Affinities: African Art and Modern Expression (Part II)

Pace African and Oceanic Art presents Affinities: African Art & Modern Expressions, the last installment of our exhibition series which examines the visual relationships between Modern, Post-war, African and Oceanic Art. Affinities features masks and figures from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Togo and early lithographs by Jean Dubuffet (b. 1901 - d. 1985).

The tactile surfaces of sculptures such as the Losso Figure from Togo and the Mbembe Figure from Nigeria (illustrated above) add an extra dimension which draw the viewer in. The rough and bumpy expanse of these objects connect with Dubuffet's earliest lithographic series, Matière et Mémoire (Matter and Memory), 1944, as well as his 1963 lithograph L'enfle-chique I (The Inflated Snob). While we have no direct evidence that Dubuffet looked at African art, he championed art that was instinctive and without artifice, unmotivated by thoughts of recognition or display, something he would eventually call Art Brut.

In contrast to Dubuffet, the African carvers and artists had clear intention and design when creating their works. Although they had some freedom to interpret certain characteristics of utilitarian, spiritual or ancestral patterns, the final carving had to honor and communicate their intent effectively.