Contemporary african art

Many of the so-called traditional arts of Africa are still in full use and validity.

As in all artistic periods, important innovations currently coexist in Africa together with significant stylistic conservatisms. In recent years, advances in the media experienced on the African continent have facilitated the large-scale dispersal and diffusion of various art forms among its different cultures. Today, for example, some Nigerian-style masks are widely used among the Ghanaian populations and other tribes on the Guinea coast.

African art has also been subject to outside influences. For example, Islamic architecture and decorative motifs can be seen in many of the northern art forms, especially in Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Patterned motifs similar to those used in India have been found on the sculptures and masks of the Ibibio and Efik along the southern coast of Nigeria.

Some contemporary artists have adopted Christian themes for the designs of doors, coffered ceilings, and baptismal fonts in the churches and cathedrals of Christian Africa.

In recent times, artists have found their main sources of patronage in the banks, commercial establishments, government offices and courts of the new countries. Tourism has also contributed to the demand for African art, especially decorative masks and ornamental sculptures of ebony or ivory, within the officially permitted limits.

The development of art and architecture schools in sub-Saharan African cities has encouraged artists to work in new materials, including cement, oil and other paints, ink, stone, aluminum, and a wide variety of media graphics. The images and designs thus created reflect a vibrant fusion between African tradition and the contemporary West.

Artists such as Twins Seven Seven and Ashira Olatunde, both from Nigeria, or Nicholas Mukomberanwa, from Zimbabwe, or Eric Adjetey Anang, from Ghana or Amadou Camara Gueye, from Senegal are among the brightest followers of these new forms of creation artistic.

African Contemporary Art Gallery

• African Contemporary Art Gallery http://www.africancontemporary.com