Homme Blanc/Homme Noir. Impressions d'Afrique

Fascination, repulsion, desire, and even mockery have long characterized the ways in which Africans and Westerners have perceived one another. The second exhibition devoted to African art at the Pierre Arnaud Foundation, Homme Blanc/Homme Noir, Impressions d’Afrique (White Man/Black Man, Impressions of Africa), on view until October 25, 2015, examines several centuries of exchange and misunderstanding through a selection of works created between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries by both African and European artists. The visions of Westerners such as Géricault, Vallotton, and even Man Ray are juxtaposed with those of anonymous Igbo, Baule, or Kongo sculptors. The works displayed are from public collections (the Musée du Louvre and the Musée Royal d’Afrique Central in Tervuren), as well as from private ones, most notably that of Alain Weill.

For an in-depth look at the exhibition, visit the Fondation Pierre Arnaud website.

Devils and Gods

Les diables et les dieux (Devils and Gods), currently on view at Château de Tanlay until September 20, creates a dialogue between contemporary art and traditional works from non-Western cultures. Without the imposition of any cultural hierarchy, the works of Bengt Lindström, Barthélémy Toguo, Coco Fronsac, and Cyprien Tokoudagba are installed side by side with some fifty pieces from traditional cultures of Africa, Oceania, and the Himalayas to form a compelling aesthetic conversation.

Visit the official Château de Tanlay website.

Sotheby's Preview Exhibition

Planned to coincide with the 2015 edition of Parcours des Mondes, Sotheby’s will present highlights of their upcoming December 2 tribal art auction in a preview exhibition at Galerie Charpentier on September 8–12. Some remarkable pieces from Cameroon and Oceania from the well-known René and Odette Delenne Collection will be among these treasures, as will a group of African works from the Frum Collection (Oceanic objects from which were sold by Sotheby’s with resounding success in September 2014). An Ndassa (Gabon) reliquary guardian figure collected before 1930 and which is from the same collection as the beautiful Kota Shamaye sold at the winter 2012 sale will also be on view.

Images courtesy of Sotheby's

Fowler in Focus: The Art of Hair in Africa

The Fowler Museum at the University of California Los Angeles has opened a new exhibition presenting an array of finely sculpted combs and hairpins from Africa and its diasporas, along with the film Me Broni Ba/My White Baby by Ghanaian-American filmmaker Akosua Adoma Owusu. It explores the notions of ideal beauty and social status associated with hair among many African cultures. The juxtaposition of traditional hairpins and combs made from rare materials with an avant-garde contemporary film raises questions about constructions of identity in Africa from the colonial period to today.

View the official exhibition website.

Comb  -  Probably Djuka, Surinam  -  20th century

Comb  -  Asante, Ghana  -  ca 1900

Comb  -  Chokwe, D.R. Congo

Images courtesy of the Fowler Museum, UCLA

Arts du Nigeria révisites

Without aspiring to exhaustively detail the cultural production of Nigeria across its 2000-year history, the collection at the Musée Barbier-Mueller is very rich in several respects. Faithful to chronological continuity, it provides a sample of the production of the major cultural centers of Nigeria, shedding light on archaeological pieces from Nok, Katsina, and Sokoto, works from Ife and the kingdom of Benin, and Yoruba, Ijo, and Igbo objects, as well as items from the Cross River and the Benue Valley. By virtue of their rarity, certain pieces in the collection constitute “monuments” of African art. Others, by their emblematic force, are among its great “classics.” Arts du Nigeria révisites, on view through January 17, 2016, sets out to present these remarkable objects, highlighting their aesthetic qualities while explaining, by means of the exhibition's accompanying catalogue, the ethnographic context of their production and use.

To find out more, visit the official exhibition website.

Worship fan  -  Yoruba

Head depicting a woman  -  Ife

Helmet mask  -  Igbo

Head crest  -  Afo

Images courtesy of the Musée Barbier-Mueller

Royals and Regalia: Inside the Palaces of Nigeria's Monarchs

Until August 9, the New Jersey's Newark Museum presents Royals & Regalia: Inside the Palaces of Nigeria’s Monarchs, a showcase of forty visually stunning portraits from a new series by acclaimed Nigerian photographer George Osodi. Exhibited for the first time in the US, these vibrant color photographs feature the regional rulers of modern-day monarchies throughout the country. They provide audiences with a rare and intimate look inside Nigeria’s palaces and throne rooms, capturing the personalities of the rulers, the splendor of their dress, and the details of their settings. The near life-size photographs will be shown to dramatic effect along with select examples of prestige dress and regalia from the internationally renowned collections of the Newark Museum.

For more information, visit the exhibition's official website.

