LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery will be showcasing the work of four artists at the upcoming New York edition of the 1-54 African contemporary art fair from May 18-21, 2023. The fair, the first and only of its kind, takes place three times a year in London, New York and Marrakech, with a pop-up fair in Paris. The name of the fair, 1-54, represents the fifty-four countries that make up the African continent. The four artists featured are Professor Ablade Glover, Alun Be, Ange Dakouo and Pedro Pires.
Professor Ablade Glover is one of the leading masters of contemporary painting in Ghana and is an iconic figure in the West African art scene. Ablade Glover‘s oil paintings have been widely exhibited and are included in prestigious private and public collections. Glover’s favorite themes are the women and mothers of Africa, market scenes that connect villages and cities, crowds and landscapes. He works his way into painting with fiery colors using a palette knife to depict vibrant scenes of Ghanaian life.
Alun Be, a Senegalese photographer, strives to represent African modernity through captivating and high-contrast images. Born in Dakar, his art form is constantly evolving through personal projects focused on the human condition in public spaces. His work has been exhibited around the world, including the Milan World’s Fair, the Dakar Biennale, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, and the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. Alun Be’s work is included in prestigious collections around the world, including those of the United Nations and Société Générale Bank.
Ange Dakouo is known for his colorful “gris-gris” hangings, inspired by the costumes of traditional Dozo hunters. The concept of his work is based on these sacred amulets reproduced and linked to infinity. Woven together, the gris-gris protect each other like a society regulated by the harmony between its members. His hangings can be mistaken for textiles, but up close, they reveal the delicacy of the work on paper and the rigor of a very mature production.
Finally, Pedro Pires, an artist from Cape Verde, creates works that question the cultural legacy of colonialism and the consequences of globalization. His works have been presented in numerous international exhibitions, notably in Portugal, Germany and the United States. His artistic practice is both conceptual and experimental, using a variety of media from sculpture to video.
LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery has chosen to present four talented artists who each have their own artistic style and approach to representing contemporary African art. LouiSimone Guirandou‘s participation in this international fair is an opportunity for these artists to showcase their work beyond Africa and its diaspora. Their presence at the 1-54 fair is also a recognition of the importance of African contemporary art on the international art scene.