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New York 2016

  • 1-54 Forum 2016
  • Exhibitors 2016
  • Partners 2016

Gastineau Massamba

Born in 1973 in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. Lives and works in Paris, France

Gastineau Massamba, God Save the King, 2015, Weaving, embroidery, seam and calcination on linen, 152 x 237cm / 59.84 x 93.3 in, Courtesy of Jack Bell Gallery 

Growing up in Brazzaville, Gastineau Massamba was entrenched within the civil conflict that tore apart his country. Deeply affected by his experiences, he approaches his practice as a conduit for dealing with the violence, chaos, and pain he and his country suffered, of which vestiges from this tumultuous period still exist today. Massamba bears a violence within his methods: burns, cuts, and embroidered often appear with powerful effect. Laborious, yet refraining from ornamentation, his stark vignettes of human suffering are often attended by motifs of faceless armed soldiers and skeletal remains. The recurring motif of the skull suggests a will to tame the forces of evil, while gesturing toward traditional forms of Vodou, practiced in his home country. While seemingly macabre in tone, respite from violence is offered by way of transcendence, glimpsed in emblems such as organic plantation – as discernible symbols of growth and survival.

Massamba’s work has been widely exhibited in Republic of Congo, as well as further afield, with exhibitions in Brazil, France, Morocco, Senegal and Spain.

Selected Artists

Gastineau Massamba

William Sagna

Kura Shomali

Boua, Armand

Veleko, Nontsikelelo

Emma Amos

Otobong Nkanga

Ndiaye, Cheikh

Artists 2016

  • A

    • Aboudia
    • Adams, Derrick
    • Al Miller
    • Andrianomearisoa, Joël
    • Ategwa, Ajarb Bernard
    • Athi-Patra Ruga
  • B

    • Ba, Omar
    • Bandoma, Steve
    • Beatrice Wanjiku
    • Boua, Armand
    • Boutté, Nathalie
  • C

    • Clay Apenouvon
  • D

    • Diop, Omar Victor
  • E

    • Edson Chagas
    • Em’kal Eyongakpa
    • Emma Amos
    • Erruas, Safaa
  • G

    • Gastineau Massamba
    • Goodman, Frances
    • Gor Soudan
  • H

    • Hamidou Maiga
  • I

    • Ibrahim Mahama
  • J

    • Jean-Claude Moschetti
    • Jim Chuchu
  • K

    • Kentridge, William
    • Kganye, Lebohang
    • Khelil, Farah
    • Kura Shomali
  • L

    • Lemaoana, Lawrence
    • Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou
    • Liebenberg, John
    • Lundangi, Franck
  • M

    • Mabunda, Gonçalo
    • Maïmouna Guerresi
    • Maludi, Houston
    • Michéa, Vincent
    • Mika, JP
    • Monteiro, Fabrice
    • Muluneh, Aïda
    • Mustapha Azeroual
    • Mwangi Hutter
  • N

    • Ndary Lo
    • Ndiaye, Cheikh
    • Nzebo, Boris
  • O

    • Olagunju, Niyi
    • Olatunji, Babajide
    • Onditi, Paul
    • Otobong Nkanga
  • P

    • Peterson Kamwathi
    • Phoebe Boswell
  • S

    • Samba, Chéri
    • Sanogo, Amadou
    • Sonia Boyce
    • Sue Williamson
  • T

    • Theo Eshetu
  • U

    • Uche Okpa-Iroha
    • Uman
  • V

    • Veleko, Nontsikelelo
    • Victor, Diane
  • W

    • William Sagna
  • Y

    • Yashua Klos
    • Yéanzi
  • Z

    • Zangewa, Billie
    • Zinkpè, Dominique
    • Zohra Opoku

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