MIART 2024

WE ARE WHO WE ARE

After a successful miart edition in 2023, 193 Gallery is delighted to present a trio show "We Are Who We Are" which explores the concept of “being and existing” through vivid colors, forms and playful palette.

We Are Who We Are brings together three artists whose practice questions the essence of who we are as essentially social beings, the better understanding of what makes us humans, or society and above all, the importance of the everyday’s actions. The selected artists are mainly interested in the notion of cultural heritage, central to the construction of any a sustainable society:

With a vivid aesthetic, the Artist Thandiwe Muriu takes us on a colourful, reflective journey through her world as a woman living in modern Africa as she reinterprets Contemporary African Portraiture. As a female artist working in a previously male-dominated field, she takes us on a journey to discover the Kenyan woman's recipes for pride and strength. In her CAMO series, Thandiwe celebrates her African heritage and tackles important issues such as identity and self-perception. A colorful banner that advocates acceptance and love for what makes up the everyday life of Nairobi's inhabitants.

Thandiwe Muriu has works in major collections including: Fondation Gandur from Switzerland, UHODA collection from Belgium, and The Contemporary African Art collection by Pigozzi, Hood Museum of Art, USA, Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, USA, Joy Simmons Collection, USA. Her work has been present in several group shows: at the Seattle Art Museum ( USA), Kunsthal KAdE Museum (Netherlands). This year, the artist has been selected to be part of "Passengers in Transit", a Collateral Event of the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.

In his recent, poignant solo show The Defiant Ones, Sesse Elangwe Ngeseli creates disarming and elevating portraits of Black figures that investigate themes related to self-development and empowerment within Black communities.' For Sesse, the word "defiance" in the context of the exhibition symbolizes the culmination of experiences and the coming to a point of self-realization where it becomes necessary for one to identify, then dismantle the barriers that pose as obstacles to personal growth and success.

His works are included in the collections of X Museum in Beijing, Xiao Museum in Rizhao, China, Akzo Nobel Foundation in the Netherlands, Comma Foundation in Belgium and Up Next Art Museum in Puerto Rico.

Rob Tucker is an artist who is known for his distinct renderings of figurative stilllifes and landscapes executed through geometric shapes, simplified forms and a playful palette. Referencing mid-century modern design, Tucker’s nostalgic workis reminiscent of David Hockney’s era of pop-art and abstraction. Oversized,textural and graphic, Tucker’s work is an exploration colour and composition. He received the prize of Royal Academy Of Arts Summer Exhibition, The Royal Academy, London
Tucker has exhibited in London, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Berlin, Hong Kong, Singapore & Tel Aviv.

In today's fast-paced world, these artists encourage us to live a shared experience of continuity between the present and the past, as our present time is increasingly lived in a mode of rupture with the past. The artists here position themselves as the holders of a shared, transmittable tradition, one that can be told from generation to generation without loosing its meaning.