ART OF THE CAMEROON GRASSFIELDS

The Menil Collection

Exhibition showcases historic works and artistic traditions from the Cameroon Grassfields and highlights their connections to Houston

The Menil Collection presents Art of the Cameroon Grassfields, A Living Heritage in Houston, an exhibition celebrating the enduring artistic traditions from Cameroon and its diaspora, the show will present more than twenty historical works from Houston-based collections, including the Menil; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and local private collections. In an accompanying gallery space, the exhibition features two recent artworks by Douala-based artist Hervé Youmbi. Hervé Youmbi said, “In my work, I have been building connections, or gateways, between two parallel worlds, the one of global contemporary art and the ritual one of so-called traditional African art. The two installations that will be presented at the Menil Collection were made and exhibited as contemporary art and, later, activated through ritual ceremonies or integrated into the royal courts of the Grassfields. Local communities and leaders have accepted them, made them theirs, but they can move fluidly back and forth between the two worlds. For this exhibition, they travel from their traditional spaces in the Grassfields to the museum.”

Art of the Cameroon Grassfields features headdresses, masks, prestige hats, royal stools and figural sculptures, and palace architectural elements from several of the Grassfields kingdoms. Highlights include two tsesah—rare examples of a type of headdress historically associated with Bandjoun, Batcham, and other kingdoms in the central Grassfields that epitomize the sculptural virtuosity of artists. When activated by dance, music, and ceremony, these objects represent the authority of religious and political leaders, powerful nobles, and heads of extended families. On view through July 9, 2023

From left clockwise: Hervé Youmbi, Panther, 2019. One of the five thrones from Celestial Thrones, 2019. Wood, glass beads, and silicone, 17 x 13 x 13 . Courtesy of his majesty Fo Gabriel Ndjiemeni, the artist, and Axis Gallery, NY. © Hervé Youmbi. Headdress (Tsesah or Tsemabu), early 20th century. Bamileke peoples. Cameroon, reportedly Bandjoun. Wood, 34 13/16 in. Collection of Laura and John Arnold. Stool, early 20th century. Bamileke peoples. Cameroon, Grassfields region. 18 in. Collection of Laura and John Arnold