Southern Guild will exhibit at EXPO Chicago for the first time from 13-16 April, presenting ceramics, sculpture, paintings, and wall reliefs by leading artists from across the African continent.

These include Zanele Muholi (South Africa), Zizipho Poswa (South Africa), Andile Dyalvane (South Africa), Oluseye (Nigeria/Canada), Kamyar Bineshtarigh (Iran/South Africa), Patrick Bongoy (Democratic Republic of Congo), Dominique Zinkpè (Benin), and Stanislaw Trzebinski (Kenya).

Rich in materiality and divergent in form, the works in Southern Guild’s presentation speak of the ingenuity of the human hand and the labour-intensive processes that elevate the prosaic to the sublime.

The exhibition will feature a large bronze self-portrait of Zanele Muholi, two ceramic and bronze sculptures from Zizipho Poswa’s recent solo, and new works from renowned ceramicists Andile Dyalvane, Madoda Fani, and Chuma Maweni. Additionally, the booth will have a palimpsest by Kamyar Bineshtarigh, new paintings by Manyaku Mashilo, and bronze and hand-blown glass sculptures by Stanislaw Trzebinski. Oluseye’s Eminado series and Bongoy’s tapestries, made of recycled rubber, will also be exhibited. The works explore themes such as memory, place, Blackness, and the future of a decimated Earth.

Southern Guild (founded in 2008) specialises in functional and fine art by artists from Africa. Through exhibition making and community engagement, the gallery catalyses the creation of globally relevant work. Southern Guild’s rigorous curatorial programme focuses on unprecedented modes of making, cross-disciplinary collaborations, contemporary craft, sustainability and social impact.

Source: Southern Guild.