Last September, Mariane Ibrahim opened her art gallery in Paris, becoming the first black artist to open a store in the French capital, and according to her, she was the first artist dedicated to showcasing contemporary art in Africa and its diaspora.
Located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, the space gallery is surrounded by not only famous galleries, but also landmarks such as the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre, featuring extraordinary mixed media figures by Haitian-American artist M. Florine Démosthène and collages by African-Latino artist Crotilde Guimenez. In April, Ibrahim exhibited for the first time in Europe the work of Ghanaian painter Amoaco Boafu, who captures the beauty of black skin with his swirling, lush brushstrokes.
Marianne Ibrahim on the "Wanderer" show
The interior of the gallery is a fresh, airy space in an old Haussmann-style building, which is particularly meaningful to her. She said in an interview: "I really want to have an artistic space that can accommodate the art of the future. ”
Before coming to Paris, Ibrahim spent a decade building his profile at galleries in Seattle and Chicago, with a focus on African diaspora art. Over the past few years, she said, U.S. museums and galleries have made significant progress in representing black artists, and interest in the art market has surged. Despite France's colonial history with Africa, there are no galleries in Paris dedicated to traditional African art.
The façade of the Marianne Ibrahim Paris Gallery.
"In the last five years, museums in the United States have focused more on African artists than at any time in the past 50 years in France."
In the upcoming "Nomad with Carlton McCoy," sommelier Carlton McCoy explores the lesser-known side of the famous city and country, where Ibrahim and artist Raphaël Barontini worked with him at Barontini's in the Paris suburb of Saint Denis studio) had a home-cooked meal. McCoy said in the episode that he noticed that the capital's famous museum "clearly lacks a black and brown perspective."
Ibrahim told him: "In France, you are exposed to art, but you are also exposed to the domination of one culture over other cultures. ”。“ What you see is their work about people like us. ”
Marianne Ibrahim, Carlton McCoy and Raphael Barentini in The Nomad
Ibrahim began collecting Barentini's work in 2019 and she was fascinated by Barentini's work. Balentini was of mixed French, Italian and Caribbean descent, and Ibrahim was intimate with his "mixed race", and he silk-screened heroic African figures into imperial works reminiscent of European historical art paintings.
"People are always asked to make a choice: Where are you from? Are you French, or African? Ibrahim said. I refuse to do so. I don't want to choose. I want to be everything. ”
Although Ibrahim was a pioneer in bringing contemporary African diaspora art to Paris, she believes others will soon follow suit.
She noted that Paris had "the right audience" for it. "That's why I'm very optimistic about France. I do think Paris will be a diverse city. ”
Marianne Ibrahim's most influential work of art
Seduk ïta Untitled (1958–59)
When Ibrahim saw a poster in a Paris bar promoting the work of 20th-century photographer Seydou Keïta, who ran a portrait studio in Bamako, Mali, the city transformed after colonial rule, which set her on the path to becoming a gallery artist. The portrait is set against a backdrop of a pattern, where a man in a polished white suit and thick-rimmed glasses delicately presents a flower to the viewer.
Sayydu Keita, 1958-59, untitled
"Posters, flowers and emoticons remind me of my family photos," she says. ”。“ It took me back to a place I was very familiar with. I saw my uncle, or my father's friend holding the flower. ”
Influenced by Keita, Ibrahim's first gallery exhibition in Seattle showcased the work of his peer Malik Sidibé.
Tamara Delem Pika, The Young Lady with gloves (1930)
This luxurious, highly stylized painting by Polish Art Deco painter Tamara de Lempicka is one of Ibrahim's favorites because it enjoys simple beauty. The woman in the photo wears a white wide-brimmed hat, matching gloves, a jewel-green dress with bright red lips, and looks out from below. "I know the art world gave up beauty in the '60s... Abandoning minimalism," she commented. "I like to maximize."
Tamara de Lempicka, "Young Lady with Gloves"
In figurative painting, Delem Pickup is also a rare female perspective, and Ibrahim admires her clear gaze. She said: "I was haunted by the curtains and the image of this lady in the green dress. ”
Gustav Courbet, The Origin of the World (1866)
As a teenager, Ibrahim first saw a painting by French artist Gustave Courbet, a close-up of a reclining woman, in which she said she felt she "couldn't hide" from it. She said: "I've never seen this kind of presentation. ”
Commissioned by Ottoman diplomats, the painting was circulated by private collectors, rediscovered in an antique shop, looted during World War II, and finally auctioned off to the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, who hid it behind a wooden sliding door. Since 1995, it has been on public display at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Last year, Ibrahim was finally there to witness the work.
"Art should make you feel a little uncomfortable," she said. "But you've been looking for it time and time again."