As part of the INVESTEC Cape Town Art Fair, we are pleased to present six artists who create an emotional approach to existential questions of our time, personal identity and sustainable ecology. Visit our booth D4 in the main section or have a look at the solo show by Marcelo Brodsky in our booth E1.
Marcelo Brodsky (1954, Argentina) is an international human rights activist and visual artist with work focused in memory and collective history. His work combines text and images to accentuate certain messages and to build up alternative narratives. Three of the artist’s series will be on display at the fair: THE MANDELA SERIES (2023, in collaboration with Gideon Mendel), TRACES OF VIOLENCE (2021) and AFRICA: FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM (2018, in collaboration with Gideon Mendel). Brodsky’s work is in the collections of the Tate Modern (London), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Pinacoteca del Estado (Sao Paulo), the National Museum of Fine Arts (Buenos Aires) and many more…
Saidou Dicko (1976, Burkina Faso) applies thick black brushstrokes to paint over photographies he took in his home country. The alienation of these silhouettes covers their identities, but brings us closer to their intimate gestures, the role of childlike play, hard work, or complex family dynamics. His works have been shown at numerous international events, biennials, fairs and exhibitions.
Patrick Tagoe-Turkson (1978, Ghana) is a multidisciplinary artist with his studio based in Takoradi in the Western Region of Ghana. Together with his students he collects plastic and found flip-flops from local beaches. Through the act of restoring and reshaping the discarded rubber, he creates vibrant tapestries that promote the concept of sustainability. His work does not just reflect urgent planeterian problems but also becomes a medium to reclaim, transform and repair. Patrick has participated in over 100 exhibitions both locally and internationally and is a member of several nature, land art and artists groups around the globe.
Imraan Christian (1992, South Africa) identifies as a visual artist and an activist invested in the fight for decolonization and freedom of expression in his nation. His photographic work has been exhibited several times at international fairs. Since then, Imraan has diversified his practice and taken up the paintbrush. In oil, the artist creates large-scale paintings that not only capture the subjects of his photographs, but also transfer the artist's sensibility to this medium.
Foli Kossi Gérard Tete, alias Tesprit (1994, Togo), is a self-taught artist that invites us into the contrasting universe of the Dzimakplao, the displaced children of Togo. Tesprit uses flip-flops, recovered from the Lomé dumps to create unique stories, filled with perseverance and courage. Simply immortalized in their daily life, these faceless characters are like anonymous portraits that present the complex condition of children in this very particular current context that is our era. Tesprit’s works have been shown internationally in Benin, Ghana, Senegal, Togo, France, Italy, Germany and Belgium.
Atusa Jafari (2001, Germany) is a contemporary painter with Iranian roots living in Berlin. Her oil paintings are inspired by the nature of people, especially young women from the artist's private environment. In her self-portraits, reality and fantasy become blurred. They are introspective, but involve the viewer directly and allow them to become part of the scenery. After solo exhibitions in New York and group exhibitions in Berlin, Jafari recently showed her works in Miami, USA.
