New York Galleries: What to See Right Now

‘African Spirits’

Through Aug. 23. Yossi Milo Gallery, 245 10th Avenue, Manhattan; 212-414-0370, yossimilo.com.

You could spend all day in “African Spirits” at Yossi Milo Gallery, a sensational roundup of West African portrait photography from its golden age in the pre-independence 1950s to the present.

Malick Sidibé, the storied chronicler of Malian night life, reaches deep into the nuances of black and white with striped backdrops; the French-Senegalese portraitist Delphine Diallo takes bold color to its limits in a shot of a man with green hair posing in a hot pink bathrobe; and Samuel Fosso, who was born in Cameroon and started working as a photographer in the Central African Republic, shot himself in fabulous sunglasses, as well as in his underwear, as a teenager in the 1970s.

Through all the work runs a powerful attention to presence — the camera’s as well as the subject’s — and a keen awareness that a person’s identity really only begins when it’s performed for someone else.

But I suggest going straight to a triptych of snapshots found in Benin and made, apparently, by a studio called Roka in the 1960s. In each, a young man drapes himself across a bicycle, or bicycles, in what looks like a cross between conceptual art and modern dance. Part of their appeal is certainly the mystery. But mainly it’s formal: Whatever their intention, they succeed in transforming bicycles and man alike into vivid, disconcerting sculpture.

WILL HEINRICH

A triptych of snapshots found in Benin and made by Roka Studio in the 1960s.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/arts/design/what-to-see-in-art-galleries.html

CRITICS’ PICKS | JULY 2019 NEW YORK

“African Spirits” YOSSI MILO GALLERY

245 Tenth Avenue

July 11–August 23, 2019

Long before there was the selfie, there was the “autoportrait.” A world away from the Pictures generation,

in 1975 Samuel Fosso set up a small photo studio in Bangui,

capital of the Central African Republic, and photographed

himself in the flashy disco styles of the time (tailored bell-

bottoms and platform boots, natch). Fosso’s black-and-white

“Autoportraits” series, 1975–78, was a gesture of self-fashioning,

a response to outside influences that resulted in a uniquely

African artistic expression. That sense of constructing and

celebrating identity lies at the heart of Fosso’s images as well as

those of the other artists included in “African Spirits,” a group

show that surveys the history of photographic portraiture across

the African continent.

Eschewing chronological display, “African Spirits” instead

exhibits photographs by contemporary artists alongside their

pioneering predecessors. Malick Sidibé’s pictures capturing the

vibrant, highly stylized youth culture of postcolonial Bamako,

Mali’s capital, are placed near South African

photographer Zanele Muholi’s black-and-white self-

portrait Fisani, Parktown, 2016. Whereas Sidibé portrays the

self-styling of Bamako’s nightlife denizens, Muholi depicts

herself in costume, adorned with a crown and a necklace of oversize safety pins. Elsewhere, the large-scale

mixed-media assemblage Cardi B Unity, 2017, by Moroccan photographer Hassan Hajjaj, depicts the

reigning queen of rap, surrounded by a frame of green-tea canisters. Opposite this work is a selection of

small, vintage gelatin silver prints, including several by Sanlé Sory, who documented Burkina Faso’s

dynamic cultural scene, which blossomed after the country gained independence from the French in 1960.

Meanwhile, Seydou Keïta’s Untitled (Man with Flower), 1959, finds its inheritor in the images of Beninese

photographer Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou, such as Untitled, 2012, featuring a trio of muscle-bound men

posing before a backdrop of boldly patterned textiles. In both, sartorial flair lends the subjects an air of

performative brio, underscoring the centrality that fashion plays in many of the pictures included in the

show.

Though portraiture unites all of the artists in “African Spirits,” these works also make explicit that posing

for the camera can be a deeply empowering act of selfhood. Such a revelation is well worth a picture’s

thousand words.

