From some of the earliest pieces ever shown – Lovemore Kambudzi’s Pamusika, 2012; Nathalie Anguezomo Mba Bikoro’s The Witch I, 2011 – to preliminary work from a major institutional project still in development (Leah Gordon’s Caravan, Ty-Rhos, Pentre Evan Wood, Pembrokeshire, 2023, from her ongoing project Monument to the Vanquished), 15 embodies the breadth of the gallery’s diverse interests, and the characteristic sensibility that unites them.
Alongside works from emerging artists such as Sola Olulode’s Send Nudes, featured in her 2023 solo Burning, like the star that showed us to our love, pieces like Abe Odedina’s Love Boat, 2011, or Chrysalis (2023) from Wole Lagunju who has been with the gallery for nearly a decade, exemplify Ed Cross’ commitment to artists over their storied careers. Artefacts of practices and relationships that span decades, Ed Cross is proud to show works that testify to the development of individual artists as well as that of the gallery’s overarching project.
East African artists, including Peterson Kamwathi, were pivotal in defining the gallery’s trajectory when it was established in 2009, following the director’s return to London from Nairobi, where he had spent two decades. Kamwathi’s Untitled (The Media), Sitting Allowance, 2009, was part of A matter of record…, one of Ed Cross’ first exhibition in London, and features journalists covering Kenya’s contested 2008 general election.
Presented alongside Untitled (7), Faith series, 2015, by Mário Macilau, a satisfying – if surprising – overlap comes into view; Macilau’s photograph of a man with a cross painted over this torso takes religion as its subject, while Kamwathi’s painting deals with politics. Despite their different mediums, both pieces use the human figure to query society at large. In 15, such counterintuitive connections abound.
Although plenty has changed in the art world in the last decade and a half, Ed Cross’ vision has remained intact. In many ways, this owes to an essential inquisitiveness, always erring on the side of curiosity rather than a prescriptive – potentially limiting – modus operandi. Led by the work of its artists, the gallery has charted a path that could truly be termed organic. 15 offers a kaleidoscopic glimpse into the diverse narratives, techniques, and perspectives that have defined its identity; a retrospective, as if the gallery itself were an artist.
15 testifies to Ed Cross’ incorrigible commitment to discovering new talent as well as offering exposure to that already burgeoning. Self Portrait, 2018, by Anya Paintsil, Sahara Longe’s Sally and Amadu, 2020, and Tiffanie Delune’s I come from far, 2020, all date back to the dawn of their makers’ respective careers, each launched by the gallery and since subject to huge success.
Not only affirming existing reputations but also forging new ones, Eugene Palmer’s 2019 diptych Double Portrait was made before he began working with the gallery in 2022. Cesar Cornejo’s sheetrock paintings (2018), never before shown in London, underscore 15’s function as a platform for unseen work, while a small sculpture from Eric Pina (Le Philosophe, 2021) interrupts the exhibition’s primary scale and medium with an uncanny interloper.
Kimathi Donkor’s Notebook IV, 2014, represents a gem from the Ed Cross archives, just as work from Shiraz Bayjoo’s 2021 Politique de Races series reaches back into the artist’s practice while looking ahead to his forthcoming solo show (details to follow). Recent additions to the gallery include work from Abdulrazaq Awofeso – Stonewash II, 2024, from his ongoing Okrika series, and Skothane 11, 2022 – and On the northside of the grove, 2022, by Ugonna Hosten, whose representation was announced at the beginning of 2024.
Throughout 15, diverse mediums and approaches echo the gallery’s own eclectic history and celebrate its core value of openness. Embodying Ed Cross’ enduring commitment to facilitating meaningful dialogues, 15 sets artists’ works in conversation; from the hubbub arises easy clarity. 18 artists, 15 years – here’s to 15 more.
