Arts and Culture

Featuring Breaking The Bias - McKay Williamson Celebrate Women Artists

8th March 2022

Working with an eclectic mix of award-winning female artists from all over the world has given the gallery a distinctly international flavour in the art they can offer.  “As a gallery, we have worked with many female artists over the years and discovered such variety in approaches to their work, that is both dynamic and detailed. Using their truth and personal histories, they have the ability to story-tell through their art which is truly inspiring,” commented Hala Foustok, PR & Marketing Director. Although women artists have been involved in the making of art throughout history, their work when compared to that of their male counterparts has often been overlooked and undervalued. Today we showcase three of the female artists whom the gallery loves for their diversity and ability to convey narratives through visual art.”

Featuring The Anticipated Lubberland Exhibition by Harry Rüdham

18th February 2022

The exhibition opened on the 17th February and will run until the 2nd April 2022, compromising 16 paintings and two innovative paperworks. Lubberland takes the Swedish name for ‘Cockaigne,’ a land of plenty in medieval myth, and was first made famous in the broadside ballad "An Invitation to Lubberland," first printed in 1685. With ‘Lazy Land’ an approximate translation, the exhibition’s title sets out its themes – presenting a bold yearning for an idyllic world of ease, abundance and human connection.  Taking combined inspiration from such masterpieces as Bruegel’s The Land of Cockaigne, Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights and Matisse’s Bonheur de Vivre, Rüdham’s paintings are crowded with intersecting figures, stylised as floating or falling silhouettes repeated across each brightly textured scene. As in Dante’s Divine Comedy, in Lubberland Rüdham offers a sense of joyful optimism but also foreboding – set amid the context of a soul’s journey down to Hell and back to Heaven.

Basel - Switzerlands Perfect Romantic Getaway

14th February 2022

You might be thinking of cosy chalets with snow-capped mountains in the backdrop. However, I would recommend the hidden gem that is Basel instead. It is far away from the Swiss Alps, but in fact, it is the third-most populous city in Switzerland. With its proximity to France and Germany, it's always been more multicultural than other parts of the country. It is a city that effortlessly intertwines history with modernity. It is a fabulous city for lovers because you have so much to talk about whether it's their cultural, architectural, or gastronomical excellence. With around 40 museums, it is the museum capital of Switzerland. Despite opening around 25 years ago only and being privately funded, Foundation Beyeler is the most visited museum in the whole country. And it's hardly surprising considering the blockbuster exhibitions they keep securing like the recent Goya retrospective. In their anniversary year, this year, they've secured spectacular exclusives like their current Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition with her unique take on capturing the beauty of flowers. Her works rarely leave the United States, so it's a real coup for the local community.

The Sybarite Speaks with Angolan Artist Cristiano Mangovo

6th December 2021

The Sybarite interviewed Cristiano Mangovo on his first solo show in France, Humano e a Natureza at AFIKARIS Gallery. Cristiano shares his experience as an artist, how art has helped him throughout his life and his long term goals.

Featuring ADA \ contemporary art gallery present a solo...

4th December 2021

After the successful inaugural opening of the gallery and sold out exhibition, titled Gindin Mangoro: Under the Mango Tree, by portrait artist Collins Obijiaku, ADA \ contemporary art gallery presents its next show, The Politics of Shared Spaces, the debut solo presentation by Nigerian artist Eniwaye Oluwaseyi (b. 1994).

The Sybarite Speaks with Cameroonian Artist Jean David Nkot

2nd December 2021

Jean David Nkot is the Cameroonian artist and creative mind behind the success of The New Hercules, his latest series and new exhibition at AFIKARIS Gallery in Miami Beach. The Sybarite spoke with Jean David about what made him become an artist, his current work and what success means to him.

Review of Henrys Townhouse / A Home Away from Home

1st December 2021

Featuring What to look out for at 1–54 art fair 2021

13th October 2021

Back with a bang this year, keep your eyes for the below galleries and the exceptional artists they are highlighting this year.

Featuring James Bond’s favourite spots; and now they can be yours too

30th September 2021

Since creating the character in 1953, Ian Fleming has taken us round the world through an array of adventures, car chases, romances and incredible locations. For the last 15 years Daniel Craig has been the embodiment of the British secret service agent and although he wasn’t the first, nor the last, his departure is the perfect time to reflect on a film franchise - and more importantly, filming locations - that have had audiences captivated since 1962. Want to live like James Bond? Let us show you exactly where to go.

The Sybarite speaks to Cameroonian artist Ajarb Bernard...

15th September 2021

The Sybarite  interviewed Ajarb Bernard Ategwa on his new show Kwata Saloon at AFIKARIS Gallery. Exhibition will run until September 28th  in Paris. Tell our readers a bit about yourself I am Ajarb Bernard Ategwa, a self-taught artist. I am inspired by daily life scenes and I seek to transcribe the bustle of Douala and the richness of the Cameroonian culture. My work is inspired by scenes from everyday life. As an artist, I feel that I have a duty to mark my time. It is therefore important to me that my paintings project what I experience in my time. Also, if my painting lasts for 200 years, people who see it at that time will be able to project themselves back 200 years ago and understand a past era. I find this interesting, because I am not sure that the scenes we see today will be the same in two centuries. Painting scenes from everyday life is therefore a way for me to mark my time and, I hope, future eras.

Afikaris gallery / Kwata saloon by artist Ajarb Bernard...

6th September 2021

Kwata Saloon, presented from August 28—September 28, 2021, pays tribute to the ephemeral hair salons popping up each year in Cameroon between November and December, and from which Atwega's new body of work draws its inspiration. August 2, 2021 (Paris, France) – After having brought visitors to the mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with Cameroonian painter Jean David Nkot’s Human@Condition (May 29—July 7, 2021) and reflected on power by confronting the gazes of John Madu and Ousmane Niang (Figures of Power, July 10—August 24, 2021), AFIKARIS Gallery turns to the site of a cultural and social practice that binds generations and genders alike: hair salons. Kwata Saloon unveils a new body of work by Ajarb Bernard Atwega (b. 1988, Kumba, Cameroon), focusing on hairstyling as a source of social connection. On view from August 28—September 28, 2021, the gallery transforms into an immersive beauty parlor as the large, acidic canvases and smaller portraits that populate its walls – echoing the posters traditionally displayed in salons and the headshots shared on social networks – project scenes of togetherness, conviviality, and cultural bonding.

Ryan Saghian, Founder of Ryan Saghian Interiors

4th July 2021

Emerging as one of the designers of his era, and reaching international acclaim before the age of 30, Ryan Saghian is one to look out for. Ryan is the award winning founder and creative mind behind the success of Saghian Interiors. In celebration of Pride Month, the Sybarite spoke with Ryan about being a young interior designer, the biggest struggles and lessons he learnt throughout his career and how he will never stop surprising his audience.