— Joseph Akel https://www.artforum.com/picks/african-spirits-80386

https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/art/african-spirits

In “African Spirits,” A New Visual Vernacular

An exhibition at Yossi Milo Gallery captures the dizzying array of post-independence African photography.

reviews |By Imani Noelle Ford | August 14th, 2019

African Spirits, currently on view at Yossi Milo Gallery in New York,

presents an astutely and carefully crafted panoply of African

photography, conveying the mastery and evolution of a bold and—I

would add—fly visual vernacular. Juxtaposing approximately sixty-five

works from the 1950s to the early 1980s with contemporary pieces by

artists across the African diaspora, the exhibition initially overwhelms.

Modern prints of black-and-white portraits seemingly clash with the

yellowed, aged edges of vintage prints from both celebrated and little-

known studios. The image sizes vary, pulling the viewers toward and

away from the faces, clothing, and postures of their subjects. But who

are these people?

Decidedly adorned and decisively posed. Or candidly photographed

and sincerely expressive. They are citizens of a new social world, one

defined by the transformations of the independence movements that

swept Africa in the 1960s. There is motion and agency in these bodies,

whether clothed or undressed, choosing if and how they are looked at.

The works that constitute African Spirits embrace self-possessed

subjects and a reverence for the quotidian, molding the inherently

subversive foundation of postcolonial African portraiture.

The title African Spirits is a reference to Samuel Fosso’s series of the same name

from 2008, which was recently acquired by the Museum of Modern Art and

presented at its 2017 collection exhibition, Unfinished Conversations. The series is

not on view here, but the exhibition does include some of Fosso’s earlier work,

alongside that of Seydou Keïta, Malick Sidibé, Sanlé Sory, and J.D. ‘Okhai

Ojeikere, as well as contemporary artists such as Zanele Muholi, Morgan Mahape,

Hassan Hajjaj, Pieter Hugo, Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou, and Delphine Diallo.

An openly queer artist, Diallo gives the show a pop of color with Afropunk – Pink

Fur (2016). This portrait of a femme, embodying queer femininity and queer

masculinity, complements Mohamed Bourouissa’s nearby image from the

series Périphéries, of two men, a boxer and a coach. Pink Furalso converses with

Agbodjelou’s Untitled (2012), from the series Musclemen, which depicts three bare-

chested men, arms crossed, with different patterns on the fabric of their pants, the

backdrop, and the floor. Fosso’s self-portrait works from the series 70’s

Lifestyle portray the artist in various costumes of flyness that queer manhood,

Hassan Hajjaj, Cardi B Unity, 2017 © the artist and courtesy Third Line Gallery, Dubai,

and Yossi Milo Gallery, New York

Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou, Untitled, from the series Citizens of Porto-Novo,

2018 © the artist and courtesy Jack Bell

Gallery, London

allowing him to literally and figuratively try on new identity “types,” ultimately fashioning a self as photographer and

as subject.

Sidibé’s contact sheets ARROSAGE DES TROIS, ADMIS NIARELA,

28-9-68 (1968) and Nuit du 18-19-11-69 (1969) embody the exhibition’s

impulse toward quotidian delights. In her book Listening to Images, Black

feminist scholar Tina M. Campt defines the quotidian as “a practice honed

by the dispossessed in the struggle to create possibility within the

constraints of everyday life.” These images are fragmented archives of the

subjects at their best, showing up and showing out on the dance floor,

embracing the moment and one another. While the quotidian is not

spectacular, it is special. African subjects fashioned agency in front of the

camera and in everyday life. Hugo’s large-scale photograph Mimi Afrika,

Wheatland Farm, Graaff-Reinet (2013), from the series Kin, amplifies the

intimacy of Sidibé’s smaller vintages. Hugo captures an older African

woman adorned in a pink collared shirt and ornate gold-print headscarf.

Most would see her skin’s texture and the beauty in her naked wrinkles as

the photograph’s punctum. However, I see the few locks of her hair that

she has shed, subtle kinks sitting here and there atop her shirt. The

photograph is immaculate in its presentation, yet especially beautiful in its mundanity.

