POSITIONS Berlin

Tempelhofer Flughafen Hangar 5/6, 14 - 17 September 2023 
BOOTH F04

This year, the Galerie Melbye-Konan's booth will present four high demanded contemporary African artists who, in one way or another, share a common interest in questioning the human and social experience. 

Galerie Melbye-Konan represents international contemporary artists, both established and emerging, from Europe and Africa. In addition to presenting a dynamic and visionary exhibition programme in its 400 square metre space, the gallery collaborates with museums and institutions on curatorial projects. The Handelsblatt lists Galerie Melbye-Konan as one of the "new generation of galleries from Germany".

 

The 10th edition of POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair will take place from September 14 - 17, 2023 in Tempelhof Airport Hangar 5 - 6. Visit us at Booth F04.

 

Lanin Saint-Étienne Yeanzi

1988, born in Katiola, Côte d’Ivoire

Yeanzi is a contemporary and multi-award winning artist living between Côte d'Ivoire and France. Last year, he received the great honour of being selected for the 59th Biennale Arte di Venezia 2022. In September 2023, Yeanzi will be part of a museum exhibition at Kunsthal KaDE Amerfoot in the Netherlands. Questioning the concept of identity and the notion of cultural and collective heritage for identity formation is Yéanzi's main theme. His approach is at once historical, philosophical and utopian.

"My role as an artist is to be a mirror of society. If you like, I am a kind of repository of culture and collective memory, a collective conscience". (Yeanzi, 2021)

Since 2013, the artist has been working with recycled plastic, which he melts and drips onto various surfaces to create human figures and faces. Through his unique technique of fusing recycled plastic into faces, he synthesises and contrasts the millennia-old cultural richness of Africa with the current development of modern societies. Plastic also conveys a critical, thought-provoking message against today's throwaway society and our reckless treatment of the planet. This density of elements adds to the complexity and understanding of his work.

 

Yannick Ackah

1992, born in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire

Yannick Ackah is a recognized contemporary artist, and currently one of the most sought-after newcomer artists from Africa. His works have echoes of Picasso and Basquiat and were also immediately sold out at his first Solo Show and at the Berlin Art Fair Positions last year. For his compositions, Ackah draws inspiration from African sculptures and masks. 

"What I see in African sculptures is beauty, a challenge, a complete story, a great mystery that I try to solve through my work with lines, brushstrokes and also with colour." (Ackah, 2021).

In 2020 Yannick Ackah completed his art studies at I.N.S.A.A.C (Institut National Supérieur des Arts et de l'Action Culturelle) in Abidjan (Ivory Coast). Since then, he exhibited internationally and his works are part of prestigious private collections in France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, the United States, Japan, China and South Korea. In 2022 he was chosen to take part in the exhibition Aufatmen at Barlach Halle K, of the Landesverband Hamburger Galerien e.V., funded by the Department of Culture of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in Germany.

 

Atowla Kouadio

1997, born in Côte d’Ivoire

The emerging artist Atowla studied at the École Nationale des Beaux Arts in Abidjan and won the "Young Artists of the Future Prize" and the Peace and Environment Prize" in Abidjan in 2019. Atowla's paintings resemble photographs - to achieve this he uses different techniques and materials for his predominantly realistic depictions of figure paintings and portraits. He combines oil with acrylic paint and marbling. This gives his paintings a unique character and great intensity, which is further emphasized by the use of bold colors.

"Portrait photography has a loaded history in the colonial context. Now I use the same medium to portray African people as people." (Atowla)

His work questions the power of pictorial representation on many levels, from the reproduction of historical and iconic images to the phenomenon of the social media age. His last solo show in Germany was quickly sold out.

 

Stacey Ravvero

1991, born in Delta State, Nigeria

Stacey Ravvero is a multidisciplinary artist from Delta State, Nigeria. Her multifaceted practice currently investigates the human experience, while focusing on socio-political and environmental issues, through robust sensory experiences and diverse media. This includes metal fabrication, painting, poetry and performance installation/art. 

Her work has been shown across Lagos, London, Tennessee, Dakar, Accra, Nairobi and New York, to name a few. Stacey Ravverocurrently has an exhibition at the Lagos Museum of Art in Nigeria.

The artist holds a B.A. in Visual Arts from the University of Lagos and an M.A. in the history and business of the contemporary art market from the University of Warwick. Stacey Ravvero is the current artist selected for the LAGOS - BERLIN residency program by the Goethe-Institut Nigeria.

 
 
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