Paul Maheke Vanille Bleue Goodman Gallery Johannesburg 15 April – 26 May 2021
Goodman Gallery is pleased to present Vanille Bleue, Paul Maheke’s first solo presentation on the African continent and debut exhibition with the gallery.
Vanille Bleue is a new body of work by Maheke, drawing on journal entries made since July 2020 during lockdown in Paris. Part diary, part non fiction, Maheke’s journal is brought into the exhibition to drive the artist’s reflections on vulnerability through drawing, text and sound. In particular, Maheke’s use of drawing in the exhibition represents a continued shift in the artist’s practice beyond primarily performance-based work.
Paul Maheke (b.1985, Brive-la-Gaillarde, France) graduated from Cergy School of Fine Arts and is an Open School East (London) alum. His practice spans performance, video, sound and installation incorporating simple gestures placed in public space. His work examines entrenched stories and representations often emerging from the Western imagination.
Recent solo exhibitions include “Shifted Realities” at Galerie Rudolfinum (2023), “You and I” at Kunsthalle Bratislava (2022), “We took a sip from the devil’s cup” at Project Arts Centre in Dublin (2022), “A fire circle for a public hearing” at High Line in New York (2022), “As the days move into nights” at Diagonale in Montreal (2022), “A fire circle for a public hearing” at Chisenhale in London (2018), Vleeshal Middelburg (2019), and “I Lost Track of the Swarm” at South London Gallery (2016).
Selected group exhibitions include “Le souffle des ancetres” at the Biennale du Congo in Kinshasa (2022), “Temporary Atlas: Mapping the Self in the Art of Today” at Mostyn in Wales, “Future Generation Art Prize 2021” at the 59th Venice Biennale in Italy (2022), “Afterness at Art Angel London” in Orford Ness (2021), “Le centre ne peut tenir” at Lafayette Anticipations in Paris (2018), “Ten Days Six Nights” at Tate Modern in London (2017), and the “Diaspora Pavilion” at the 57th Venice Biennale (2017).
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