boKhokho (Beauty of Our Ancestors) by Zizipho Poswa
Gallery: Southern Guild
Southern Guild presents uBuhle boKhokho (Beauty of Our Ancestors) a series of ceramic and bronze sculptures draws inspiration from the elaborate art of hairstyling practised by Black women across the African continent and diaspora. uBuhle boKhokho expands on the artist’s earlier Magodi series, titled after the Shona word for traditional African hairstyles, in one sustained and more in-depth body of work.
This solo exhibition by Zizipho Poswa continues the exploration of her own cultural story as a Xhosa woman through the making of her sculptural works. Hair remains her source of inspiration, documenting those she created and wore over a period of five months. Through this charged metaphoric lens, hair becomes a personal script for language, for the carrying of meaning and the celebration of self as an act of defiance.
Some of the exhibition’s sculptures measuring up to two meters high have been titled after specific women that have played a prominent role in Poswa’s life, and their country of origin. By doing this, she interweaves the personal and historic; situating herself in a vast and ever-expanding network of Black women who continue to self-define and affirm their own standards of beauty. Their hand-coiled ceramic bases reflect Poswa’s shift in focus from pattern and colour to shape and texture, culminating in elaborate adornments made from either bronze or clay. The series of 20 sculptures employs a visual vocabulary that straddles figuration and abstraction, reflecting the three-dimensionality of woven, braided and threaded hair. Many of the historic and contemporary hairstyles that Poswa references include architectural constructions where the hair (both natural and artificial) is wrapped over armatures. These include the complex crested arrangement worn by Fulani women from West Africa and the fan-shaped headpiece of the Zande from Congo.
Dawn to Dusk: Marie-Louise Koen
Gallery: Gallery Eleven at Spice Route
Marie-Louise Koen is a Cape Town born Artist and Interior Designer. Her art is known for her bright bold colouring and unique style. Her latest solo exhibition in conjunction with the launch of her joint venture with Abigail Bisogno, Gallery Eleven; ‘Dawn to Dusk’ is an ode to the beautiful Cape. This has acted as the main source of inspiration for her work. Bringing in a new palette to her seascape works in this collection, the neutral and warm tones which capture the sunrise and sunset allow for a change in the feel and mood of her work without the change in subject matter.
This exhibition is her largest single collection to date and encompasses an array of oceanic and beach scenes of the Cape, capturing all the hours of sunlight throughout a summer’s day.
