The Soloviev Foundation Gallery has opened an exhibition highlighting African and Afrodiasporic artworks from its collection, on view throughout February in recognition of Black History Month.
The display, housed on the ground floor of the Soloviev Group’s headquarters at 9 West 57th Street in New York, presents traditional African sculptures alongside photographs by Harlem Renaissance photographer James Van Der Zee.
The selection includes sculptural works from the Ashanti, Cameroonian, Chokwe, Ekoi, Fang, Kongo, Luba, Sapi, as well as Yoruba cultures, emphasizing the role of portraiture in African artistic traditions. The objects, made from materials such as wood, ivory, and beads, historically served ritualistic, spiritual, and political functions. While often exhibited in Western institutions as artifacts, these works reflect complex artistic traditions that challenge their classification as ethnographic objects.
Van Der Zee’s photography, shown in parallel, offers a distinct yet thematically linked perspective. Active in the early 20th century, he documented life in Harlem, also capturing individuals and families in highly staged portraits that countered prevailing narratives of Black life under segregation. His work, which blurred the line between vernacular and fine art photography, underscored photography’s role in self-representation and cultural affirmation.
The exhibition precedes Between Distance and Desire: African Diasporic Perspectives, a forthcoming presentation opening May 1. The current exhibition remains on view all through Black History Month until March 2. Curated by Tumelo Mosaka, it will examine the circulation of African masks in Western art and institutional spaces, considering how these objects have been reframed and also reinterpreted within global artistic discourse.