Similarly poignant, one of the photographs from the lesser-known Studio Degbava depicts a woman throwing her

head back in ecstasy. We cannot see her face. To get to know her joy, one must step in close. Arms akimbo, with

her hands cinching her dress, she draws attention to her shoes. Left foot turned out, proud and feeling herself. What

does it feel like to escape at just the moment of capture? Perhaps like this. Muholi and Mahape’s beaded portrait Somnyama

Ngonyama (2019) continues this conversation of expansive feeling. Similar to Black American artist Mickalene

Thomas’s Din, une très belle négresse #1 (2012), Muholi and Mahape employ a plethora of cultural artifacts and

Delphine Diallo, Afropunk – Pink Fur, 2016 © the artist and courtesy Fisheye Gallery,

Paris

Pieter Hugo, Mimi Afrika, Wheatland Farm, Graaf-Reinet, 2013

© the artist and courtesy Third Line Gallery, Dubai, and Yossi Milo Gallery, New York

Samuel Fosso, Autoportrait, 1975–78 © the artist and courtesy Jean Marc Patras Galerie,

Paris

practices, suggesting that paint and print are no longer enough to communicate the fabulosity and complexity of the

Black subject.

The camera’s introduction to the African continent has fashioned a visual vernacular that persists even as it has

morphed from the commercial photo studio of the ’60s and ’70s into the cross-cultural collaborations of

today. African Spirits captures the specific aesthetics and ambiguities of African selfhood. We can look to the images

of Fosso, Sidibé, their contemporaries, and their successors to access the worlds their subjects crafted in the

aftermath of violence, migration, or political independence. Most importantly, we can bear witness to who these

subjects decided to become.

https://aperture.org/blog/african-spirits-review/

Studio Degbava, Untitled, ca. mid-twentieth century

© Studio Degbava

Hamidou Maiga, Untitled, 1973 © the artist and courtesy Jack Bell Gallery, London

The top five New York art shows this week Check out our suggestions for the best art exhibitions you don’t want to miss, including gallery openings and more

By: Howard Halle | Posted: August 5 2019

With New York’s art scene being so prominent yet ever changing, you’ll want to be sure to catch

significant shows. Time Out New York rounds up the top five art exhibitions of the week, from

offerings at the best photography and art galleries in NYC to shows at renowned institutions like

the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim.

Top 5 Monday, Aug 5–Sunday, Aug 11

“African Spirits”

Yossi Milo Gallery, Chelsea | Until Aug 23 2019

From the 1950s through the 1980s,

commercial studio portrait photography in

Africa developed into an artistic genre that

went well beyond the prosaic task of

capturing a subject’s likeness. Photographers

such as Samuel Fosso, Seydou Keïta and

Malick Sidibé employed minimal sets to

maximal advantage by draping boldly

patterned fabrics behind the sitter to make

him or her pop dynamically from the

background. This show presents their work

alongside those by contemporary artists they

have influenced.

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/art/this-weeks-best-new-art

Editors’ Picks: 19 Things Not to Miss in New York’s Art World This Week Sarah Cascone July 15, 2019

Each week, we search New York City for the most exciting and thought -provoking shows, screenings, and events.

Through Friday, August 23

“African Spirits”

at Yossi Milo Gallery

For its summer group exhibition, Yossi Milo Gallery is presenting “African Spirits,” a selection of works by African photographers ranging from the post-war to contemporary era. The exhibition captures the evolution of portrait photography in African countries in the 1960s and ’70s by artists such as Seydou Keïta and Samuel Fosso, and builds on it with works by contemporary stars such as Hassan Hajjaj, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, and Zanele Muholi. The result is a breathtaking compilation of works where each photograph deserves detailed inspection and leaves a lasting impression.

