London Paint Club

Meleko Mokgosi

Democratic Intuition

29 September - 12 December 2020

Meleko Mokgosi - Democratic Intuition at Gagosian Britannia Street London 2020
Meleko, Mokgosi Bread, Butter and Power, 2018 (detail) Oil, acrylic, bleach, graphite, photo and pigment transfer, and permanent marker on canvas, with plastic sleeve, in 21 parts; © Meleko Mokgosi, Courtesy of Gagosian

Gallery

Gagosian is pleased to present Meleko Mokgosi’s first solo exhibition in the United Kingdom and Europe, drawn from his grand project Democratic Intuition (2013–20).

In works of sweeping scale and scope, Mokgosi applies the principles of cinematic montage to the conventions of history painting, editing together images of political and social propaganda, religious imagery, and advertising from southern Africa and the United States to produce layers of meaning both familiar and unfamiliar. Reconceptualizing where art history, postcolonial nationhood, and democracy intersect within an interdisciplinary critical framework, Mokgosi draws attention to the many ways in which Black subjects have become unattributed objects of empire and institution.

Meleko Mokgosi - Democratic Intuition at Gagosian Britannia Street London 2020
Meleko Mokgosi Democratic Intuition, Exordium, 2013 - present Oil and charcoal on canvas, 7 panels © Meloko Mokgosi, Courtesy of Gagosian
Meleko Mokgosi - Democratic Intuition at Gagosian Britannia Street London 2020
Meleko Mokgosi, The Social Revolution of Our Time Cannot Take Its Poetry from the Past but Only from the Poetry of the Future, 6, 2019 Oil on canvas, inkjet on canvas © Meleko Mokgosi, Courtesy of Gagosian
Meleko Mokgosi - Democratic Intuition at Gagosian Britannia Street London 2020
Meleko Mokgosi Objects of Desire 4, 2018 Oil on linen, paper mounted on board © Meleko Mokgosi, Courtesy of Gagosian
Meleko Mokgosi - Democratic Intuition at Gagosian Britannia Street London 2020
Meleko Mokgosi, The Social Revolution of Our Time Cannot Take Its Poetry from the Past but Only from the Poetry of the Future, 5, 2019 Oil on canvas, inkjet on canvas © Meleko Mokgosi, Courtesy of Gagosian
Meleko Mokgosi - Democratic Intuition at Gagosian Britannia Street London 2020
Meleko Mokgosi Democratic Intuition, 2013-present Oil and charcoal on canvas, 4 panels each panel: 46 in(116.84cm) diameter © Meleko Mokgosi, Courtesy of Gagosian
Meleko Mokgosi - Democratic Intuition at Gagosian Britannia Street London 2020
Meleko Mokgosi Objects of Desire 7, 2018 Oil and photo transfer on canvas, paper mounted on board © Meleko Mokgosi, Courtesy of Gagosian
Meleko Mokgosi - Democratic Intuition at Gagosian Britannia Street London 2020
Meleko Mokgosi Objects of Desire 11, 2018 Oil and photo transfer on canvas, paper mounted on board © Meleko Mokgosi, Courtesy of Gagosian

Work Enquiry