A Billion, Brilliant Points of Unity: Curated by Maty Sall

  • Fridman Gallery is honored to announce A Billion, Brilliant Points of Unity, a group exhibition curated by Maty Sall.  A Billion, Brilliant Points of Unity features works by  Hilary Balu, Kokou Ferdinand Makouvia,  Laurena Fineus, Ambrose Rhapsody Murray, Terrence Musekiwa, Adjani Okpu-Egbe, Rakajoo, Sahana Ramakrishnan, Yelaine Rodriguez, David Smalling, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Malaika Temba, Maya Ines Touam, and Saya Woolfalk.

     

    The belief that different cultures are not separate but rather inherently interconnected, sharing past and present influences, is generally known as polyculturalism. And, in as much as it is a belief, it is also an observation of perpetual flux that points us towards an obvious truth: human beings are engaged in an eternal process of cultural exchange. Our history is one of mutual influence, a constant migration and exchange of people, ideas, and objects. 

     

    The current popular understanding of how cultures interact has morphed into a simplified notion of cultural exchange as a system of top-down oppression that frames non-Western people and their art as "source material." This both denies non-Western people the dignity of being influential and casts the Western world into the role of "observer" while framing non-Westerners as, simply, the "observed." Moreover, it could not be further from the historical truth: a Hellenistic influence on Indian art and architecture is documented from the 4th century BC onwards. It was just as 17th century Chinese potters began to emulate Ottoman and Safavid ceramic designs that 17th century Europe developed a fascination with Chinoiserie. The distinct stylistic qualities of Byzantine art reveal centuries’ of influence from North and East Africa on the Eastern Mediterranean. And, famously, when seeking to reinvent the human figure Cubism looked straight towards African art. 

     

    Nearly a quarter of the way through the twenty-first century, this cross-pollination has only intensified. In all instances, the works featured in A Billion, Brilliant Points of Unity push back against a deterministic vision of human identity centered on division and against fatalistic notions of difference. As the contemporary world reorients itself around new forms of material production, new channels of trade, and increasingly rapid means of communication, for those who wish to break new ground, abundant sources of inspiration come from all directions. 

     

    As information travels faster and faster, polyculturalism hints at what the future holds—we are not moving towards a single, homogenous culture, but towards a billion, brilliant points of unity. We are accelerating towards immaculate multiplicity brimming with potential and, time and time again, it is artists who find themselves on the vanguard of this eternal cultural exchange.

     

    [Text by Grace Nkem. Edited by Maty Sall.]

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  • In Les Yeux Sont Inutiles, Quand l'Esprit est Aveugles, Hilary Balu explores the pervasive visual, economic, spiritual and emotional influence...

    Hilary Balu

    Les Yeux Sont Inutiles Quand l'Esprit est Aveugle, 2024

    Acrylic and Oil on Canvas, 67 x 67  in.

    In Les Yeux Sont Inutiles, Quand l'Esprit est Aveugles, Hilary Balu explores the pervasive visual, economic, spiritual and emotional influence that Europe has exerted on his country for centuries. In this painting, the artist traces and narrates a history whose reverberations continue to be felt centuries later, especially evident in the patterns of migration. In the painting's background, blue painted tiles known as Azulejos, which are traditional in the Iberian Peninsula, are depicted falling apart and being overtaken by plants native to the Kongo region. These plants were imported by the Portuguese to Brazil during the slave trades. Azulejos, remnants of Portugal's domination in the region, depict historical scenes of the Kongo from a Portuguese viewpoint and can still be found in Catholic churches and cemeteries in that region.
  • Maya Ines Touam, Agodjié & Sa Reine, 2022, Fine Art paper print, wood frame and anti-reflection glass, 45.67 x 35.43 in. (closed) | 45.67 x 70.87 in. (opened)
  • Reminiscing the shape of the Ghent Altarpiece (1432) by Hubert and Jan van Eyck and in the style of golden age Dutch still-lifes, Agoodjié & Sa Reine (Agojie and her Queen) by Maya Ines Touam pays homage to Tassi-Hangbé, the regent of the Kingdom of Dahomey in the early 18th century, who formed an army of women warriors.
  • Pascale Marine Thayou's Poupées (or dolls), small figurative sculptures fashioned from crystal and mixed materials. These are wonderfully hybrid sculptures,...

