1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair announces its return to Somerset House for the 11th consecutive year. Taking place from 12 – 15 October 2023 (VIP & Press Preview 12 October), the 2023 edition of 1-54 London will host over 60 international exhibitors, its largest number to date.

Of this year’s 62 international exhibitors, one third are from the African continent and 14 galleries will participate at the fair’s London edition for the first time. New and returning exhibitors will present over 170 artists working across an array of mediums from painting and sculpture to mixed media and installation.

Specially commissioned for the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court at Somerset House, the Moroccan artist Amine El Gotaibi presents his most ambitious work to date: Illuminate the Light in collaboration with MCC Gallery in Marrakech, Morocco. The artist presents twelve individual geometric sculptures inspired by the seeds of a pomegranate that vary widely in shape and colour, to represent the diversity and abundance of the African continent. Wielding light as a solid medium within the sculptures, El Gotaibi also uses light as a metaphor to foster positive stories of Africa to counter the West’s frequent stereotypes of the dark continent. At dusk, the sculptures transform into luminous installations, underscoring the artist’s philosophy that out of darkness, light emerges.

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