Images and info courtesy of the Newark Museum

Art Gèlèdè, miroir d'une société

The Musée Africain of Lyon is currently showing an exhibition showcasing the art of the Gelede tradition. Devoted to the honor of women, Gelede are the most important spectacles in the Yoruba-Nagos culture, mainly located in eastern Benin, southwestern Nigeria and eastern Togo. The Gelede tradition was born in Benin in the late eighteenth century, and is still very much alive today among the Yoruba, Nago and Fon cultures. The exhibition features thirty masks and objects from the Jean-Yves Augel collection.

For more information, visit the official website.

Image courtesy of the Musée Africain de Lyon

Giant Masks from the Congo at the Belvue Museum

On view until September 2 at the BELvue Museum in Brussels is Giant Masks from the Congo – A Belgian Jesuit ethnographic heritage, a collaborative exhibition courtesy of the Royal Museum of Central Africa, the Belgian Society of Jesus, BELvue Museum, and the King Baudouin Foundation. The installation will display a series of “giant” Yaka and Suku masks used during initiation rituals. Objects from the Heverlee missionary collections are complemented by masks and statues from the collections of Tervuren. 

For more information, visit the exhibition's official website.

Images courtesy of the BELvue Museum

Kuba Textiles: Geometry in Form, Space, and Time

Kuba Textiles: Geometry in Form, Space, and Time, at the Neuberger Museum of Art from March 1–June 28, 2015, is the first exhibition to bring together works from two of the earliest collections of Kuba textiles: the Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium, founded by Leopold II in 1897; and the Sheppard Collection at Hampton University in Virginia, gathered between 1890 and 1910 by the American Presbyterian Congo missionary William Henry Sheppard, who in 1892 was the first Westerner to be received by a Kuba king. Additional important loans to the exhibition come from the Brooklyn Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and three private collections. In total, the exhibition features eighty-two Kuba artworks (forty-one textiles and forty-one objects), most being publicly exhibited for the first time.

Visit the exhibition's official website.

Woman's overskirt  -  Kuba, D.R. Congo  -  Late 19th to early 20th century

Image courtesy of the Neuberger Museum of Art

Wurtzburger African Art Gallery at the Baltimore Museum of Art

The core of the African art collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art is a gift of 125 objects from the collection of Janet and Alan Wurtzburger that came to the museum in 1954. Now featuring more than 2,100 objects that span from ancient Egypt to contemporary Zimbabwe, the collection includes works from more than 200 African cultures in a full range of media. The gallery for the BMA’s African art collection has been expanded to more than three times its former size and has been relocated to the center of the museum’s first floor. This new Alan and Janet Wurtzburger African Art Gallery opened to the public on April 26, 2015. More than 100 objects, many large scale, address the impact of region, history, and culture on African art traditions. Several of these objects, such as the majestic Baga d’mba yoke from Guinea, are considered to be among the best of their kind.

Visit the Baltimore Museum of Art's website.

Shoulder headdress, d'mba  -  Baga, Guinea  -  Late 19th to early 20th century

Image courtesy of the Baltimore Museum of Art

AOA New York Art Fair 2015

Now in its fifth year, the AOA NY art fair will be held at Tambaran Gallery from May 14–17, 2015. Somewhat reduced in size from previous years, this event remains a worthy destination, the more so since besides its dealer roster—which this year includes Galerie Flak from Paris and Mark Eglinton and James Trotta-Bono from New York, among others—it is cross-pollinating with contemporary art in the hope of attracting more than the usual tribal art audience. These contemporary works have been selected because of their harmonious affinity with the traditional arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.

Embodiments: Masterworks of African Figurative Sculpture

Featuring more than 120 figurative sculptures from sub-Saharan Africa, this exhibition includes both iconic and unusual objects, encompassing a diverse range of styles and spanning centuries, geographies, and cultures. All of the works exemplify the enduring interest in the human form as an artistic subject.

Visit the exhibition's official website.

Byeri figure  -  Fang, Gabon

Efomba figure  -  Nkundu, D.R. Congo 

Images courtesy of the de Young Museum

Senufo: Art and Identity in West Africa

Through a stunning selection of objects in diverse styles and mediums, Senufo: Art and Identity in West Africa introduces visitors to the Poro and Sandogo societies, the primary settings for the production and use of works of art in the Senufo-speaking region of northern Côte d’Ivoire. Drawing on recent research in Mali and Burkina Faso, the exhibition also includes sculptures not usually attributed to Senufo-speaking artists or patrons, thus shattering the boundaries of the corpus typically identified as Senufo. Featuring nearly 160 loans from museums and private collections in Europe, Canada, and the United States, the exhibition now on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art examines the shifting meanings of the term 'Senufo' since the late nineteenth century and investigates assumptions underlying the labeling of art as Senufo. 

View the exhibition's official website.