    Pascale Marthine Tayou

    Poupée Pascale #20, 2014

    Crystal and mixed media, 23.23 x 9.84 x 11.42 in.

    Pascale Marine Thayou's Poupées (or dolls), small figurative sculptures fashioned from crystal and mixed materials. These are wonderfully hybrid sculptures, fusing European and African elements. Crystal connects with the long history of glassmaking (as well as issues of class) in Europe, while the mixed materials and the look of these sculptures connect with different kinds of African sculptures.
  • Jamaican-born American painter David Smalling is inspired by Dutch old masters, whose epic style of painting yields itself perfectly to...

    David Smalling, Bad Samaritan, 2024, Oil and brass on wood panel, 48 x 36 in.

     
    Jamaican-born American painter David Smalling is inspired by Dutch old masters, whose epic style of painting yields itself perfectly to his autobiographical narrative practice, allowing him to explore insecurities and personal relationships.
  • In Crawling back to the skies, Laurena Fineus reinvented the Haitian-Dominican border. Using subtle hues of green and brown, the...

    Laurena Fineus, Crawling back to the skies, 2024, Oil and ink on canvas, 60 x 84 in.

    In Crawling back to the skies, Laurena Fineus reinvented the Haitian-Dominican border. Using subtle hues of green and brown, the painting captures a liminal landscape. Layers of ink and oil paint create a textured surface that mimics the rugged terrain of mountains and dense forests. Intricate linework intertwines across the canvas, resembling rhizomatic structures, and symbolizing the 2 countries' interwoven identities and journeys.
  • Terrence Musekiwa, Muridzi wembariro, 2023, Springstone, dried grass, copper, aluminum and plastic, 24 x 30 x 10 in.
  • Terrence Musekiwa's art is profoundly informed by syncretism-a fusion of preservation and adaptation that is central to oral traditions. His sculptures serve as a vivid manifestation of this cultural codification, deftly merging contemporary techniques, philosophies, and materials with the profound wisdom of Zimbabwean stone-carving techniques inherited from his ancestors.
  • In Flight of the Black Bird, Sahana Ramakrishnan explores the concept of parallel universes existing simultaneously, drawing inspiration from the...
    Sahana Ramakrishnan, Flight of the Blackbird, 2024, Oil on canvas 50 x 60 in.
    In Flight of the Black Bird, Sahana Ramakrishnan explores the concept of parallel universes existing simultaneously, drawing inspiration from the Hindu myth of Krishna, the Tsimshian raven legend from the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, and American physicist Michio Kaku's string theory. In Hindu mythology, Krishna nurtures the deity Brahma within her navel, and with every blink of Brahma, a new universe is born. The Tsimshian raven myth tells of a raven who, due to his insatiable hunger and the chaos he causes, is sent away by his father, creating a new universe in the process. Michio Kaku's string theory posits that everything is composed of minuscule strings, suggesting that a deeper understanding of this theory could enable humanity to traverse between universes and dimensions, potentially making time travel a reality.
  • Ambrose Rhapsody Murray reclaims the imagery of African women who were forcibly photographed by white colonial men in the 19th century into powerful symbols of resilience and identity. By using the medium of textiles-often considered a 'soft' and domestic art form-she subverts traditional gender roles and elevates the everyday labor associated with fabric to the realm of high art.
  • Malaika Temba's composition is reminiscent of traditional african masquerade costumes, specifically the red pangolin costumes from the Edo Benin Kingdom...
    Malaika Temba, Lady in Red, 2024, Jacquard woven fabric, wool and cotton yarn, 68 x 55 in.
    Malaika Temba's composition is reminiscent of traditional african masquerade costumes, specifically the red pangolin costumes from the Edo Benin Kingdom in Nigeria. By alluding to those iconic attires through the textile's bold red coloration and intricate texture, Temba presents the modern with the ancestral, highlighting the continuity and evolution of cultural identity across time and space.
  • Rakajoo, a Franco-Senegalese painter who reinvents inner city Paris and its inhabitants by bending and breaking pictorial space, looks to...
    Rakajoo, Oiseau en Cage (Bird in Cage), 2024
    Acrylic and oil on wood panel, 20 x 17 in. (2 panels: 20 x 9.3 in. & 7.7 x 6.1 in.)
    Rakajoo, a Franco-Senegalese painter who reinvents inner city Paris and its inhabitants by bending and breaking pictorial space, looks to manga and Japanese anime -themselves Japan's response to the post-war influx of American cartoons and comics- as he narrates a childhood spent in the 18th arrondissement of Paris in the 90s.
