The art fair 1:54, which is dedicated to artists from Africa and the diaspora, makes its New York debut this week at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn (15-17 May). The New York edition has been described as a “pop-up” version of its successful London counterpart, now in its third year, but the quality of work on show (several artists are also showing in Venice) suggests that this is a serious attempt to stake a claim in the US market.
Five of the 16 galleries and one project space are newcomers, including New York’s Axis gallery (the only participant from the city), which is showing, among others, a photographic installation by the Democratic Republic of Congo-born, Belgium-based artist Sammy Baloji, priced at $28,000. The work comes in an edition of five and a version is also on show in the Arsenale at the Venice Biennale.
Another first-time exhibitor, Circa gallery from South Africa, has a one-man show of works by Wayne Barker, including three silkscreens based on swizzle sticks of Zulu women bought in 1987 at the height of apartheid. Priced at $1,800 each, the works represent the more affordable face of the fair.
At the more expensive end of the spectrum, two canvases by the Democratic Republic of Congo "popular painter" Chéri Samba are particularly eye-catching at the Parisian gallery, Magnin-A; one depicts two men with their heads clamped in a vice (priced at $72,000) and the other is a self-portrait of the artist with a pencil in his mouth ($96,000).
Sculptures on the booth come courtesy of Gonçalo Mabunda, who creates objects from weapons recovered at the end of Mozambique’s civil war. The artist is showing larger works made from Kalashnikovs at the Venice Biennale, but these examples proved tricky to get through US Customs, so the gallery opted to bring smaller masks (priced at $6,000 each) to 1:54, according to gallery director Philippe Boutté.
Continuing the Venice theme, a smaller version of the Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama’s installation hung on the outside wall of the Arsenale in Venice is available for €40,000 at A Palazzo gallery from Brescia. For its Venice incarnation, Mahama employed 70 assistants to assemble a 300m-long, 3,000kg tapestry made from the jute sacks that are used to transport coal in Ghana.
Meanwhile, paintings by Peter Clarke—one of South Africa’s most important artists—are priced at around $30,000 at Smac gallery. Considered blue-chip in the South African market, the works are relatively affordable compared with those on offer at Frieze New York.
London’s Jack Bell gallery corners the middle of the market and is selling, among others, Basquiat-inspired paintings by the Ivory Coast artist Aboudia for between £3,000 and £12,500 and acid-coloured canvases by the up-and-coming Cameroonian artist Boris Nzebo for £3,000 to £7,500.
Despite the not-so central location, collectors are expected to make the trip to 1:54 NY, which includes a heavyweight talks programme curated by Koyo Kouoh, the artistic director of Raw Material Company in Dakar.
Touria El Glaoui, the director of the fair, says the unprecedented number of African artists (around 21 in total) in Okwui Enwezor’s exhibition at the Venice Biennale will no doubt “contribute toward a wider perception and recognition of Africa and African diasporan artists, who often face under-representation”. As Magnin-A's Philippe Boutté puts it: “Africa is the last frontier of art.”