Stephen Friedman Gallery presents ‘Free The Wind, The Spirit, and The Sun’ – a new exhibition by British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare CBE RA – and the first to take place at its new London home on Cork Street, Mayfair. Having joined in 1996, Shonibare is one of the gallery’s longest represented artists.
The exhibition includes a group presentation of African artists, and artists from the African diaspora, curated by Shonibare. Some of these artists participated in Shonibare’s residency program at Guest Artist Space Foundation in Lagos, Nigeria. Paintings, sculptures, mixed media pieces and works on paper are exhibited.
Described as a “celebration of nature” by Shonibare, the exhibition comprises a vibrant body of sculptures, masks and quilts. The show takes inspiration from the dada spirit; formed in Zurich during the First World War at Cabaret Voltaire by Hugo Ball and Emmy Hennings, the movement challenged the bourgeois values and traditions of Western art, from the Renaissance to naturalism and impressionism. Throughout the war, dada artists often staged performances in bewildered, trance-like states, evoking African and Oceanic cultures to express animalism, originality, and freedom.
5 – 6 Cork Street
Private View: 6-8pm, 5 October 2023
6 October – 11 November 2023
