THE SIGHTLINES ON PEACE, POWER AND PRESTIGE : METAL ARTS IN AFRICA

THE SIGHTLINES ON PEACE, POWER AND PRESTIGE : METAL ARTS IN AFRICA

BARD GRADUATE CENTER

September 29, 2023 – December 31, 2023

New York, USA

The exhibition places historical metalwork in dialogue with contemporary art. This juxtaposition notably explores and reimagines technologies of metal making and histories of use across time and space.

The artist assembled, including Radcliffe Bailey, Sammy Bali, Lubaina Himid, Kapwani Kiwanga, Bronwyn Katz, Abigail Lucien, Otobong Nkanga,Tsedaye Makonnen, Zohra Opoku, Julia Phillips, Nari Ward, and Amanda Williams, either engage with metal as a material or with the legacy of mineral and resource extraction in Africa.

Their exhibited works introduce to the historical and aesthetic narrative botany, climate change, and colonialism, among many other themes. Chosen for their design and architectural elements that highlight the very structures on which people stand and move, the works of SIGHTLINES address the histories and afterlives of metal arts originating from the continent through a contemporary language.

Curated by Drew Thompson