THE
INSTIGATOR
Art & Culture magazine
ART
/NEWS
Entrance of La Mamounia at 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair / Photo © Courtesy of Zoltan Alexander
Photo © Courtesy of Denis Dailleux / Galery 127
Photo © Courtesy of Artsi Ifrac and Mous Lamrabat
Photo © Courtesy of Prince Gyasi / Maät Gallery
Photo © Courtesy of Ismail Zaidy / Maät Gallery
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1:54 MARRAKESH
2024
CONTEMPORARY
AFRICAN ART FAIR
LA MAMOUNIA / DADA
7 - 11 FEBRUARY 2024
MARRAKESH
Twelve years ago, Founder, Director Touria El Glaoui launched 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair first in London, during FREEZE Week in October, at Somerset House, followed by New York, and Marrakesh.
1:54 Marrakesh is one of the most anticipated events in February each year, gathering 1 continent and 54 countries. The art fair is dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and the African diaspora.
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The 5th edition took place between 7-11 February 2024, at the luxurious La Mamounia hotel, expanding this year their physical footprint by inaugurating a second location at DaDa, with many returning favourite galleries from Paris including AFIKARIS, Nil Gallery, MAGNIN-A, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, and other local satellite exhibitions at the Fondation Montresso, Galerie 127, Malhoun Gallery, and Loft Gallery.
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Following the ambitious list of participant artists in 2023, Kehinde Wiley, Youssef Nabil, Amine El Gotaibi, Eric van Hove, Mous Lamrabat, Prince Gyasi, Hassan Hajjaj, Ismail Zaidy, and Karim Chater of Style Beldi, in 2024, the list continued with Mous Lamrabat, Ousmane Bâ, Amoako Boafo, Barthélémy Toguo, Delphine Diallo, Jean David Nkot, Zanele Muholi, Amine El Gotaibi, Jajjah by Hassan Hajjaj and Yasmina Alaoui in her incredible remote atelier.
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The art fair had many private events including the opening & closure parties at DaDa, a cocktail at Hotel El Fenn, a film projection at Musée Yves Saint Laurent, and a sumptuous dinner given by Michelin-star Chef Georgiana Viou at the Hotel Mandarin Oriental Marrakesh.
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1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Marrakesh (Morocco)
7 - 11 February 2024
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1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London (UK)
during FRIEZE week
/ 9 - 13 October 202
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/ The Instigator
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"If the Shoe Fits" / Photo © Courtesy of Mous Lamrabat
1:54
MARRAKESH 2024
Fondation Montresso / video © Courtesy of Zoltan Alexander
"Lac Rose" Collage by Ousmane Bâ / © Courtesy of Guido Ousmane Contini
El Fenn Marrakesh courtyard / Photo © Courtesy of Zoltan Alexander
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1:54 MARRAKESH
2020
CONTEMPORARY
AFRICAN ART FAIR
LA MAMOUNIA
22 - 23 FEBRUARY 2020
MARRAKESH
Discover our previously published three-part reviews on 1:54 Marrakesh 2020 edition, our most in-dept reportage on the city, the culture, the art fair, the participant artists and international galleries.
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1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Marrakesh (Morocco)
22 - 23 February 2020
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/ The Instigator
Bourse de Commerce / Video © Courtesy of Zoltan Alexander
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ANRI SALA
TIME NO LONGER
BOURSE DE COMMERCE
PINAULT COLLECTION
PARIS
TIME NO LONGER
In the heart of Bourse de Commerce, Pinault Collection, Paris, in the Rotonde, created by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, the exhibition A second of Eternity ends with Berlin-based Albanian Anri Sala’s spectacular video installation Time No Longer (2021), a scale never seen before in France.
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The video is presented on a giant curved screen embracing the cylinder of the concrete wall. Sala’s transformative, time-based works are constructed through multiple relationships between image, architecture and sound. At the Bourse de Commerce a carte blanche was given to the artist to create a spectacular epilogue.
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“What interests me is how sound can be imbued with reality.” Anri Sala
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Anri Sala / Bourse de Commerce, Pinault Collection, Paris (France)
14 October 2022 – 16 January 2023
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/ The Instigator
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(front) Loïc Le Gaillard and Julien Lombrail / Photos © Courtesy of Ladbroke Hall
Carpenters Workshop Gallery
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LADBROKE HALL OPENING
CARPENTERS WORKSHOP
LONDON
After years of careful planning, the London-based French gallery Carpenters Workshop announced their new venue at Ladbroke Hall, that opened on 27 April 2023.
The West London location on 4000m2 is an immersive destination for contemporary art, design, culture and gastronomy, serving as the gallery’s London flagship including the restaurant Pollini, photographic studios, a hidden garden and a space for events.
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Ladbroke Hall is an grand opportunity for gallery founders Loïc Le Gaillard and Julien Lombrail to branch out of the traditional gallery model into a new concept for displaying, creating, and experiencing art and design.
In 2023, Ladbroke Hall opened with artist David Adjaye’s exhibition YAAWA, visionary architect Zanine Caldas’s DENUNCIA, and an amazing concert featuring soul singer Cherise.
A new body of work of celebrated architect and artist Sir David Adjaye OM OBE features eight limited-edition objects that reflect his investigation into the materiality and historic resonance of bronze as a medium. An exploration of the many facets of this visionary architect and artist Zanine Caldas’s work where pure, raw wood is masterfully tamed into iconic pieces of natural beauty.
Ladbroke Hall is undoubtably the best could have happened to the London art scene.
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Ladbroke Hall, Carpenters Workshop, London (UK)
Opening 27 April 2023
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/ The Instigator
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Shen Wei / Photo © Courtesy of Flowers Gallery
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SHEN WEI
A SEASON PARTICULAR
FLOWERS GALLERY
LONDON
New York-based Chinese-American artist Shen Wei returned to Flowers Gallery with his solo show A Season Particular.
The exhibition of sensuous photographs explores notions of gender, form and desire, reflecting a practice which Shen Wei describes as “finding the spiritual and abstract similarities between our bodies and nature and emphasising the harmony, fragility, and interconnectedness of both.”
At Flowers, closely cropped figurative forms are interspersed with images of plants and blossoms, evoking a dreamlike sense of contemplation and calm. According to Shen Wei:
“The unique beauty and interplay between the human body and nature aim to elicit a sense of awe, wonder, and appreciation for the world around us, as well as a way to explore more profound spiritual and philosophical questions about the nature of existence and the purpose of life."
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Shen Wei / Flowers Gallery, London (UK)
4 May - 3 June 2023
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/ Zoltan Alexander