From Restitution BENINESE ART to Revelation

Benin has had a long history of art making, although the guilds of bronze casters and ivory carvers were formed to facilitate the making of art for royalty, for the king who was the head of the kingdom.

When we see that within the past thirty years Benin emerged as one of the most productive artistic sites across west Africa, it comes as no surprise. We have been seeing quite a few Beninese artists like Meschac Gaba, Georges Adéagbo, Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou, Romuald Hazoumè and Dominique Zinkpè exhibiting in the international scene.

Dominique Kouas, Calixte Dakpogan and Cyprien Tokoudagba started engaging with the contemporary art scene whilst still holding on to tradition, but they paved the way for other artists who broke away from convention. Between 8 November 2012 to 13 January 2013, two contemporary art biennials centred on the exact same theme, took place simultaneously in Benin, gaining further attention to the country’s art scene.

Recently, between 18 January and 15 May 2023, we saw a contemporary show of Beninese art hosted by the National Foundation of Museums (FNM) at the Mohamed VI Museum in Rabat, Morocco. This came after the success of the original exhibition-event titled “Art of Benin of yesterday and today: from Restitution to Revelation” held at the Palais de la Marina in Cotonou, Benin which was rather a diptych exhibition presenting both classical and contemporary art. Twenty-six royal treasures returned by France after one hundred and thirty years were exhibited together with one hundred and six contemporary artworks by thirty-four Beninese artists. The exhibition in Morocco only featured the contemporary works which were presented in a diversity of forms, showing the vitality and intensity of the creativity of the visual arts scene in Benin.

In this exhibition, artists from different backgrounds express their vision of contemporary Benin and their desire to re-explore legacies making up their rich traditional past. Each of the artists exhibiting are seen to develop on the themes and materials used in making up the three chapters of the exhibition, which are Recurrence-Variations of the Sacred and Divine, Transition(s) and Transgression-Hybridization. The theme of Recurrence-Variations of the Sacred and Divine was touched upon by the artists Cyprien Tokoudagba, Yves Appolinaire Pede, Kiffouli Dossou, Ludovic Fadairo, Dominique Gnonnou Kouas, Euloge Ahanhanzo- Glele and Epaphras-Degnon Toihen. Dominique Zinkpe, Ishola Akpo, Moufouli Bello, Laeila Adjovi, Remy Samuz, Julien Sinzogan, Francois Aziangue, Youss Atacora, Edwige Aplogan, Eliane Aisso, Nathanael Vodouhe, Tchif and Thierry Oussou had their work focusing on

Transition (s). The last batch of artists worked on the theme ‘Transgression Hybridation’ and these artists included Georges Adeagbo, Senami Donoumassou, Sebastian Boko, Gerard Quenum, Dimitri Fagbohoun, Emo de Medeiros, Romuald Hazoume, King Houndekpinkou, Meschac Gaba, Ponce Zannou,Louis Oke Agbo, Eric Mededa, Nobel Koty and Charly D’Almeida.

With African nations increasingly represented and the Venice Biennale, it is of no surprise that the Republic of Benin is the latest country to announce its debut participation in the upcoming 60th Venice Biennale, taking place from the 20th of April to the 24th of November 2024. It will be curated by the founder of the Lagos-based nonprofit African Artists’ Foundation, Azu Nwagbogu and assisted by Yassine Lassissi, artistic director of Lagos’s La Galerie Nationale du Bénin, and architect Franck Houndégla. Although the project to be presented at Benin’s pavilion is still unknown, we know that Nwagbogu’s belief on restitution and repatriation is well aligned with the agenda of the Benin government which resulted in the return of the twenty-six artefacts looted by France one hundred and thirty years ago. We eagerly look forward to this.

CHRISTINE XUEREB SEIDU founded Christine X Art Gallery in 2004 after a university degree in Art History and Anthropology. She has returned to Malta after a year in Ghana where she explored African art and culture.

EXHIBITIONS

A selection of art events from around the world

25.03.23

Until 13 August 2023

AFTER IMPRESSIONISM: INVENTING MODERN ART

The exhibition organised in the National Gallery focussus on the work of Paul Cezanne, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, and examines their influence on the next generation of European painters. It showcases more than one hundred paintings and statues that were made between 1880 and 1914.

