Avant Arte Taps Tschabalala Self for its First-Ever Public Artwork
Unveiled in London today.
Through its self-defined mission of democratizing collecting, Avant Arte has been making waves across the art market for quite some time. Now, the company is cementing its commitment to bringing the industry to a wider audience, through the launch of its public art program – beginning with a commission from artist Tschabalala Self titled “Seated”.
Installed in London‘s Kings Cross estate, the huge bronze work depicts a figure sitting upon a turquoise-hued chair. It marks the first public art commission for Self, and has been inspired by the ideas currently influencing her body of work: domestic spaces, and similarly, the space we take up within them.
“I wanted to reference the quotidienne with this sculpture: choosing the act of taking a seat as a daily, universal gesture of leisure and calm,” the artist says. “I wanted to create a monumental sculpture for the public, in a public space, that spoke to this simple joy whilst acknowledging the power such a simple gesture can have in asserting one’s right to take up space in this realm.”
Alongside the installation, which is specifically located on the northern gateway to Coal Drops Yard on Lewis Cubitt Square, there are a series of both online and offline activations planned. True to Avant Arte’s model, two editions – each encompassing 25 bronze sculptures and 12 silkscreen prints – will be released. Finally, the gallery Pilar Corrias will host a solo exhibition of Self’s work from October 6 to November 12, bringing together a series of paintings and sculptures across its two London spaces.
Tschabalala Self, Seated Bronze.Courtesy Of Avant Arte
Tschabalala Self, Lady in Yellow on Spiral Seat #2.Courtesy Of Avant Arte
Born in Harlem in 1990, Self has gone on to become known for her examinations of the intersection of race, gender and sexuality, with a particular interest in the Black female body as an icon. In a recent interview with the Guardian, she pinpoints this fascination to the music videos of the naughties, “In the beginning, it was a lot of mirroring,” she says. “Then I started to interject more of my own intentions and aspirations onto the subject.” Since she has gone on to become one of America’s most sought-after artists, and in 2019, her work was acquired by Boston’s ICA, alongside Njideka Akunyili Crosby, William Kentridge, and Toyin Ojih Odutola.
You can see Self’s sculpture in-situ from today, October 5, and the bronze and silkscreen print editions releasing on October 13. In other art news, Tom Sachs is redefining “Spaceships” in a new exhibition opening soon at the Acquavella Galleries in New York.
