Transvangardenow Exhibition Catalogue - October Gallery London January 2012

1. R o m u a l d H a z o u m e , Dan-Ayido-Houedo, Rainbow Serpent,
NOW
2007. Plastic a n d m e t a l , h e i g h t 4 0 0 c m . P h o t o © artist

2. PI El Anatsui, t o d a y r e g a r d e d as o n e of t h e most original a n d influential
October Gallery opened in 1979 to exhibit the Transvangarde- the trans-cultural
sculptors of his g e n e r a t i o n , has w o r k e d with O c t o b e r Gallery since 1993.
avant-garde - and to promote artists developing new creative strategies around He t r a n s f o r m e d t h e Palazzo Fortuny during t h e V e n i c e Biennale 2007, by
the world. October Gallery provides a nexus for cultural exchange in the heart w r a p p i n g its f a c a d e in a vast m e t a l c l o t h w o v e n from tens of thousands
of shimmering b o t t l e tops. In the World, but Don't Know the World? first
of London and a platform for the emergence of some of the most exciting exhibited a t t h e 3rd M o s c o w Biennale, 2009, is o n e of his largest a n d
artists of our time. most m a g n i f i c e n t pieces t o d a t e .
El Anatsui, In the World, but Don't Know the World?, 2009.
A l u m i n i u m a n d c o p p e r wire, 5.6 x 10 metres. P h o t o : J o n a t h a n G r e e t

3. Rachid KoraTchi imbues a w i d e r a n g e
of m e d i a - m e t a l c e r a m i c s , textile
a n d p a p e r - w i t h his f a s c i n a t i o n for t h e
p o w e r of t h e w o r d a n d his distinctive
explorations of t h e universe of signs.
His w o r k makes r e f e r e n c e to classical
A r a b i c thinkers such as Rumi a n d
Ibn El-Arabi, recasting their insights in
his u n i q u e a n d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c i d i o m .
His w o r k was i n c l u d e d in t h e 47th
a n d 49th V e n i c e Biennale a n d t h e
British M u s e u m i n t e r n a t i o n a l touring
exhibition Word Into Art.
Rachid KoraYchi
Les Sept Porfes du Ciel, 1993.
Steel, 117 x 60 x 1 4 c m .
Nnenna Okore, Agbogho, 2009. C l a y a n d hessian, 122 x 213 x 15 c m

4. 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 m u l t i - p a n e l l e d compositions, unites
oil a n d precious metals o n c a n v a s to suggest a startling a n d e t h e r e a l
b e a u t y . D r a w i n g u p o n J a p a n e s e traditions of refined creativity, his
work evokes a sense of p r o f o u n d h a r m o n y . Yoshida was t h e first living
artist ever to b e g i v e n a solo show a t t h e British M u s e u m , in 1993.
Laila Shawa is a Palestinian artist w h o s e 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 p e r s e c u t i o n . The initial impetus
for works o f t e n starts with Shawa's o w n p h o t o g r a p h s of current events.
These are later t r a n s f o r m e d , using silkscreen printing t e c h n i q u e s , into
arresting i m a g e s t h a t rivet the viewer's a t t e n t i o n .
M e n t o r e d by t h e r e n o w n e d sculptor El Anatsui, Nnenna Okore's art is
inspired by t h e use of f o u n d o b j e c t s , a n d by close a t t e n t i o n to natural
textures a n d forms. Using basic materials such as c l a y , newspaper, w a x
a n d r o p e , her t a c t i l e a n d highly e v o c a t i v e sculptures t a k e o n 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.

5. O w u s u - A n k o m a h , Heroic Saint, Movement No. 44, 2008. Acrylic o n c a n v a s , 190 x 250 c m
Owusu-Ankomah's large b o l d c a n v a s e s d r a p e h u m a n figures m o v i n g t h r o u g h
s p a c e in transparent tissues of symbolic c l o t h i n g . W h e t h e r traditional Adinkra
signs, from his n a t i v e G h a n a , Chinese c h a r a c t e r s or glyphs sprouting from his
o w n fertile i m a g i n a t i o n , these u n i q u e 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 recently d e v e l o p e d a line of c l o t h i n g for t h e Red C a m p a i g n
w i t h Giorgio A r m a n i .
Chinese artist Huang Xu's e t h e r e a l C-prints explore t h e fragile n a t u r e of t h e
m o d e r n w o r l d . These three-dimensional scans of d i s c a r d e d plastic b a g s b e c o m e
p o w e r f u l a r g u m e n t s for a 21 st c e n t u r y aesthetic of t h e sublime, revealing
u n s u s p e c t e d b e a u t y in a freeze-frame shot of d e c a y , a n d t h e disquieting y e t
strangely alluring complexities of a t h r o w a w a y society.
O n e of Africa's l e a d i n g c o n t e m p o r a r y artists, Romuald Hazoun w o n t h e
prestigious A r n o l d Bode-Prize at d o c u m e n t a 12, in 2007, with his t h o u g h t -
p r o v o k i n g installation Dream. The a c c l a i m e d Rainbow Serpent, m a d e from
d i s c a r d e d petrol canisters, w a s specially c o m m i s s i o n e d by the Victoria a n d
Albert M u s e u m . W he the r c r e a t i n g t o n g u e - i n - c h e e k portraits or c o n f r o n t i n g t h e
l e g a c y of t h e slave t r a d e , his work d o c u m e n t s t h e diversity of A f r i c a n life t o d a y .

6. 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 N o . 9 , 2007.