The National Gallery, London, United Kingdom

Bathers (Les Grandes Baigneuses), Paul Cézanne, c1894 – 1905 / National Gallery

31.03.23

Until 16 July 2023

05.23-10.23

05.04.23

Until 28 August 2023

BASQUIAT X WARHOL. PAINTING 4 HANDS

Two of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Andy Warhol and JeanMichael Basquiat, were also close friends. During 1984 and 1985, they worked on a series of 160 paintings together. This year, the biggest-ever exhibition dedicated to that partnership will be displayed at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris.

Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, 6.99, 1985 Acrylic and oilstick on canvas, 297 x 410 cm

15.09.23

Until 7 January 2024

Michelangelo And The Consequences

Albertina in Vienna is home to a valuable collection of rare Michelangelo’s drawings. Because of their frugality, they put them on display very rarely. However, they will make a centrepiece of one of the best exhibitions in European museums in 2023. Next to them, the museum will display drawings of some famous artists from the 16th and 17th centuries, like Raphael, Rubens or Dürer. So, visitors will have an excellent opportunity to explore Michelangelo’s influence on those artists.

Albertina, Vienna, Austria

HUGO VAN DER

GOES: BETWEEN PAIN AND BLISS

Hugo van der Goes was one of the most important Flemish masters from the second half of the 15th century. Later on, he became an archetype of a troubled artist. Twelve out of fourteen of his artworks will be displayed at this Berlin exhibition. So, it’s an excellent opportunity to delve deeper into the work of this fascinating painter.

Gemaldegalerie, Berlin, Germany

Copyright: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, Dietmar Gunne

20.04.23

Until 3 September 2023

HILMA AF KLINT & PIET MONDRIAN

Tate Modern Museum in London is putting Hilma af Klint and Piet Mondrian in dialogue. Both artists were pioneers of abstract art and influenced generations of painters after them. The exhibition is quite extensive, with more than 250 artworks on display.

Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom

Left: Hilma af Klint The Ten Largest, Group IV No.2, Childhood 1907 Hilma af Klint Foundation

Right: Piet Mondrian Composition with Red, Black, Yellow, Blue and Gray 1921 Kunstmuseum Den Haag

23.09.23

Until 10 December 2023

MARINA ABRAMOVIC

One of the top art events in 2023 will be the Marina Abramovic retrospective. She has been the leading conceptual and performance artist active for more than forty years. For this exhibition, Abramovic is going to prepare some new work. However, many of her older performances will also be restaged by the younger artists.

Royal Academy, London, United Kingdom

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Spotlight / Events / Malta

May - October 2023

Exhibitions

Curated events in Malta

02.05.23

Until 22 May 2023

FRANCESCO ZAHRA

Francesco Zahra died 250 years ago in August 1773. He made a significant mark in the Maltese Baroque art scene and is considered to be one of the foremost artists of the 18th century. He grew up and was artistically mentored in the maritime town of Senglea and practised as an up-and-coming artist until his marriage in 1743 when he moved to Valletta and prospered considerably as an established and sought-after artist. His oeuvre is mainly religious painting, but portraiture was another area that he delved into and even excelled in. Although Zahra died in Valletta, this commemorative exhibition takes his work to his place of birth where he grew up and developed his artistic skills.

Organized by MUZA at the Oratory of the Holy Crucifix in Senglea, it is the first of a series whereby MUZA’s outreach efforts will come to fruition through the temporary loan of works from the National Art Collection to a locality that bears some form of relevance to a commemorative event or a special theme or an artist that is represented in the said collection.