—Neha Jambhekar

Location: Yossi Milo Gallery, 245 10th Avenue Price: Free Time: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/editors-picks-july-15-2019-1590526

African Spirits @Yossi Milo By Loring Knoblauch / In Galleries / July 31, 2019

JTF (just the facts): A group show containing the work of 23 artists/photographers/studios, variously framed and matted, and hung in the East and West galleries, as well as the smaller viewing room and hallway jewel box.

Comments/Context: A low key summer group show is often a vehicle for a gallery to feature the work of a selection of artists from its own stable. Whether the show employs a one-from-each method or a common thematic or subject matter construct, the results are typically predictable – the organizing principle is light, and the connections between the works on view are similarly airy.

The current group show at Yossi Milo Gallery has at its foundation a version of this familiar summer template – five gallery artists (Sory, Boutté, Hugo, Meyer, and Hajjaj) can all be loosely tied together by geography. But instead of filling out the rest of the exhibit with an easy grab bag of photographers from Africa, the gallery has smartly constructed a more nuanced two-stage examination of African portraiture, with the work of its own artists carefully surrounded by that of plenty of others, both known and unknown. What’s clever about this approach is that it creates a sophisticated historical context for all of the work on view, giving the gallery’s own artists an opportunity to open up visual dialogues with those who have traveled similar aesthetic pathways.

While the show is hung as a rhythmic back and forth between old and new, the works can essentially be separated into two chronological buckets – images made between the 1950s and the 1980s (and before the most famous African studio portraitists were rediscovered by the West) and contemporary images made recently, which often stand on the artistic shoulders of their forefathers. Aside from a few South African photographers and another few from elsewhere who tangentially connect to the broader theme being investigated, the group is largely made up of photographers from West Africa (Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo) and its immediate neighbors to the North and South (Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon).

https://collectordaily.com/african-spirits-yossi-milo/

Such a show would not be complete without the presence of Seydou Keïta and Malick Sidibé, and they are both indeed found here, anchoring the selection of early works (mostly as modern prints). And while their mastery of the

studio portrait genre is clear, the aesthetic patterns and commonalities found in the work of the other studios of the time (in different countries) are hard to miss – almost regardless of the location, the push and pull between tradition and modernity centers the ongoing effort to define personal identity. Elders consistently sit stoically in traditional garb and children wear their best whites for milestone moments, the desire to document important memories and life rituals driving many of the visits to the local photography studio.

Many more of the images gathered here have young people as their subject, and it is here that we see more clearly the impulse to craft identity. And it wasn’t just Keïta and Sidibé who used modern props, patterned backdrops, and funky fashions to help sitters find themselves – these prints show that this was happening all over the continent at that time. Sanlé Sory captures young men with a telephone and another wearing a Yankees jersey, Hamidou Maiga stages a man getting measured for a dapper new suit, Studio Degbava documents a swaggering entourage of young men, a man in a sleek pairing of denim bell bottoms and shirt, and a woman reclining like an odalisque, and Roka Studio watches as a man acrobatically (and elegantly) wrestles with a bicycle. While the bold faced masters we already know were arguably consistently better at synthesizing and refining their compositions, the best work of these others attests to a broad groundswell of thinking about image making and identity.

When we jump forward to the contemporary works, the interwoven links to the past are much more evident. Zanele Muholi’s intense self-portraits with her hair adorned with metals pins and foam sponges connect back to Samuel Fosso’s inventive self-portraits and J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere’s typological studies of elaborate Nigerian hairstyles. Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou’s use of camouflage patterns and fake flowers finds echoes with the previous era of bold West African wax print fabrics and unlikely studio props (Fosso held flowers too). Hassan Hajjaj’s works celebrate a physical connection to commercial culture (a soda can providing the same aspirational association as an album cover), and Delphine Diallo’s man with lime green hair and a hot pink bathrobe turns the identity-based styling of the 1960s and 1970s up a notch or two. The show makes a persuasive argument for deeply rooted photographic thinking, where ideas are constantly being recycled and reworked for a new age.

