African Aesthetic

How can you define the African aesthetic? A continent made up of 54 countries — each with their own culture, their own traditions and their own social structures – no doubt produces stylistically varied African artists.

The literary movement Négritude was led by the writers Aimé Césaire, Léon Damas and Léopold Sédar Senghor and played a huge part in the development of modern African art. Founded in 1937 by a group of African student artists in Paris, a city with a tolerant and diverse art scene, the movement grew globally. The movement aimed to critique colonialism and cultivate an appreciation for Black and African culture, the effects of which no doubt is imperative to the contemporary African art scene.

According to Léopold Sédar Senghor, in order for African art to progress it had to reflect the modernity of the present by responding to contemporary social issues and artistic styles, while celebrating traditional culture. By also drawing from other Modernist movements such as the Harlem Renaissance and Surrealism, the African aesthetic of visual art focuses on these principles and is today conveyed by the likes of Angu Walters who focuses on everyday life in African villages. Whilst Faie Davis seeks to use her lens to capture an appreciation for those who retain tradition.

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African Aesthetic

Shepherds Seat

Red Kite

Listen, I am here

The King's Ring

Sans titre

Sans titre

Materia XV

Materia XIV

Materia XIII

Materia XII

Materia XI

Materia X

Materia IX

Materia VIII

Materia VII

Materia III

Materia VI

Materia V

Materia IV

Materia II

Materia I

Not alone

J'ai allumé une bougie 7

J'ai allumé une bougie 5

J'ai allumé une bougie 4

J'ai allumé une bougie 3

J'ai allumé une bougie 2

Kipusa (gorgeous)

Messenger

Treasury - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Mixed Media, Africa

Blood Sister - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Black Women Face

Alone Not Alone

Last shot

Diaphanous

Moment on the Sea

In His Space

In The Stillness (I'm Not Everything, But Still Me)

Sometimes At The Beach - 21st Century

Nothing Feels Better Than True Love

Méli-Melo

Appolo 11

Chapeau bas

Inner Nature 2

Inner Nature 1

Who Are You? - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Fashionable Men

Waiting for the rain in Wamba

At the heart of Huile

Tuareg Warrior

Young Hamer Woman

Glimpses

Assaita

Loiyangalani

Fula Nomad at Golondi

Fulani Bapteme Ceremony

Konbaki

Overseeing Merille

Kedeyne

Rendille Mother and Child

Learnesi

Nyangatom boy

Beads of the Omo Valley

Lady of the Arbore

Lines that lead to perfection

The pure Wodaabe

Korohan

La Vielle Ame (The Old Soul) - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Modern