“Behind this Face“ is an exhibition about the weight of the imagery we all absorb and how even over centuries, whether deliberately or unconsciously it is reflected in each artist’s visual vocabulary.

We invite you to wander through the history of art, using the evolution of portrait in painting as a guideline, exploring the relationships between the Masters from different art movements and a selection of works by contemporary artists from Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, DRC, and Egypt. 

Submerging us through time… From ancient Egypt, passing through the Renaissance, the revolution of the Avant Gardes to the recent movement of Conceptual Art.

The artworks of the show are compared chronologically with acclaimed works from the history of art. These works and those of the past share common aspects that make more evident how art is affected by time, culture, society and genuineness. 

Call it a face, a profile, a visage… it doesn ́t matter… at the end, it is not just a human face that is reflected in the portrait, the self-portrait and the collective portrait; it is the mirror of existentiality.

We are connecting African contemporary artists to the Masters of different times as we believe that the language of art is universal and consciously (or unconsciously)  connected between all eras. All the analogies are observations from the curatorial research and selected in a way to broadly trace the chronological evolution of art from its origins to the present. Although there were many other relationships and interpretations that we could have explored, we decided to focus on the main aspects and thoughts that drove the artist to evolve from one movement to another.

There are many aspects analyzed in the selected portraits, like the traces of time, the anatomy, the psyche, the cultural references, the philosophical milestones, the space, the materiality of the work and the intention.

The painting of a human face is a painting of their identity, because it constitutes cultural weight. It is found in all people, eras and cultures. Art is a consequence of socialization and acculturation of the human.

The self-portrait comes from the inside out. It is a dive into the interior, in a way uncovers the hardest intimacy.

The human face has been an interpreter of one’s feelings, longings and dreams.