Untitled: Art on the Conditions of Our Time

'Untitled: Art on the Conditions of Our Time' was a touring group exhibition initially curated by Paul Goodwin and Loren Hansi Gordon at the New Art Exchange in Nottingham, England in 2017. In 2021, a second iteration was held at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge, England, curated by Paul Goodwin and Guy Haywood.

KIMATHI DONKOR WORKS EXHIBITED AT THE NEW ART EXCHANGE (NAE):

1. 'When shall we 3? (Scenes from the life of Njinga Mbandi)', (2010, oils, linen, wood, staples 160 x 105 cm)

2. ‘Nanny of the Maroon’s Fifth Act of Mercy’, (2012, oil on canvas, 210cm x 165cm)

3. ‘Under Fire: the shooting of Cherry Groce’, (2005, oil on canvas, 121cm x 182cm)

KIMATHI DONKOR WORKS EXHIBITED AT KETTLE'S YARD:

1. 'Toussaint L’Overture at Bedourete' (2004, oil on linen, 136cm x 1830cm)

2. 'Nanny of the Maroons Fifth Act of Mercy (2012, oil on canvas, 210cm x 165cm)

3. 'Let Us Go Over' (2017, oil and acrylic on canvas, 80cm x 100cm)

4. 'Idyl of Osun, Ifé and Sango' (2019, acrylic on linen, 76 x 61 cm)

Both iterations of the show were accompanied by a programme of public events, including talks and education activities. The Kettles Yard exhibition also received extensive national press and media attention (see full list below).

EXTRACT FROM CURATORIAL TEXT AT THE NAE SHOW:

'UNTITLED: art on the conditions of our time… adopts a progressive stance on exhibition making to allow new ways of thinking about art by African diaspora artists to emerge. In a bold move, fixed curatorial themes have been stripped out to create a stimulating space where artworks can be experienced more openly, and where the interplay between the artists’ practices can be observed. As the exhibition curators state, “This is not a show ‘about’ a coherent movement – instead it presents works by British African diaspora artists outside of the usual framing”… Addressing the challenge in how collective memory is preserved, Kimathi Donkor’s paintings re-imagine history… (Anon, 2017, https://www.nae.org.uk/event/untitled-art-on-the-conditions-of-our-time/ [Accessed 6-12-24]

LIST OF EXHIBITING ARTISTS AT NAE
Barby Asante, Barbara Walker, Appau Junior Boakye-Yiadom, NT, Larry Achiampong & David Blandy, Phoebe Boswell, Kimathi Donkor, Evan Ifekoya, Cedar Lewisohn, Harold Offeh and Ima-Abasi Okon.

EXTRACT FROM CURATORIAL TEXT AT THE KETTLE'S YARD SHOW:

'UNTITLED: Art on the conditions of our time… brings together work by 10 British African diaspora artists with a focus on how their innovative practices ask important questions about some of the most important cultural and political issues of our turbulent times…

…The exhibition title refers to the longstanding art historical convention of leaving artworks ‘untitled’ in order to encourage attention onto the works themselves, and eliminate reliance upon contextual information. Untitled asks viewers to examine the conditions of our time through the prism of Black British artists working today, without reducing the encounter solely to an exploration of Black British identity. By avoiding such over-contextualisation, the exhibition seeks to foreground these artists’ practices and show how they create platforms for audiences to explore the connections between art, culture and society… (Anon, 2022, https://www.kettlesyard.cam.ac.uk/whats-on/untitled-art-on-the-conditions-of-our-time/ [Accessed 6-12-24]

LIST OF EXHIBITING ARTISTS AT KETTLES YARD
Barby Asante, Appau Junior Boakye-Yiadom, NT, Larry Achiampong & David Blandy, Phoebe Boswell, Kimathi Donkor, Evan Ifekoya, Cedar Lewisohn, Harold Offeh and Ima-Abasi Okon.

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