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Page 1: Transvangardenow Exhibition Catalogue - October Gallery London January 2012

NOW Romuald Hazoume, Dan-Ayido-Houedo, Rainbow Serpent, 2007. Plastic a n d m e t a l , h e i g h t 4 0 0 c m . Photo © artist

Page 2: Transvangardenow Exhibition Catalogue - October Gallery London January 2012

PI October Gallery opened in 1979 to exhibit the Transvangarde- the trans-cultural avant-garde - and to promote artists developing new creative strategies around the world. October Gallery provides a nexus for cultural exchange in the heart of London and a platform for the emergence of some of the most exciting artists of our time.

El Anatsui, t o d a y r e g a r d e d as o n e of the most original a n d influential sculptors of his generat ion , has w o r k e d with O c t o b e r Gallery since 1993. He t ransformed the Palazzo Fortuny dur ing the Venice Biennale 2007, by w r a p p i n g its f a c a d e in a vast meta l c loth w o v e n f rom tens of thousands

of shimmering bot t le tops. In the World, but Don't Know the World? first exhib i ted at the 3rd M o s c o w Biennale, 2009, is o n e of his largest a n d

most magn i f icent pieces to d a t e .

El Anatsui, In the World, but Don't Know the World?, 2009. A lumin ium a n d c o p p e r wi re, 5.6 x 10 metres. Photo: J o n a t h a n Greet

Page 3: Transvangardenow Exhibition Catalogue - October Gallery London January 2012

Rachid KoraTchi imbues a w i d e range of m e d i a - m e t a l ceramics , textile a n d p a p e r - wi th his fascinat ion for the p o w e r of the w o r d a n d his dist inctive explorations of the universe of signs. His work makes re ference to classical A rab ic thinkers such as Rumi a n d Ibn El-Arabi, recast ing their insights in his un ique a n d character i s t ic id iom. His work was i nc luded in the 47th a n d 49th Venice Biennale a n d the British Museum internat ional tour ing exhibit ion Word Into Art.

Rachid KoraYchi Les Sept Porfes du Ciel, 1993. Steel, 117 x 60 x 14cm.

Nnenna Okore, Agbogho, 2009. C lay a n d hessian, 122 x 213 x 15 c m

Page 4: Transvangardenow Exhibition Catalogue - October Gallery London January 2012

Kenji Yoshida, La Vie, 2008. M e t a l a n d oil o n c a n v a s , 130 x 324 c m

Kenji Yoshida 's work, in single a n d mul t i -panel led composit ions, unites oil a n d precious metals on canvas to suggest a startling a n d ethereal b e a u t y . Drawing u p o n Japanese traditions of ref ined creativity, his work evokes a sense of p r o f o u n d harmony. Yoshida was the first living artist ever to b e g iven a solo show at the British Museum, in 1993.

Laila Shawa is a Palestinian artist whose work, b a s e d on a h e i g h t e n e d sense of realism, targets injustice a n d persecut ion. The initial impetus for works of ten starts with Shawa's o w n photographs of current events. These are later t ransformed, using silkscreen printing techniques , into arresting images that rivet the viewer's a t tent ion .

M e n t o r e d by the r e n o w n e d sculptor El Anatsui, Nnenna Okore 's art is inspired by the use of f o u n d objects , a n d by close at tent ion to natural textures a n d forms. Using basic materials such as c lay, newspaper, w a x a n d rope, her tact i le a n d highly e v o c a t i v e sculptures take on d r a m a t i c a n d u n a n t i c i p a t e d forms.

Page 5: Transvangardenow Exhibition Catalogue - October Gallery London January 2012

Owusu-Ankomah, Heroic Saint, Movement No. 44, 2008. Acry l ic o n c a n v a s , 190 x 250 c m

Owusu-Ankomah ' s large b o l d canvases d r a p e h u m a n figures mov ing th rough s p a c e in t ransparent tissues of symbol ic c loth ing. Whether t radit ional Adinkra signs, f rom his nat ive G h a n a , Chinese characters or glyphs sprouting from his o w n fertile imag inat ion , these un ique elements c o a l e s c e to form a c a p t i v a t i n g unity. He has most recent ly d e v e l o p e d a line of c loth ing for the Red C a m p a i g n wi th Giorgio Armani .

Chinese artist Huang Xu's ethereal C-prints explore the fragi le nature of the m o d e r n wor ld . These three-dimens ional scans of d i scarded plastic bags b e c o m e power fu l arguments for a 21 st century aesthet ic of the sublime, reveal ing unsuspected b e a u t y in a f reeze-f rame shot of d e c a y , a n d the disquieting yet strangely alluring complexit ies of a t h r o w a w a y society.

O n e of Afr ica's lead ing c o n t e m p o r a r y artists, Romuald Hazoun w o n the prestigious Arnold Bode-Prize at d o c u m e n t a 12, in 2007, with his t h o u g h t -provok ing installation Dream. The a c c l a i m e d Rainbow Serpent, m a d e f rom d i scarded petrol canisters, was special ly commiss ioned by the Victor ia a n d Albert Museum. Whether c reat ing tongue- in -cheek portraits or conf ront ing the l e g a c y of the slave t r a d e , his work d o c u m e n t s the diversity of Af r ican life t o d a y .

Page 6: Transvangardenow Exhibition Catalogue - October Gallery London January 2012

REPRESENTED ARTISTS

El Anatsui William S Burroughs

Ira Cohen Fiona Foley

Ablade Glover Tapfuma Gutsa

Brion Gysin Romuald Hazoume Samantha Hobson

Emmanuel Taiwo Jegede Rachid Koraichi

Elisabeth Lalouschek Hassan Massoudy

Rosella Namok Nnenna Okore

Owusu-Ankomah Gerard Quenum

Tajammul Twins Seven Seven

Laila Shawa Julien Sinzogan

Wijdan Gerald Wilde

Aubrey Williams Huang Xu

Kenji Yoshida Xu Zhongmin Sandile Zulu

Huang Xu, Fragment No.9, 2007.


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