While enlarged modern prints have undeniably changed the way we now experience the highlights of mid-century African studio portraiture, the many vintage prints here recall a more intimate exchange between photographer and sitter. One image by Studio Degbava captures a woman in a traditional dress with her head thrown back either widely smiling or laughing – it is full of exuberant, contagious joy, and the small size of the browned vintage print forces us into a much more personal and authentic experience of that singular moment. The big new prints may be easier to see (and sell), but there is still plenty of magic to be discovered in the rarer vintage works. They have an unquestioned presence as artifacts from the past, and as seen here, that vein of vital energy pulsates all the way forward to the artists of today.

Collector’s POV: The works in this show are variously priced between $1000 and $28000, with some already sold, on hold, not available, or POR. Since this a group show with a large number of included artists/photographers, we will forego our usual discussion of individual gallery representation relationships and secondary market histories.

Hassan Hajjaj Sees No Difference Between Cardi B and a Snake Charmer The photographer known as the "Warhol of Marrakech" will be part of a group show called "African Spirits" at Yossi Milo gallery in New York City.

By Maxine Wally on July 11, 2019

When Hassan Hajjaj was two years old and living in his Moroccan hometown of Larache, he encountered photography for the first time. He and his family dressed up in their best clothing — some of which was sent to him by his father in England — sprayed themselves with perfume and sat for a photo in the studio of a local photographer who specialized in family portraits. For three years, Hajjaj and his kin did the same thing: visited studios filled with props, had their pictures taken. The photos would eventually be sent to his other family members abroad, like his aunt, who hung the framed image in her living room.

“That’s what photography was then,” Hajjaj, today a professional photographer known as the “Andy Warhol of Marrakech” says on a recent afternoon in Morocco, where he’s speaking by phone. “It wasn’t seen as an art form. But lots of these studio photographers would capture a time and a style.

“Years later, the pictures become more important; they become a document.”

Indeed, the photos taken by African portrait photographers like Sanlé Sory and Malick Sidibé now function as historical records; they chronicle periods of independence and self-governance in countries like Mali and Burkina Faso. Their work, along with Hajjaj and 19 other African photographers, will be featured in an exhibition at the Yossi Milo gallery in New York called “African Spirits,” which opens today. The

exhibit highlights the evolution of the portrait style in Africa, and how documenting people in these countries in turn provided a window to the culture. “African Spirit” is split into two epochs: the 1950s-1980s, (when pioneering “masters” as Hajjaj calls them, paved the way for African studio photography), and the present day. That’s where Hajjaj comes in. He’s best known in the States for his brightly colored collage-esque photographs of Cardi B, but Hajjaj has been in the game for almost 30 years. Gallery owner Milo says he’s been aware of Hajjaj’s work for a while, and knew he wanted to include the photographer in the exhibition early on.

“Hassan is one of the key contemporary artists continuing Africa’s cultural legacy of studio portraiture,” Milo says. “He understands the history communicated by the portrait genre, and he generates energy from the profound combination of portraits and framed consumer products. In

“Cardi B Unity” by Hassan Hajjaj. Hassan Hajjaj, Courtesy of Third Line Gallery and Yossi Milo Gallery

this way, he celebrates specific places and people important to his development, while offering a nuanced commentary on global consumerism.”

Hajjaj was brought up in a hybrid culture, spending his childhood in both North Africa and England. His global upbringing, he says, is the norm these days, and an international mind-set is a defining feature of this new generation of photographers — his generation. Where artists like Samuel Fosso (whose work will also be on display at “African Spirits,”) would document the people and goings-on of their own cities, Hajjaj aims to show the oneness of humanity by shooting many different kinds of people and mounting their pictures side by side in a gallery.

