The Jean Pigozzi Contemporary African Art Collection at the Saatchi Collection
The exhibition "Out of Africa" was presented at The Saatchi Collection, London, 1992-1993, with works from The Jean Pigozzi Contemporary African Art Collection. The exhibition was organized by Jean Pigozzi, a vast collector of African art, and curators André Magnin, Jean-Michael Rousset, Yaya Savane, and the Saatchi Collection. In particular, André Magnin was also one of the leading curators for the Magiciens de la Terre exhibition.
Participating artists:
Frederic Bruly Bouabre (Ivory Coast)
Efiaimbelo (Madagascar)
John Goba (Sierra Leone)
Emile Yebo Guebehi (Ivory Coast)
Romuald Hazoume (Benin)
Bodys Isek Hingelez (zaire)
Cheik Ledy (zaire)
George Lilanga (Tanzania)
Esther Mahlangu (South Africa)
Moke (zaire)
Cyprien Tokoudagba (Benin)
André Magnin's text (excerpts)
Not only is there a contemporary style of African art, but it is taking a new direction, according to curator André Magnin:
"For these artists, producing and innovating is less important than prevision. They are not so much looking for answers as for the right questions to ask. They do not sign their works as craftsmen whose technical genius allows them to push conventional forms to their expressive limits. Instead, they function as witness to the explosive fusion of traditions, myths, beliefs, cultural exchange, of yesterday and today, escaping the grip of a heritage that would confine them to their own history. For artists from the South to the North and from North to South, crossing the seas is no longer ideological proof that they are losing their validity."
Source: "In Secret, Where Everyone Can See," The Jean Pigozzi Contemporary African Art Collection at the Saatchi Collection
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