TEFAF 2015

This year's edition of TEFAF will host seven galleries specializing in tribal art. The newest addition is Galerie Bacquart from Paris, which has been selected for the TEFAF Showcase. Jean-Baptiste Bacquart will offer a number of important African sculptures with prestigious provenances. Lucas Ratton will return this year as a full exhibitor with a strong selection of works, the cornerstone of which will be a Byeri Fang figure. Didier Claes will exhibit a group of African masks from the collection of Dr. Alex Rafaeli. Anthony J. P. Meyer will show works primarily from Melanesia and Polynesia, including a fine Tongan apa’apai club. Other long-time participants that visitors will have the pleasure of seeing again will include the Bernard de Grunne Gallery from Brussels with African art, the Entwistle Gallery from London and Paris with African and Oceanic material, and Galerie 1492 from Paris, which will present Pre-Columbian art.

For more information on the event, visit the official TEFAF website.

San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts Show 2015

More than eighty of the world’s top tribal art specialists will once again showcase art, jewelry, antiques, and accessories from the most remote areas on the planet at the twenty-ninth annual San Francisco Tribal & Textile Arts Show, held February 6– 8, 2015, at Fort Mason Center’s Festival Pavilion. Ranging from galleries that have been doing business for generations to dealers who launched their careers collecting in the field, the artwork offered here is always stimulating and represents some of the best to be found in North America. The gala opening reception on the evening of February 5 benefits the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and is a not-to-be-missed event that allows first access to the wide-ranging treasures that the show presents.

For more information about the event, visit the official website.

BRAFA 2015

BRAFA (Brussels Antiques & Fine Art Fair), Belgium’s foremost art, antiques, and antiquities show, will celebrate its sixtieth anniversary from January 24 until February 1 in its longstanding Tour and Taxis location. Eight dealers will represent tribal art at the event: Didier Claes, Pierre Dartevelle, Bernard Dulon, Yann Ferrandin, Jacques Germain, Sarah de Monbrison, Judith Schoffel and Christophe de Fabry, and Serge Schoffel. 

For more information on the event, visit the official website.

Ce Tant Curieux Musée du Monde

The extended closure of Tervuren’s Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale (MRAC) for renovation has motivated its staff to find new ways of presenting its various collections to the public. One of the most recent of these is a fascinating show at the Musée des Arts Contemporains in Hornu, Belgium, titled Ce Tant Curieux Musée du Monde (That Most Curious World Museum), which is a reflection on the nature and importance of the MRAC’s encyclopedic collections. Curator Laurent Busine has put together a group of varied African artifacts from the old museum (small drums, receptacles, masks, etc.) along with related European objects (plaster molds of Africans’ faces) and natural history specimens such as insects, giant termite mounds, and elephant hides. This assemblage is displayed alongside twentieth-century photographs, some anonymous and others by Dutch artist Rineke Dijkstra.

Visit the MAC website.

Ethiopian Crosses at Jacaranda Tribal

Jacaranda Tribal has just revealed a trio of beautiful Ethiopian crosses dating from the medieval period to around the beginning of the nineteenth century. These gorgeous ceremonial works represent some of eastern Africa's most iconic artistic heritage and one of the oldest Christian traditions in the world. Ethiopia was probably the second country after Armenia to embrace the Christian faith, and there is evidence that Christianity thrived in the country even in the first century AD. For most of Ethiopia's subsequent history, Orthodox Christianity has remained the state religion. Ethiopian crosses are coveted by collectors of medieval art, religious art and tribal art for their stunning beauty and fabulous variety of form.

For more details on these objects and many more, visit www.jacarandatribal.com

Processional cross  -  14th–15th century

Hand cross  -  1780–1830

Hand cross  -  Ca. 1700

www.jacarandatribal.com

Thema Sablon 4

Thema Sablon began its fourth installment in the Sablon arts district of Brussels yesterday and will continue through November 29. This exciting tribal art event comprises some twenty-five thematic exhibitions by a host of distinguished dealers, such as Didier Claes, Kevin Conru, Jo de Buck, Patrick Mestdagh, Serge Schoffel, and many more.

For more information, visit Thema's official Facebook page.

Madagascar, la Civilisation du Zébu

As part of its Sculptures et Objets du Bout du Monde (Sculptures and Objects from the Ends of the Earth) exhibition series, the Cultural Service of the town of Orvault, in collaboration with Jean-Yves Coué, will present Madagascar, la Civilisation du Zébu from October 31–December 7. This exhibition, which will be held at the Château de la Gobinière, will be an homage to the creative talents of the artists of the "Red Island," or Madagascar. The many different kinds of works on display will share a common thread, that being a direct or indirect reference to the zébu, or omby. A vital symbol in the local culture, this humpbacked bovine is not only a source of food but also a symbol of prosperity, which makes it the focus of any number of ceremonial contexts.

Visit the exhibition's official website.