Ed Cross presents two artists at 1-54 New York, both showing in the US for first time: Abdulrazaq Awofeso and Ugonna Hosten.
Following the success of her 2023 solo exhibition at York Art Gallery, at 1-54 Hosten presents new works on paper. Exploring pre-colonial spiritual practices through her visionary drawings in graphite and charcoal, there is a complex duality between the precision of her work and the esotericism of her subject matter; it is the collision of these two modes – the precise and the obscure – that Hosten’s practice finds its surest stride.
In contrast to Hosten’s introspection, Awofeso adopts an altogether more outward-facing approach, the artist presents a new series titled Okrika. Depicting items of clothing on coat hangers, Okrika develops Awofeso’s interest in personal sartorial expression as well as unexpected economic and cultural relationships (specifically, the shipping of discarded items of fast fashion from the West to Africa, from which the series takes its name).
