From 12 March to 25 May 2024, the 400 m2 Melbye-Konan Gallery will host the group exhibition "Persona" – Latin for mask. It brings together several contemporary artists who use the inspirational power of African masks and sculptures in their work.
“African tribal art lives – and not just as the object of a declining culture of memory and discussions about post-colonialism.”
Harald Falckenberg, 2023
The exhibition was curated in close collaboration with Harald Falckenberg, who sadly passed away in November 2023. Together with the renowned Hamburg art collector and gallery director Stella Melbye-Konan, the exhibition's thematic concept and selection of works were conceived.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, African sculpture has influenced famous artists such as Picasso, who was himself a collector of African masks. The exhibition offers an expanded view of the diverse artistic practice and reception of traditional African masks by contemporary artists today. It encourages discussion by bringing together artists, experts and collectors from different perspectives and backgrounds.
World-renowned and award-winning photographer Greg Gorman (born in 1949 in Kansas City, Missouri) is known for his stark, honest portraits of the most famous and infamous faces in entertainment, art, sport and music, including Sharon Stone, Leonardo di Caprio, Arnold Schwarzenegger and many more. His work is exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. In this exhibition we present a very rare and beautiful series of photographs from his own collection of tribal art taken in his classic portrait style to honour the influence of African tribal art.
With a successful career as an award-winning creative and art director, Gary Johns (born in 1946 in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania) finds beauty in graphically photographing things that most people tend to overlook. These images are juxtaposed with elements from his own paintings, drawings, doodles and street detritus in mixed media collages. Johns' work has been exhibited in Los Angeles, Palm Beach and at the Chautauqua Institution in New York.
On display are John's interpretations of Gorman's photographs, resulting in a different way of expressing this homage Africa's influence on modern art. Both American artists, Greg Gorman and Gary Johns, place African tribal art, with its unique sculptures and masks, in a playful, experimental dialogue with contemporary visual art by re-imaging the objects according to the rules of modern portrait photography.
Also inspired by African masks and sculpture is the acclaimed contemporary artist Yannick Ackah (born 1992 in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire). Ackah's multi-layered painting is a journey through continents and times: With his mask motifs, he spans an arc from his African origins to the reception of Africa by Picasso and Parisian modernism, to Jean-Michel Basquiat and the New York graffiti scene of the 1980. He has exhibited internationally and his work is held in prestigious public and private collections worldwide.
The highly sought-after contemporary artist, Ngoye (born 1980 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire) uses the mask as a symbol to explore human dynamics and inner states. Identities and emotions isolated from the outside world become central themes in his work. Inspired by Abstract Expressionist Cy Twombly, Ngoye's new, more abstract series of works explores the loss of true identity in society. His last solo exhibition sold out immediately and his work is held in prestigious private and public collections such as the Imago Mundiof the Luciano Benetton family.
Contemporary and multi-award-winning artist Yéanzi’s (born 1988 in Katiola, Côte d'Ivoire) approach is historical, philosophical and utopian at the same time: questioning the concept of identity and the notion of cultural and collective heritage to form identity is Yéanzi's main theme. He captures his subjects in an almost uncontrollable process, melting recycled plastic and dripping it onto various surfaces to create human figures and faces. His work has been exhibited in museums, art fairs and institutions around the world and is part of prestigious public and private collections. He has received the great honour of being selected for the 59th Biennale Arte di Venezia 2022.
With these different approaches by the exhibited artists in mind, it is interesting to look again at the Latin term 'Persona'. Persona is the Latin translation for mask and refers to the fact that those who hide their faces are only recognisable as people by their voices. It stems from the idea that a person is only recognised as a person if he or she unconditionally submits to the duties of the state and expresses this on certain occasions, especially during ritual festivals and armed conflicts, by wearing a mask.
“Despite all the reservations and doubts - art is not scientific, but rather ambiguous and polymorphic - the artists' examination of the categories of portrait and mask concerns central conflicts of social and art-historical developments. On the one hand, the portrait, traditionally a rather romantic attitude towards the good, the true and the beautiful, and always ideally suited to represent social significance; on the other hand, the mask, which, unlike the portrait, does not reveal but hides, conceals and manipulates the identity of people for a variety of reasons, from war and crime to cheerful masquerades."
Harald Falckenberg, 2023
Due to the artists' different geographical and disciplinary origins, the exhibition offers a variety of approaches, which are brought together in a powerful composition by the overarching theme.
