COLOUR WHEEL

Image: Atta Kwami, Dzidz kple amenuveve (Joy and Grace). 2021. Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the estate of Atta Kwami. Photo: Sumiko Eadon.

The first spin of our colour wheel of exhibitions lands on San Diego. San Diego is full of piñatas. On 28 October, Mingei International Museum threw a spotlight on piñatas as a traditional craft and vibrant contemporary art form. Piñatas: the high art of celebration includes more than 80 vibrant works made by Latinx artists and makers from across the U.S.

Image: Diana Benavidez, La Culpa Por Estar Eecha de Papel, 2020. Courtesy of Mingei International Museum, Palomares. 

Highlights include Justin Favela’s a lifesize piñata car, inspired by San Diego lowrider legends; contemporary takes on the traditional from third generation piñata-maker and founder of Los Angeles’ La Piñata Design Studio, Yesenia Prieto; the piñata reimagined as a medium of resistance and humorous critique by Diana Benavidez; and provocatively decontextualised piñatas from piñata-artist and painter Francisco Palomares.The exhibition will run until 30 April 2023.

Image: Francisco Palomares, Agarrate Papa, 2020. Courtesy of the artist.

Spinning the wheel from the Americas, back over the pond to London, we find the last mural commissioned from the late painter, printmaker, independent art historian and curator, Atta Kwami (1956-2021), unveiled at the Serpentine Gallery. The vibrant, abstract mural is taken from one of Kwami’s final preparatory paintings, awarded the Maria Lassnig Prize 2021, and is typical of his improvisations on Ghanaian kente fabric designs. In situ on the outside of the gallery, the mural both quotes from and contrasts with the colours and forms of the surrounding landscape. The installation also augurs a major new publication celebrating Kwami’s oeuvre, due in 2023.

Image:  Atta Kwami, Dzidz kple amenuveve (Joy and Grace). 2021. Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the estate of Atta Kwami. Photo: Sumiko Eadon.