sulger-buel lovelllondon I cape town

of(f) africa 13 OctOber – 15 NOvember 2014

of(f) africa13 OctOber – 15 NOvember 2014

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About Sulger-buel Lovell

collector, christian Sulger-buel and gallerist, tamzin Lovell miller, have partnered to launch Sulger-buel Lovell in London

and cape town, specialising in contemporary African art. christian Sulger-buel has been collecting African art for over 35

years, and Lovell Gallery has been operating in cape town since December 2009.

the new Gallery in London is conveniently located close to the tate modern in the setting of a bankside loft. the cape

town salon privé space is located in the riebeek valley winelands, with an office at Lovell Gallery in the heart of the gallery

district in Woodstock.

Sulger-buel Lovell is positioned as part of a new approach in understanding the trajectories of contemporary African art

and its relationship with the cultural heritage of Africa. It focuses on the challenges that artists are confronting in the

urban environment of contemporary Africa, where art is a configuration of local, regional and intercontinental ideas and

practices. In the process of social and cultural change in Africa, Sulger-buel Lovell is determined to highlight the increasing

interconnection of artists through the process of globalisation, and exhibit significant established and emerging talents.

Our belief is that the socio-cultural and economic transformations of Africa can be better understood through the analysis

and interpretation of local art productions. Furthermore, contemporary art in Africa is relevant in understanding the broader

socio-political context of the continent and its importance in the lives of local communities.

Sulger-buel Lovell is born from a desire to support and focus on artists working in, or originating from, Africa and its diaspora.

both partners wish to share their passion for contemporary African art with artists, collectors, and the public. they offer a

highly individual approach to clients, as well as a great expertise and an extensive network of contacts around the globe.

the gallery will accompany existing and new collectors to this emerging market and introduce them to a broader range of

artists. the gallery is committed to long-term relationships with the most promising contemporary African artists as well

as with collectors.

We are proud to present our inaugural exhibition, OF(F) AFRICA, in the London gallery on the 13th of October 2014.

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christian Sulger-buel (London, UK)

christian Sulger-buel is a French national, born in Sweden from a Swiss-German background, and has lived in London since

1991. He is a collector of traditional and contemporary African Art and the founder of the Sulger-buel African Art collection

and African Art chronicles. christian Sulger-buel holds a degree in Law from the University of Nancy (France) and an mA in

Political Sciences from the Institut d’etudes Politiques de Paris. He speaks French, english, German and Spanish, has been

knighted by the French government with the Order of merit and the Order of Arts et Lettres, and served as vice consul

of Austria when he worked in monaco. He is a wealth management specialist and has been consulting private clients and

Family Offices in helping them apply best practices for dealing with the challenges they face in managing their financial

affairs, businesses, and their families.

tamzin Lovell miller (cape town, SA)

tamzin Lovell miller is owner and director of Lovell Gallery and founder of Lovell tranyr Art trophy. Her career history includes

diverse roles in both sciences and arts, corporate and consulting, before opening her gallery business in December 2009.

Starting off with bSc studies, and working in the field of analytical chemistry, she later completed degrees in Fine Arts

at rhodes University (majoring in Photographic Art and Art History), and communication Sciences through University of

South Africa. this led to employment in the fields of photo-journalism, population research, consumer insights and market

research. tamzin spent a number of years consulting to corporates locally and globally in strategic insights and brand

development. She applies this approach to helping artists plan, develop, grow and thrive in a competitive global art market,

nurturing their talent and protecting their value for collectors.

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Preface

It is a pleasure to welcome the exciting inaugural exhibition of the new gallery Sulger-buel Lovell. the gallery is located

both in London, england, and in cape town, South Africa, and this double positioning allows it to reflect on contemporary

art across the African continent, both from its local African perspectives and also to contribute within the global circuits of

contemporary art exhibition and display. the importance and significance of the dynamic art-making of African artists has

become more and more apparent in the twenty-first century, especially as such artists have become more visible in these

global circuits. they have often had to struggle with a lack of supporting infrastructures (and sometimes inimical political

and social conditions) in the making of their art and in reaching local publics. this need to be self-reliant is, perhaps, one

of the key factors in the exciting dynamism of the arts created by African artists, albeit the challenges, circumstances and

artistic debates may be very different and diverse at different locations across this vast continent. Indeed in this context the

very term the “African” artist perhaps needs to be questioned or at least qualified by the specificities of region and locality

due to the immense distances and diversity of regions, nations, cultures and communities within Africa (and as is the case

in considering european or American art and associated art histories).