“If I can hang Cardi B next to a male belly dancer or snake charmer, it shows we are all the same people,” he explains. “This one maybe has more fame, more money but she’s the same artist as the one sitting next to her. I’m Moroccan, she’s American from the Bronx. But it’s a journey, because it all

goes back to the continent of Africa one way or another.”

His 2017 photograph of Cardi B, called “Unity,” will show at the exhibition. During the photo shoot with the “Please Me” artist, Hajjaj says she remained professional and upbeat — even amid a crisis.

“The day I saw her, she had a bit of a bad day. Her very expensive watch had gone missing, and throughout the shoot, she was trying to find it,” he remembers. “We were trying to do as much as we could in one day — from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., she put on five different outfits, but through it all, she was being very Cardi B, very funny. Around 4:30 p.m. I asked her, ‘Did you find your watch?’

And she goes, ‘No, I haven’t found that f–king watch yet.’”

Although African portrait photography’s style has changed over time, its roots still influence Hajjaj today. He’s embarking on what is arguably the biggest moment of his career right now — with a major retrospective at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris coming in September and an installation at the Fondation Farid Belkahia. But he can still remember himself as a kid, sitting in the studio, falling in love with pictures. And through this exhibition, Hajjaj believes the notion of African art as a passing fad will be challenged.

“It’s a good moment for some of these artists to be recognized as master craftsmen,” he says. “And for new people like myself, a new generation, to enter the fold. I don’t see African art as a trend. We’re here to stay, we’re here to work, we’re here to tell our stories and push these barriers.”

https://wwd.com/eye/lifestyle/hassan-hajjaj-cardi-b-yossi-milo-gallery-african-spirits-portrait-photography-1203218161/

“Autoportrait” by Samuel Fosso, 1975-1978. Samuel Fosso, Courtesy of Jean Marc Patras Galerie

PHOTOS: 'African Spirits,' From A Guy On A Bike To Cardi B Diane Cole and Ben de la Cruz, August 17, 2019

A young man clowns around with a bicycle or two.

Cardi B strikes a pose. A man in a camouflage uniform

blends into camouflage wallpaper but the flowers he

holds are an explosion of color.

These are some of the images in the exhibit "African

Spirits" at the Yossi Milo Gallery in New York through

August 23. Almost all of the photographers themselves

are African spirits, hailing from such countries as

Algeria, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal. Those

who aren't from the continent either base their work

in Africa or pay homage in their art to African

photographers.

The images in the exhibit are infused with the spirit of

African identity. Hanging on the gallery walls, the

photos seem to speak to each other across time and

space — and making statements about African society

and culture.

The artists range from the pioneering African portrait

photographers Seydou Keita (1921-2001) and Malick

Sidibé (1935-2016) to photographers at work today

like Samuel Fosso, Sanle Sory, Hassan Hajjaj and

Leonce Raphael Agbodjelelou.

Among the earliest photos on display, the trio of candid black and white snapshots from the Roka

photo studio in Mali dates to the 1960s or 1970s and captures a young man and his bicycle (see

above).

Many of the photos provide glimpses of everyday life amid the transition from colonial rule to

independence, showing informally dressed party-goers as well as solemn-faced portrait-sitters in

traditional outfits.

Born in 1965 in Porto Novo, Benin, Leonce Raphael Agbodjelelou "draws inspiration from growing up working in his father Joseph's

prestigious studio and casts models in place of paying clientele," says Yossi Milo, who curated the exhibit. Here, military camouflage

pattern seems to merge subject and backdrop into one even while colorful flowers burst out of the background. Leonce Raphael

Agbodjelelou/Courtesy Jack Bell Gallery, London

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/08/17/751539963/photos-african-spirits-from-a-guy-on-a-bike-to-cardi-b

Looking to the Future Inside Africa’s Portrait Studios August 2, 2019

A group exhibition tracing the legacy of

studio portraiture in Africa is on view at Yossi

Milo Gallery through August 23. The featured

works range from the mid-20th century to

the present.

Portrait photography has long claimed a

central role in Africa’s photographic history.

