Numerous initiatives are emerging to highlight the relevance, depth and creativity of contemporary African art. Between art fairs, traveling exhibitions and competitions that showcase the players on this art scene, the ideal ecosystem is being built to energize the African art scene and make it a major breeding ground for contemporary creation worldwide. As part of this drive to support promising and established non-Western visual artists, particularly from Africa and the diaspora, the OpenArtExchange gallery is launching a new series of exhibitions exploring the richness of contemporary African art. This enriching artistic journey begins in Benin with the exhibition entitled “Gléhoué – Home of the Earth”. Presented until August 3 at the Art Space Netherlands, it offers Dutch audiences an immersive experience of contemporary Beninese art.
This innovative OpenArtExchange initiative stems from the idea that “contemporary African art doesn’t exist”. It aims to demonstrate the burlesque of this thinking by revealing the vast diversity of contemporary art from the dark continent, through encounters with artists from different regions of Africa. The art center’s first destination is southern Benin, the ancestral home of the traditional African religion Vodoun, as well as of other beliefs rich in spiritual traditions dating back to ancient times.
This part of the country is known for its rich historical past, full of powerful kingdoms, fierce wars and many stories of heroic actors, notably the Amazons, of unshakeable courage and loyalty. This glorious past of the region has also known its most poignant moments of tragedy and suffering, especially as the nerve center of the transatlantic slave trade. In this way, the land of Benin has witnessed the heights and depths of humanity. The “Gléhoué – Home of the Earth” exhibition pays tribute to this valiant region, highlighting four artists who interpret through their art this historical and religious duality deeply rooted in Benin: Elise Takoudagba, Marcel Kpoho, Rafiy Okefolahan and Tchif Tchiakpe.
Elise Takoudagba is a self-taught painter and sculptor, born in Abomey in 1978 into an artistically committed family; her father is a painter and researcher of Vodoun statues, while her mother is a ceramic sculptor. Her immersion in an artistic environment naturally directed her towards art. Her integration into the local artistic community, enriched by her cultural background, forms the basis of her creative process. Elise Takoudagba presents a series of colorful ceramics at the exhibition, featuring vibrant sculptures in both small and large formats, made from local red clay and enhanced with car oil paint. Each of these works represents gods and spirits from the traditional Vodoun religion, carefully adorned with the appropriate attributes, symbols and colors, becoming veritable vectors of knowledge about unwritten spiritual traditions for future generations.
Marcel Kpoho, an emerging artist whose artistic style is as unusual as it is immersive, captivates the public with his sculptures made from recycled car tires. Often controversial, these works invite viewers to reflect on the need for recycling in African urban life. However, Marcel Kpoho also seeks to awaken a deeper consciousness, illustrating the dark and difficult side of humanity. Born in Porto-Novo in 1988, he integrates several spiritual traditions into his creations, from Fon culture to the Yoruba Ife religion, to build a dark universe populated by sculptures made from unusual materials. His works, whether installations or wall sculptures, are distinguished by their raw, original and intriguing character, arousing the public’s curiosity. Some of his masks reflect a contemporary interpretation of indigenous deities, while others serve as typical symbols enabling man to protect himself and elevate his soul, helping him to overcome his darker self through meditation.
Rafiy Okefolahan, born in 1979 in Porto-Novo, is a multidisciplinary artist who navigates between glass painting, photography, performance and sculpture. Although he has mastered several mediums, his main form of expression remains painting, which he considers the most effective means of conveying his art. His artistic approach focuses on the human, depicting the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Rafiy Okefolahan gives voice to the invisible, opposing the myth of violence, through his colorful neo-expressionist textures, created from a mixture of materials with acrylic. These works exude a powerful, almost tangible energy, creating a sense of urgency around the figures he depicts. The “Gléhoué – Home of the Earth” exhibition offers an opportunity to discover these figures obscured by heavy layers of abstraction, evoking influences from Basquiat and Bacon, while remaining distinct in their own style and expression, unique to Rafiy Okefolahan.
Tchif Tchiakpe, an internationally acclaimed artist born in Cotonou in 1973, is an icon of contemporary Beninese art. Renowned for his unique approach, which blends figurative and abstract art, he integrates Vodoun beliefs into his work, offering a reflection on spirituality while addressing universal themes. In the exhibition “Gléhoué – Home of the Earth”, Tchif Tchiakpe presents a characteristic style in which the duality of life is brought to the fore, whether in terms of personal reality or broader societal issues. His works mainly take the form of poetic portraits, often masked, which combine beauty and boldness in an aesthetic that is both simple and unsettling. Every line, every color, every square centimeter of his canvas seems to have been carefully thought out and measured, testifying to a high degree of technical mastery. These creations find their essence in evocative titles such as The King and The Visible, Mi Ange and Mi Ange1 , but also The Aces of God and The Aces of Hearts, inviting the viewer to plunge into reflections on identity, spirituality and humanity.
Thus, the “Gléhoué – Home of the Earth” exhibition highlights not only the richness of Benin’s artistic traditions, but also the way in which these contemporary artists reinterpret and redefine their cultural heritage through a variety of mediums and powerful messages.
