Galerie Melbye-Konan is delighted to announce the solo exhibition of renowned artist Yannick Ackah, titled Jungle of Encounters. The exhibition will be on view from 29 March 2025 until 14 June 2025, across an impressive 400 m² exhibition space. Yannick Ackah (*1992, Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire) is celebrated as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary art. His works interweave African cultural traditions with influences from Western art history, offering a rich and unmistakable artistic vision.
In ‘Jungle of Encounters’, Ackah creates a world in which the boundaries between culture, nature and identity dissolve. Visitors are immersed in a dense, vibrant atmosphere, permeated by personal, social and historical narratives. Ackah's art is an intercultural dialogue between continents and eras. The motif of the mask in particular is at the centre of his work and spans an arc from his African origins to the appropriation of African art by Picasso and Parisian modernism to Jean-Michel Basquiat and the graffiti art of the 1980s in New York. Lisa Zeitz from Weltkunst wrote aptly in 2023:
“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 1980s".
The metaphorical ‘jungle’ becomes a space for encounters: people, stories, traditions and dreams merge. Ackah succeeds in creating a dynamic of depth and movement through large canvas works. Elements that appear chaotic at first glance come together to form harmonious works of art. His art challenges visitors to reflect on social dynamics and to question their own role in this ‘jungle of encounters’ - be it through confrontation, curiosity or the questioning of prejudices.
Ackah uses a variety of materials - including paper, newspaper and magazine articles as well as fabrics - which he processes in a collage-like manner to create characteristic surface structures. The central motif of the mask lends his works three-dimensionality and depth and playfully combines everyday elements of popular culture with traditional motifs. This technique creates a symbiosis of modernity and tradition, reminiscent of Picasso's early exploration of African art and Basquiat's unconventional combination of graffiti and high culture.
Yannick Ackah graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts in Abidjan (Ivory Coast) in 2020. Since then, he has exhibited internationally and his works are represented in renowned public and private collections in France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, the USA, Japan, China and South Korea. In 2021, his works were selected for an exhibition at the Institut Français in Hamburg. In 2022 he was part of the exhibition ‘Aufatmen’ in the Barlach Halle K, supported by the Cultural Authority of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. In 2024, he took part in the exhibition ‘Persona’, curated by the renowned art collector Harald Falckenberg, as well as in the exhibition ‘Mouvement’, which took place in cooperation with the French Consulate in Hamburg. Yannick Ackah was recently nominated for the Norval Sovereign African Art Prize 2025.
