Montague Contemporary is thrilled to present a new group exhibition featuring four artists who are breakingnew ground in abstraction across the African continent. New works from Bouvy Enkobo (DRC), Marc Standing(Zimbabwe), Muna Malik (Yemen), and Thameur Mejri (Tunisia) will be presented. The exhibition entitled“African Abstraction" will open on Thursday, March 17 and remain on view through Saturday, April 23.
The exhibition “African Abstraction” will feature new artworks from a selection of some of the most excitingartists challenging the identity of African art.
Bouvy Enkobo's large scale abstract works forge a new path for abstraction in Kinshasa: instead of featuringkey figures in his works, the subject or subjects are often swept up into the landscape of each city scene - withonly suggestive tokens of their existence - further expressing the power of the city and the environment to shapeand overpower our independence, making us simply patches in the tapestry as opposed to central heroes.
Marc Standing's ethereal works are manifested through his personal experiences, visual expressions of hispersonal search for identity as well as the complexities felt by mass consciousness. Heavily influenced by boththe natural world and his lived societal experiences, his works have the feeling of both mental nodes of thoughtas well as organic cellular systems in constant flux.
Muna Malik's practice explores the often complex relationships between individuals and communities. The twocore interrelated strands to her practice are using abstraction to explore the variations and nuances of identity,and the second is creating platforms for community connection through interactive installations, sculpture, andphotography.
Thameur Mejri's canvases attempt to deconstruct the standard modes and representations of power and controlput in place by the political, economic, cultural and religious systems in Tunisia and by extension, in NorthAfrica. Both chaotic and pre-meditated, the canvases allow the viewer to regain agency over the symbolicgestures of authoritarian and capitalistic overtures.