  • Rakajoo, a Franco-Senegalese painter who reinvents inner city Paris and its inhabitants by bending and breaking pictorial space, looks to manga and Japanese anime -themselves Japan's response to the post-war influx of American cartoons and comics- as he narrates a childhood spent in the 18th arrondissement of Paris in the 90s.
  • Saya Woolfalk creates works of art that incorporate the African American, European American, and Japanese influences of her family background....
    Saya Woolfalk
    The Four Virtues: Prudence, 2017
    Archival inkjet prints on Hahnemüle German Etching Paper, 40 x 30 in.
    Saya Woolfalk creates works of art that incorporate the African American, European American, and Japanese influences of her family background. Also alluding to science fiction, feminist theory, mythology, anthropology, archaeology, Eastern religion, and fashion, she re-imagines autopian, empathic world through painting, printmaking, sculpture, video, performance, multimedia installations, and public artworks.
  • In Kokou Makouvia's creative universe, elements of reality merge with sentient beings; objects transcend into subjects or extensions of the...
    In Kokou Makouvia's creative universe, elements of reality merge with sentient beings; objects transcend into subjects or extensions of the human body, resonating harmoniously with spiritualized entities. His drawing Temporary Exposure explores the interaction between space and objects, projecting lines and shapes derived from the dynamic movements of the trance-induced body within that environment. The drawings, layered as mirror images of places, depict a timeless narrative, capturing the vital energy of movement that evokes resonance within individuals."
  • Often utilizing unconventional materials like door panels, boards, wood, and incorporating found objects sourced from urban environments such as books,...
    Adjani Okpu-Egbe
    Foundational Lineages, 2024
    Multimedia found and customised objects, mixed media on 450gsm Waterford paper mounted on found wooden frame, 24 x 55 in.
    Often utilizing unconventional materials like door panels, boards, wood, and incorporating found objects sourced from urban environments such as books, mouse traps, bubble wrap, and artificial plants, Adjani Okpu-Egbe transforms salvaged materials into evocative metaphors.
  • Yelaine Rodriguez's performance and photography practice is situated within the symbolic language of African diasporic (or Afro-Syncretic) religions like Santeria,...
    Yelaine Rodriguez
    Well-Being from Babalú-Ayé y La Negra del Hospital, 2022
    Digitally printed analog photograph on fabric with cowrie shells
    59 x 40 in.
    Yelaine Rodriguez's performance and photography practice is situated within the symbolic language of African diasporic (or Afro-Syncretic) religions like Santeria, Las 21 Divisiones and Vodou. By mining the depths of these esoteric spiritual practices, she deftly makes connections between the visual language of Afro-Caribbean cultures with that of traditional African religions, such as Yoruba. Rodriguez channels Caribbean spirituality and its polycultural origins to produce emotionally resonant images. Her practice is a careful, meditative exploration on African, Indigenous American, and Catholic influences in the Americas.
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  • About the Curator

  • Maty Sall is a French-Senegalese, Paris-born, New York City based art dealer and curator. Her early exposure to a confluence...

    Maty Sall is a French-Senegalese, Paris-born, New York City based art dealer and curator. Her early exposure to a confluence of aesthetic and cultural discourses have shaped the unique visual language and the curatorial sensibility that guides her practice. Her regular visits to museums, both at home and abroad, were foundational influences- in particular Ousmane Sow's 1998 exhibition at the Pont des Arts and Marina Abramović's 2010 MoMA retrospective.

    Informed by her international art market acumen, and with her astute sensitivity for beauty, Sall aims to affirm the global impact and significance of contemporary African art. Through her thought-provoking curatorial practice, she challenges the shallow and habitually negative discourse surrounding the Continent. By showcasing the multiplicity and depth of contemporary work from both established and emerging African artists, she shines a light on limitless cultural diversity and complexity. Her work demonstrates that the global art conversation is not complete without a chorus of voices from Africa.

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