This captivating artwork features a striking close-up of a hand holding a small snake. The composition is dominated by the monochromatic tones of black and gray, with the snake's scales and the skin's texture creating a visually intriguing contrast. The hands appear to be gently cupping the snake, suggesting a sense of delicacy and respect towards the reptile. The artist's use of chiaroscuro lighting adds depth and drama to the scene, drawing the viewer's attention to the central subject. The overall effect is one of a profound and intimate connection between the human and the natural world, inviting the viewer to consider the complex relationship between the two. ...
Annabelle Agbo Godeau is a Düsseldorf-based artist whose work explores questions of race, identity, and the complexities of representation through the lens of her French, German, and Beninese heritage. Drawing from cinema, literature, and popular culture, she investigates how personal and cultural histories intersect, and how stereotypes shape perceptions of self and other. Working across painting, works on paper, and installation, Godeau weaves fragmented narratives through visual metaphors of concealment, revelation, and transformation. She draws from archival materials, film stills, and found imagery, isolating and abstracting details to create new contexts that subtly unsettle the viewer’s assumptions. Her works on transparent waxed paper often form immersive installations, bringing together disparate references in open-ended visual environments. In her highly rendered paintings, figures and objects hover between presence and absence, evoking ambiguity and movement. The process itself—layered, meticulous, and materially sensitive—underscores themes of impermanence and slow transformation central to her practice.
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Based in a 360 sqm gallery in Woodstock, Cape Town, blank was founded by Jonathan Garnham as a project space in 2005 and transitioned into a commercial gallery during 2012. The gallery represents emerging and increasingly established artists from the region in a critically engaged programme that emphasises contemporaneity, with a focus on concept and abstraction in the African context. With an exhibition programme that has a reputation for shaping the discourse around contemporary art in South(ern) Africa, and participation in prominent local and international art fairs, we seek to place our artists' work in a wide range of private and institutional collections. In addition, blank continues to promote the visual arts in our community through ongoing projects that support the sector. ...
