| African Cosmos: Stellar Arts will be on view at the Newark Museum from February 27 through August 11, 2013. It is the first major exhibition exploring the historical legacy of African cultural astronomy and its intersection with both traditional and contemporary African arts.
Presenting more than 70 outstanding works of art from throughout the continent, African Cosmos considers Africa’s long and rich history of astronomical observations and the ways that celestial bodies and phenomena serve as inspiration and symbol in the creation of African arts dating from ancient times to the present. |
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Africa’s Stellar Art at the Newark Museum
African Cosmos: Stellar Arts will be on view at the Newark Museum from February 27 through August 11, 2013. It is the first major exhibition exploring the historical legacy of African cultural astronomy and its intersection with both traditional and contemporary African arts.
Presenting more than 70 outstanding works of art from throughout the continent, African Cosmos considers Africa’s long and rich history of astronomical observations and the ways that celestial bodies and phenomena serve as inspiration and symbol in the creation of African arts dating from ancient times to the present. The exhibition will demonstrate that observations of the heavens are part of the knowledge that informs the construction of social institutions, artistic expression and ritual practice in African cultures.
“African Cosmos is an important exhibition that highlights Africa’s contributions to the history of knowledge about the heavens and explores how this knowledge has informed and inspired the creation of art for centuries,” said Christa Clarke, Ph.D., Newark Museum Curator of African Art and Senior Curator, Arts of Africa and the Americas. “The spectacular works on view demonstrate how this knowledge has informed and inspired the creation of art in Africa for millennia, from ancient Egypt to present-day South Africa.”
Gavin Jantjes, Untitled, 1989-1990. Acrylic on canvas, 200 x 300 cm (78 3/4 x 118 1/8 in.). National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, 96-23-1. Photo Credit: Franko Khoury
African Cosmos is organized by Christine Mullen Kreamer, deputy director and chief curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, where the exhibition debuted in June.
Featured artists: Marcus Neustetter, Romuald Hazoumè, Gavin Jantjes, William Kentridge, Karel Nel and more.