Similarly African artists are the products of long and extensive histories of local modernisms, avant gardes and art

movements within the African continent (often these movements are not as well-known as they should be outside of the

continent). contemporary African artists also engage with art and art histories of other parts of the world in order to offer

their own unique visions. the possibilities African artists offer are perhaps further enhanced by the vast range of other

contemporaneous visual traditions, art practices, and modes of visuality that also operate in particular communities and

regions in Africa which they can draw upon ( such as, to name but two, the Adinkra signs of the Akan speaking peoples

of Ghana or particular and very diverse masking traditions found across Africa). moreover there are longstanding and rich

traditions of artmaking that were historically autonomous to the art histories of europe and Asia, such as the benin bronzes

of West Africa or the Lydenberg Heads of South Africa, such that the first evidence of art making in the world is found some

80,000 years ago at the blombos caves in South Africa. these are rich and complex art histories of image making that are

also a resource to be mined (or played with) by contemporary African artists in offering complex multi-layered artworks

and perspectives.

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this inaugural exhibition has selected three artists that offer

diverse positionings in their modes of artistic expression

and yet are bound by the overlapping circumstances of

locality that provides a lens through which to approach

both their commonalities and divergences. both ralph

Ziman and vivien Kohler were born in South Africa,

although ralph Ziman has relocated from one continent

to another to reside at venice beach, california whereas

vivien Kohler moved from cape Flats in cape town (a

designated urban zone for South Africans denoted as

“coloured” during the enforcement of the Apartheid

regime until 1994) to Johannesburg. Abdulrazaq Awofeso

is a Nigerian trained at Yaba college of technology who

moved to Johannesburg then back again to Lagos. thus

all three artists are positioned by their experiences and

practice in relation to the localities of South Africa but also

are differentiated by their temporal movements to and

from it, giving very different perspectives and responses.

Kohler appropriates the constant regurgitations of

material found in the skips and dumps of Johannesburg,

denoted by him as “the de(re)tritus” to invoke its outflow

as debris as a by-product of the building and rebuilding

of the urban landscape of Johannesburg. His work has an

immediate and intimate relationship with the materiality

of the city through which he articulates complex ideas

of personhood and individuated identity that define

themselves out of the difficult social and economic

circumstances that still prevail for the many in post-

Apartheid South Africa. Ziman, a continent removed from

South Africa, reflects on its history of liberation struggle

and thematically develops it to consider the many armed

struggles for independence in different parts of Africa as

typified by the AK-47, iconic of such struggles. However

within a range of motifs whether cradled in the arms of

African fighters or on its own, it has been enriched by its

fusion and saturation within other African visual practices,

iconographies and mediums. this is realised through the

embellishment of beads, both in specifically South African

and local traditions of bead making associated with

particular groupings such as, for example, venda, Xhosa

or Zulu to mention but three. However beads were a trade

good throughout sub-Saharan Africa for more than a

millennium and were prominent in its civilisations, such as

Ife or Igbo Ukwu in West Africa or along the Swahili coast

in east Africa from the eleventh century onwards. Ziman’s

use of beads to articulate a specifically African iconography

of the AK-47 encapsulates processes of decolonisation

but imbued with a contemporary energy and brio as

an “unfinished business” that confronts the pervasive

inequalities still found across the African continent.

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Awofeso ‘s movement within Africa from one vast urban agglomeration to another gives another perspective through his

constructions of urban landscapes, invoked by the massing of sculpted human forms that articulate the ebb and flows of

mass movement within cities. by so doing, he offers a space for also reflecting on the collective conditions of humanity in

such circumstances, highlighting its common weal, its common vulnerabilities and by extension the shared predicaments

in the exigencies of the human condition. In their image making all three artists offer unique and challenging visions with

inter-related but divergent themes shaped by the shared locality of South Africa.

christian Sulger-buel and tamzin Lovell miller are to be congratulated on this new project, the gallery Sulger-buel Lovell,

and in offering a new and exciting voice in London on the dynamic trajectories of contemporary art in Africa. this exhibition

exemplifies these aims.

charles Gore (SOAS)

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curator’s Statement

‘figural cartography’ of contemporary africa. The figure; a signifier of the land, as depicted by three African artists through the

visual exploration of their contemporary experiences.

the artists’ experiential comprehension of the physical, phantasmagorical and psychogeographic terrain as expressed

through their compositions, is an alternate simulation of the land’s narrative. through multidisciplinary approaches sculptor

Abdulrazaq Awofeso, mixed media artist vivien Kohler and photographer ralph Ziman, have visually orated and challenged

the continent’s socio-political, socio-economic and humanistic dynamics through the figural depictions in their work. the

figures are vessels through which the artists’ thematic enquiries are explored; creating meaning through form.