MUZA - Museum of Fine Arts, Auberge D’Italie, Merchants St, Valletta Monday to Sunday 10am to 6pm www.muza.mt

19.05.23

Until 25 June 2023

JOSEPH CHETCUTI

05.23-10.23

Four years on from his death, sculptor and bronze foundry artist Joseph Chetcuti is finally receiving the attention he deserves in a retrospective entitled ‘The Sculptor and the Bronze-smith’, held in the MUZA Camerone. Awarded a scholarship to study sculpture and design at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Chetcuti went on to model and cast several important commissions, including the 2012 bronze statue of Grandmaster Jean de Valette in Valletta. However, outside of his collaborative efforts and his role as a teacher at the School of Art, his aesthetic or idiom is little known. As much of a debut as it is a retrospective, the exhibition showcases several of Chetcuti’s original plaster casts, sketches and preparatory works, bronze pieces, bozzetti, and maquettes of public works.

MUZA - Museum of Fine Arts, Auberge D’Italie, Merchants St, Valletta

Monday to Sunday 10am to 6pm www.muza.mt

12.05.23

Until 29 May 2023

VIA: THE WAY OF THE STREETS

VIA: The way through which one passes. The pictures presented in this exhibition with works by Jacob Sammut document the human element in the streets, describing life to date. It stands not only to teach people today what our lives are like but also to stand as a tool to educate those who get to see the photos in the years to come. The small selection of images used in this first edition of ‘VIA’ has been chosen from a vast archive of work that I started working on in 2014. The photographs are to be treated as documents to be preserved and archived for future generations to see. They were shot using 35mm or 120 medium-format, black and white film, which were then developed and hand-printed on fibre-based paper in the darkroom

Christine X Curated, Tigne street c/w Hughes Hallet Street, Sliema

Monday to Saturday 10am - 1pm & 4-7pm except Fridays from 2pm www.christinexcurated.com

08.06.23

Until 28 June 2023

IL-HABBA TAL-GHAJN –EXHIBITION BY ALEX DALLI

Il-Habba Tal-Ghajn, a solo exhibition by Alex Dalli, brings together a body of work which spans a 30-year career in the arts. The exhibition traces Dalli’s painterly journey from the figurative into the abstract. Dalli is widely recognised to be one of Malta’s leading modern artists. His sensitivity to colour, surface and form drove him to develop the minimal style that he is now known for and his art is rooted in a spiritual belief which he expresses and explores through simple forms and pared down compositions, looking for different, less encumbered, ways of seeing. Il-Habba Tal-Ghajn is curated by Gabriel Zammit.

Malta Society of Arts, Palazzo de La Salle, 219 Republic Street, Valletta Mondays to Fridays: 9am to 7pm, Saturdays: 9am to 1pm, Sundays & Public Holidays: Closed www.artsmalta.org/events

Alex Dalli, Siggu (2022) oil and acrylic on board. Photo by Lisa Attard

02.GABRIEL BUTTIGIEG ON LITTLE HANS’ FEAR OF HORSES (AND MAX GRAF), 2023 Willow charcoal, white emulsion, acrylic paint and satin varnish on raw linen 120 x 130cm stretched €1,990 info@christinexart.com 03. CO-MA STUDY003, 2023 Charcoal on marble 50 x 50cm €1,000 info@lilyagiusgallery.com 04. PATRICIA O’BRIEN TWIST OF FATE, 2022 Mixed medium on canvas 100 x 100cm €1,300 info@christinexart.com

01. ELISA VON BROCKDORFF LOBSTERS Limited edition print, signed 60 x 90cm, unframed €500 info@lilyagiusgallery.com

05. ALEXANDRA AQUILINA STRAWBERRY WIGGLE 2 colour screen print, No. 5 of 10 editions, signed 22 x 22cm €100 info@lilyagiusgallery.com 06. MARIO ABELA EARTH JUICE, 2022 Oil on canvas 100 x 80cm €1,900 info@christinexart.com

07. JAMES MICALLEF GRIMAUD STATE OF LIMBO Fabriano printmaking rag 310gr, no. 9 of 10 editions, signed 60 x 40cm unframed €200 info@lilyagiusgallery.com 08. JULIEN VINET ANCIENT OLIVE Ink on paper monoprint 60 x 80cm, unframed €1,000 info@lilyagiusgallery.com 09. STEPHANIE GALEA LEANING IN COLOUR Acrylic paint on silver gelatin handprints on RC photographic paper, shot with Pentax 67 medium format camera 72 x 62cm, framed €800 info@lilyagiusgallery.com

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