April 25, 2017 |
There are many galleries in the world I am, to put it lightly, desperate to visit. Yes, we are blessed in London, but the Uffizi, the Hermitage and the Guggenheim in Bilbao are all on my list – works of arts that happen to house works of art within them. And, more recently, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the Gehry-designed gallery in Paris, which, from what I’ve heard from my esteemed colleagues, needs to be visited to be believed. And, as of this week, even more of an incentive – the opening of a new exhibition, Art/Afrique, le nouvel atelier, which, as the title (with the help of Google Translate) suggests, is a new studio show dedicated to African Art. The works on show will be assembled from every corner of the African continent, and, considering the size of said continent, the show is, understandably, split into three sections. The first, titled “The Insiders”, offers a selection of works from renowned collector Jean Pigozzi’s personal treasure trove of contemporary African work. The second, “Being There”, will focus specifically on work from South Africa, which, or so I’m told, is one of the most dynamic centres of African art today. Bringing the two together are works from Fondation Louis Vuitton, which look beyond Africa to include artists working outside their home countries. Call it all bases covered. Now, who’s going to pay for my Eurostar?
‘Art/Afrique, le nouvel atelier’ will be on at Foundation Louis Vuitton from April 26th to August 28th 2017
Chéri Samba, J’aime la couleur, 2003 © Chéri Samba. Photo: Claude Germain