these artists, as pictorial cartographers in their own right, have utilized the human form in their compositions as metaphorical

representations; ‘figural’ signifiers of the continent, highlighting the innate interconnectivity between man, visual culture and

evolvements in the urban sphere. the nuances of the continent’s terrain have been mapped through the artists’ interpretation

and subjective depictions of the form, further contextualized in relation to the chosen space, place and objects.

the human figure composed through the perspective of the African artist rooted on the continent, can be perceived as

an embodiment of the environment an extension of the landscape; its cultural dynamics, laden and contentious history,

present yet ephemeral state of being, and envisioned future, for society and self. this notion can be observed through the

figures which have been interwoven with visual symbolism, embedded with traces of shared human experiences, all of

which mirror aspects of the corporeal. the sculptural, three dimensional compositional approach, and use of traditional and

found materials as expressed contemporaneously by Awofeso, Kohler and Ziman, serve as connective symbols to the land’s

past, and expressive of how it has shifted through modernity, as authored by the artists.

As the inaugural show of the OF(F) Africa series, this exhibition will contribute to the visual documentation of contemporary

Africa and its transformations in the context of intra-African and global developments. It will aim to invigorate and transcend

the confines of ‘traditional’ discourse about the aesthetic and modes of artistic practice in Africa, to ignite a re-reading of

the continent’s arts through a semiotic and linguistic system founded within the individualizing philosophy of Pan African

Aesthetics; the notion of art as performative, or derivative of the individual and collectives lived experience.

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Abdulrazaq Awofeso

“Being limited is what I have always resented as an artist, I strive to be free and this reflects in my work”.

Abdulrazaq Awofeso is a Nigerian sculptor, whose methodology is based on the notion of constructivism; adding to the

structural form rather than deducting. His figural compositions portray notions of bureaucracy and the constraints within

the contemporary political, social and economic urban sphere; highlighting the corruption and deceit that underlies the

interconnected, global societal façade. Awofeso explores how the social constructs affect our present experiences. His

work responds to his locale as an African contemporary artist. Awofeso’s sculptures aim to stigmatize and challenge the

manner in which certain sects are perceived through their appearances, be they religious or corporate institutions. His

figures assume identities representative of the urban landscape, the complex dichotomies and intrinsic similarities of the

makings of man.

In 2003 Awofeso attended the Johannesburg Art Gallery residency programme and had his first solo exhibition Fragments

of the City at the Goethe Institute Johannesburg. In 2012 he had his second solo exhibition Insitu at Fred Gallery, London.

Awofeso has exhibited in group exhibitions including; Field of Vision in New York, Challenge of the Cravat; a travelling croatian

government group exhibition, Far and Wide at the AbSA Art Gallery, Fragile at the maiden at Alley cinema Gallery in Kentucky

USA and Space at the museum of Africa. most recently his work has been exhibited at the 2014 Dakar biennale in Senegal

and he is the recipient of the thami mnyele Foundation residency in Amsterdam.

Awofeso’s sculptural installations are housed in private, public and corporate collections, namely the UNISA permanent

collection, Nando’s (West Africa, South Africa, middle east and europe), and the AbSA foundation.

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World Trade Centre, 2014sculptural installation (detail)Wood and enamel paint 13 x 8 x 6cm / dimensions variable

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Fragments from the city, 2011sculptural installation (detail)Wood and enamel paint 13 x 8 x 6cm / dimensions variable

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Fragments from the city, 2011sculptural installation (detail)Wood and enamel paint 13 x 8 x 6cm / dimensions variable

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vivien Kohler

“The search for home is not always a physical one, my endeavour is to find the home within my own skin”.

vivien Kohler is a mixed media painter from cape town, South Africa. Kohler’s works are a contemplation of the human

condition in relation to the urban environment, and man’s innate ability to transcend ‘the conceptual decay’. His composed

figures lie in quiet moments of dream and meditative thought, an introspection of aspects of the past, present and future.

Kohler has taken part in a prestigious group show titled, Is There Still Life curated by Prof. michael Godby of the University of

cape town, which was held at the Sanlam Gallery in cape town during 2007. At the beginning of 2008, he curated his first

group show along with Nico eilers at the Association Of visual Arts in cape town entitled Provoke. In 2012, Kohler undertook

his first solo exhibition, Given To Fly at the AvA, he also co-curated a group exhibition titled Ingekleur (Shaded), which

explored issues of coloured and mixed identity. In November 2012, he won the ItWeb / brainstorm calendar competition

with his entry commissioned by vodacom, and in 2013 was the Solo winner of the Lovell Gallery Artist competition.

