October Gallery’s presentation at the tenth edition of 1-54 New York, 2024, includes a selection of dynamic works by Zana Masombuka, LR Vandy, Benji Reid, Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga and Alexis Peskine. The gallery’s booth brings together vibrant photography, painting and new sculptural works.

Highlights include Zana Masombuka's first presentation in New York of her series of signature photographic works, Nges’rhodlweni: A Portal for Black Joy. Nges’rhodlweni refers to a space within the Ndebele household where people of all ages gather to share in the communion of art, creating a site of expression for the entire community.

A recent painting by acclaimed Congolese artist Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga from his ongoing Ghost of the Present series is presented. This captivating work conveys Kamuanga’s skilful ability to integrate a personal set of African iconographic symbols with wide ranging contemporary themes that resonate and engage.

Alexis Peskine presents new large-scale, mixed-media ‘portraits’ of the African diaspora, which are rendered by hammering nails of different gauges, with pinpoint accuracy, into wood. His wooden ‘canvas’ takes on an oval shape inspired by the portraits of the upper class and bourgeoisie of the 18th century Georgian era. Peskine reclaims this oval form, staining the wood with natural pigments and flower petals, such as hibiscus, curcuma and indigo. In these specific works, he deploys Japanese oxidised leaf which lends the final piece a lustrous and captivating aesthetic.

Striking photographic works by Benji Reid are exhibited for the first time in New York. Reid considers himself a Choreo-Photolist; a term he coined to encapsulate his unique
practice where theatricality, choreography and photography combine in the image. His breath-taking photography composed primarily of self-portraits, created by incredible poses with a medley of props, invites the viewer into a different dimension.

Sculpture is represented by LR Vandy’s new series of striking Hull works, in which she incorporates rope and the colour indigo, to comment on the sinister trade histories associated with both materials. Vandy transforms model boat hulls into ‘masks’, animating them with various materials, including fishing floats, porcupine quills and acupuncture needles. The artist’s solo exhibition Twist, (18th April – 25th May) at October Gallery, London, highlights her new series of visceral rope sculptures, which reference the historic importance of rope and its maritime and slave-trade connections.

To celebrate 1-54’s tenth anniversary at Somerset House, October Gallery will exhibit new works by Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga, Alexis Peskine, LR Vandy, Zana Masombuka and recent sculptures by Sokari Douglas Camp CBE.