By the early 1900s, European and African

practitioners had established permanent

studios in most West African capitals. By mid-

century, the widespread cultural adoption of

the medium had set the stage for the

outpouring of artistic innovation that took

place as many African countries gained independence in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

In African Spirits, images are on display by celebrated masters from West Africa’s “golden era” of studio

photography (1950s-80s), including Samuel Fosso, Seydou Keïta, J. D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Malick Sidibé and

Sanlé Sory. These photographers experimented with aesthetic vocabularies such props, painted backdrops

and self-portraiture, to reflect the new ideas of identity emerging alongside independence.

Contemporary works in the exhibition address present-day audiences and concerns. For example, the

importance of tying oneself to a global consumer culture can be observed in images by artist Hassan Hajjaj

that demonstrate the international nature of popular culture, fashion and music. Queer-identified artists

such as Kyle Meyer and Zanele Muholi “extend the revolutionary capacity of the photographer’s studio to

assert the independence, relevance and power of subjects facing harassment and persecution” states the

press release.

As a whole, African Spirits highlights the ways the energies of groundbreaking forebears are revived and

reinterpreted by contemporary artists. Then, as now, young generations look to a brighter future, whether

by capturing their vibrant youth culture or holding power accountable.

https://potd.pdnonline.com/2019/08/56807/#gallery-11

Installation view, African Spirits. West Gallery. Courtesy of Yossi Milo Gallery, New York

http://dailymorocco.com/moroccan-hassan-hajjaj-exhibits-in-new-york/

Home / Fashion / Moroccan Hassan Hajjaj exhibits in New York / 8.19.2019

MOROCCAN HASSAN HAJJAJ EXHIBITS IN NEW YORK Moroccan photographer Hassan Hajjaj is part

of a constellation of African artists who present their works, until August 23 in New York, as part of the collective exhibition “African Spirits”.

Held in the Yossi Milo Gallery, the exhibition displays photographic works taken inside and outside the studio, tracing the iconic visual heritage of the African photo portrait from the mid-20th century to the present of contemporary art.

The exhibition, which opened its doors to the public since mid-July, was the subject this week of rich media coverage, including from the prestigious “New York Times” and public radio “NPR” (National Public Radio).

On its web page, this major US non-commercial public broadcasting network illustrated its article with a photo taken by the Moroccan artist.

“Hassan Hajjaj, born in Morocco in 1961, is often called Andy Warhol of Marrakech for his fusion between glamor and everyday life. Both are evident in his portrait of 2017, Cardi B Unity. The rap star, dressed in a high-fashion outfit, sits on utilitarian green plastic boxes on a textured fabric background. The frame consists of boxes of green tea, each decorated with a butterfly,” writes NPR.

A native of Larache, Hassan Hajjaj has lived since his adolescence between Morocco and Great Britain. He has already exhibited in many famous galleries including the Brooklyn Museum in New York and Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

In addition to the Moroccan artist, the collective exhibition at the Yossi Milo gallery presents photographers from Algeria, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal. Others who are not from the continent are inspired by their work in Africa.

“Since its introduction on the Continent, portrait photography has remained a central part of the history of African photography. By the early 1900s, practitioners born in England and France had established permanent studios in most West African capitals. A generation of African entrepreneur-apprentices quickly turned to technology, opening their own spaces to meet the growing demand for photographs in everyday life. In the 1950s, the proliferation of photography studios and the rapid cultural adoption of the medium by photographers and customers had paved the way for the rise of post-independence artistic innovation” in an introduction to this exhibition by the American gallery. The images, in black and white as well as in color, are imbued with the spirit of African identity. “Hanging on the walls of the gallery, the photos seem to speak to each other across time and space and make statements about African society and culture,” says NPR.

Founded in 2000, the Yossi Milo Gallery in New York aims to provide a platform for a community of influential artists working in all media, including photography, painting, sculpture, video and drawing.