Kohler’s present body of work explores the notion of ‘retritus’, human nature’s ability to overcome life’s detritus, and

transcend constructed boundaries. there are numerous areas which could be perceived as detritus in our lives; be they

political injustice, financial circumstance, ancestral inheritance or prejudice; all of which take a concerted conceptual re-

evaluation to overcome. through the assemblage of found scrap metal, objects and painted forms, Kohler reflects and

juxtaposes shared internal and external challenges of existence.

“Faith produces work. Love produces labour. Hope produces patience. It is here that I have found the notion of ‘retritus’. It is that

Hope, which produces the perseverance to change or transcend the conceptual decay”

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The Passage of Contemplation, 2014Grout and oil paint on board61 x 72 cm

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Surge, 2014Found metal objects, grout and oil paint on board87 x 172 x 10 cm

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Port of Respite, 2014Grout and oil paint on board61 x 72 cm

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De(re)tritus, 2014Found metal objects, grout and oil paint on board120 x 144 x 6 cm

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ralph Ziman

ralph Ziman is an award-winning South African film-maker living and working in venice beach, california. He has directed

over 400 videos for major artists and written and directed several critically acclaimed feature films.

“While spending time again in Johannesburg, my birth town, I was horrified by the crime and the proliferation of weapons, the ease

with which they can be acquired and the fascination the culture has with guns in general and the AK-47 in particular. The way that

struggle songs lionize the gun. The sound the gun makes, the look of it. I wanted to find a way to explore the subject.”

Ziman created the multi-faceted body of work Ghosts as a direct response to an examination of the international arms trade,

specifically on the African continent where the AK-47 has proliferated widely, fuelling and sustaining the conflict across the

continent, ensuring that war and impoverishment are a perpetual cycle. there are more than 70 million AK-47s in circulation

around the world. It is estimated that the AK-47 is responsible for over one half of a billion deaths in wars and political

disputes since its invention; eighty percent of those killed are innocent non-combatants of war. this was the inspiration for

the work, to raise awareness about the unseen traffickers and the nameless faceless people who are killed.

Ziman collaborated with six Zimbabwean artists to create hundreds of faux brightly beaded AK-47s and ammunition out of

wire and traditional glass beads. the subjects of the photo shoot were the artists themselves, several construction workers

who happened to witness the shoot, and a member of the South African Police Services who wanted his picture taken.

the resulting photographs created highly alluring, aesthetically dramatic and unsettling compositions; a subversion of

the stereotypical visual perception. the figures ‘perform power’; evoked through narratives embedded in the symbolic

exchange between man and object. they assume domineering gestural behaviors, while the brightly beaded ‘guns’ and

multi-coloured faceless body suits, create a strangely beautiful fashion editorial.

“Shocking, beautiful and sad”.

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Tokoloshe 3, 2013‘Evil Spirit’ (Zulu)Digital print on Moab Entrada paper162 x 112 cm

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Nzima, 2013‘Heavy’ (Zulu)Digital print on Moab Entrada paper162 x 112 cm

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Usathane Obomvu 7, 2013‘Red Devil’ (Zulu)Digital print on Moab Entrada paper162 x 112 cm

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Hondo, 2013‘War’ (Shona)Digital print on Moab Entrada paper162 x 112 cm

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Isosha, 2013‘A solidier’ (Zulu)Digital print on Moab Entrada paper101 x 71 cm

Izimpi, 2013‘War party’ (Zulu)Digital print on Moab Entrada paper101 x 71 cm

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Murarabungu Chigawaga 4, 2013‘My Machine Gun’ (Shona)Digital print on Moab Entrada paper101 x 71 cm

Umholi, 2013‘A leader’ (Zulu)Digital print on Moab Entrada paper101 x 71 cm

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Mabara Ako, 2013‘Your bullets’ (Shona)Digital print on Moab Entrada paper101 x 71 cm

Chidoma, 2013‘Ghost’ (Shona)Digital print on Moab Entrada paper101 x 71 cm

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Beaded AK-47s in crates

AK-47s, 2013beads, wire

LONDON

tel +44 203 268 2101

Address: the Loft, unit 2 La Gare, 51 Surrey row, London Se1 0bZ

cAPe tOWN

tel +27 21 447 5918

Office: the Loft, 139 Albert road, Woodstock, cape town 7925

Salon Privé: riebeek valley (by Appointment)

christian Sulger-buel

Partner

mobile +44 777 578 2955

christian@sulger-buel-lovell.com

tamzin Lovell miller

Partner

mobile +27 79 176 4292

tamzin@sulger-buel-lovell.com

OPeNING HOUrS DUrING eXHIbItIONS

tuesday - Friday

10am - 6pm

Saturdays

10am - 4pm

Outside of exhibition times, by appointment

www.sulger-buel-lovell.com