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1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair - my virtually there but not top 10


I had planned on being in London for the big art fair cluster-fuck, but LIFE. Thanks to Artsy I can peruse the offerings at the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair without being there. Typically I tell off young journalists and commentators for forming any opinion about an artwork you haven't seen in person but in this digital-image-driven age it seems a little futile to wait for face-to-face encounters.

In no particular order;

Joël Andrianomearisoa, Sentimental negotiations Act VIII, 2016, Sabrina Amrani. Ever since this artist created a fashion-type-live-performance thing in Maboneng, Joburg I have followed his work closely. I just love what he does, this minimalist, crafty type aesthetic referring to abstract emotions.

Yashua Klos, Shape Your Shadow, 2015, Galerie Anne de Villepoix. This work probably looks a lot more sophisticated than it is, but that is sort of why I like it. The deconstructed wooden mask-cum-portrait-bust. Klos apparently showed a work at the Goodman Gallery as part of that all-over-the-show exhibition Young, Gifted and Black.