ARTISTS
Seydou Ke茂ta: A Tactile Lens
Danziger Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of "Seydou Ke茂ta: A Tactile Lens", a major exhibition of the Malian photographer鈥檚 work at the Brooklyn Museum. This landmark presentation honors one of the most important portraitists of the 20th century and celebrates Ke茂ta鈥檚 unique style as well as his role in the recognition of the quality of African photography.
Born circa 1921, Seydou Ke茂ta lived in Bamako, Mali, where from 1948 through the 1950s he ran a successful portrait studio taking pictures of local individuals and families. Essentially self-taught, Ke茂ta developed his trademark style photographing his sitters in daylight against a variety of backdrops from plain drapes to vibrant African pattern. No matter the situation Ke茂ta had a natural gift and a refined aesthetic that made his portraits distinctive works of art. Technically, his negatives were perfectly exposed and focused. More importantly however, his pictures captured the spirit of his sitters in the most generous manner and in captivating compositions.
Ke茂ta鈥檚 story is one of the great stories in photography. Completely unknown outside of Bamako, Ke茂ta was 鈥渄iscovered鈥� by the west in the early 90鈥檚 due to the eye of African Art collector Jean Pigozzi. After seeing two uncredited pictures in a 1992 group show of African Art, Pigozzi sent his curator Andr茅 Magnin to Mali to try to locate the un-named artist from Bamako. Magnin found Ke茂ta repairing bicycles and returned to Paris with 921 negatives Ke茂ta had buried when the government shut down his studio. Pigozzi then arranged for one of the leading printers in Paris to make prints of the images under Ke茂ta鈥檚 supervision.
Witihn two years Ke茂ta was given a solo show at the Fondation Cartier followed by an impressive number of museum shows around the world. By the time of his death in 2001 Ke茂ta was not only recognized as a master of photography but in his use of contrasting backdrops his work has influenced a whole generation of artists, most notably painters Mickalene Thomas and Kehinde Wiley.
Danziger Gallery is proud to represent the estate of Seydou Ke茂ta and to have long championed his work. Since first exhibiting Ke茂ta鈥檚 photographs twenty years ago the gallery has been dedicated to promoting his legacy, working with the estate to bring his remarkable vision to audiences worldwide.
Coinciding with the Brooklyn Museum exhibition, the estate is releasing four new images. Each of these are available as 24 x 20鈥� silver gelatin prints (editions of 10) or 48 x 64鈥� silver gelatin prints (editions of 5). The first four images in the gallery above are the new releases.
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Danziger Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of "Seydou Ke茂ta: A Tactile Lens", a major exhibition of the Malian photographer鈥檚 work at the Brooklyn Museum. This landmark presentation honors one of the most important portraitists of the 20th century and celebrates Ke茂ta鈥檚 unique style as well as his role in the recognition of the quality of African photography.
Born circa 1921, Seydou Ke茂ta lived in Bamako, Mali, where from 1948 through the 1950s he ran a successful portrait studio taking pictures of local individuals and families. Essentially self-taught, Ke茂ta developed his trademark style photographing his sitters in daylight against a variety of backdrops from plain drapes to vibrant African pattern. No matter the situation Ke茂ta had a natural gift and a refined aesthetic that made his portraits distinctive works of art. Technically, his negatives were perfectly exposed and focused. More importantly however, his pictures captured the spirit of his sitters in the most generous manner and in captivating compositions.
Ke茂ta鈥檚 story is one of the great stories in photography. Completely unknown outside of Bamako, Ke茂ta was 鈥渄iscovered鈥� by the west in the early 90鈥檚 due to the eye of African Art collector Jean Pigozzi. After seeing two uncredited pictures in a 1992 group show of African Art, Pigozzi sent his curator Andr茅 Magnin to Mali to try to locate the un-named artist from Bamako. Magnin found Ke茂ta repairing bicycles and returned to Paris with 921 negatives Ke茂ta had buried when the government shut down his studio. Pigozzi then arranged for one of the leading printers in Paris to make prints of the images under Ke茂ta鈥檚 supervision.
Witihn two years Ke茂ta was given a solo show at the Fondation Cartier followed by an impressive number of museum shows around the world. By the time of his death in 2001 Ke茂ta was not only recognized as a master of photography but in his use of contrasting backdrops his work has influenced a whole generation of artists, most notably painters Mickalene Thomas and Kehinde Wiley.
Danziger Gallery is proud to represent the estate of Seydou Ke茂ta and to have long championed his work. Since first exhibiting Ke茂ta鈥檚 photographs twenty years ago the gallery has been dedicated to promoting his legacy, working with the estate to bring his remarkable vision to audiences worldwide.
Coinciding with the Brooklyn Museum exhibition, the estate is releasing four new images. Each of these are available as 24 x 20鈥� silver gelatin prints (editions of 10) or 48 x 64鈥� silver gelatin prints (editions of 5). The first four images in the gallery above are the new releases.
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