The gallery is celebrating its first year of existence and its growing success over the last year, extending into the international sphere with an extraordinary solo exhibition of the renowned Ivorian artist Lanin Saint-Étienne Yeanzi. The exhibition "ID - Illusions Identitaires" (False Illusions), shows new works by the artist Yeanzi in the Melbye-Konan Gallery from 30th September to 30th November 2021.
"We as humans don't always act as freely and self-assured as we might think. Social constructions of how one has to behave are deeply rooted in all our brains." (Yeanzi)
The Ivorian artist wants you to reflect closer on these hidden control mechanisms of our society and give up these pressures to live freely. Even though this ‘breaking through of our preassigned roles can lead to anxiety and questioning oneself in the world, while cultural constructions make one fit in with the rest of society, their detachment can lead to freedom and seeing the world as a ground for endless possibilities. One of these cultural constraints is our definition of our own identity. Yeanzi’s oeuvre confronts and questions these topics of identity. Which characteristics are manufactured images of ourselves that were assigned through human formation and that we should let go of? Finally, he asks what beliefs and goals we strive for to succeed and establish in the world when we are emancipated from these suppressions.
Since 2013, the artist has been working with recycled plastic, which he melts and drips onto the surface to create human figures and faces. The anonymity of his subjects, created from the uncontrolled process, challenges the established assumption of the portrait genre to capture the person portrayed and thus the individual in their identity. It props questions of identity and the individual within the community, exposed to continuous social and identity ruptures, at the centre of his artistic practice. Lanin Saint-Étienne Yeanzi has established himself as an internationally acclaimed artist in the past ten years of his œuvre. He is considered one of the top 10 most renowned contemporary artists from Africa. Yeanzi graduated as the best in his class from the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Abidjan in 2012 and has won several prestigious awards in recent years.
In 2018, he achieved an international breakthrough when the French auction house PIASA sold his work 'Takoos 3' for €67,600, which meant that the artwork was sold 1000% above the previously Estimate. Since then, Yeanzi's work can be seen in famous international museums and collections and is also exhibited at major art fairs in Paris, Dubai and New York in London, for example, at the 1-54 Art fair.
Since its founding, the Melbye-Konan Gallery has represented Yeanzi's work and is delighted to open his first solo show in Europe on Thursday, the 30th of September, 2021. On Friday, the 1st of October, we will host a private dinner with a selection of guests who will have the opportunity to meet Yeanzi in person.
An exhibition by Stella Melbye-Konan, Curatorial assistance by Nina Lüllau & Antonia Scharr.
An exhibition by Stella Melbye-Konan, Curatorial assistance by Nina Lüllau & Antonia Scharr.
