Benin artist Meschac Gaba pinpoints manufactured cultural hybridization, as one of the signs of capitalism run macroeconomics. Therefore, Gaba’s artworks correlate cultural forms to economics’ standard exchange items, i.e. money, industry – manufacture, trade, labour work; manifesting with irony and charm these trade-offs (between exchange of goods and human values) through the notions of cultural alteration, creolization of cultures. Behind though, his works express a sensitive support for human life, richness and local creation.
Artworks
Articles
Media
Highlights
Recommendations
Collections
Shows
Market position
CV
Artworks by Meschac Gaba
Media
Tate Shots: Every month, a different artist is featured. Meshac Gaba launches the series, with a tour around the streets of his home town of Cotonou, Benin, which he considers his working space and inspiration.
Market position
Meschac Gaba’s large scale project called Museum of Contemporary African Art, which is currently presented at the Kunsthalle of Kassel, is the most representative and achieved vision of the artist in this matter (see the book Library of the Museum vol. 1, published by Artimo Foundation, 2001).
It was at the Rijksmuseum, Leiden, in 1997 that Gaba inaugurated his major work, the Museum of Contemporary African Art, a project in which the artist installed 12 'rooms' of a nomadic museum in various institutions over a period of five years, culminating with his presentation of a 'Humanist Space' at Documenta 11. Other 'rooms' include the Museum Restaurant (shown at W139, Amsterdam, in 1999), the Games Room (shown in Besançon, France, in 1999 and in Brussels and Gent in 2000), the Library of the Museum (Witte de With, 2001, and published in 2001), and the Salon (Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2002).
The Museum of Contemporary African Art (1997-2002) was acquired by Tate and exhibited at Tate Modern, London, in 2013. The Library of the Museum was donated by Gaba to the city of Cotonou as part of his project Musée de l'Art de la Vie Active (MAVA). Gaba's survey exhibition Museum for Contemporary African Art & More showed at the Museum de Paviljoens in Almere, the Netherlands; the Kunsthalle Fridericianum in Kassel, Germany; and the Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, in 2009/10.
Notable group shows include African Metropolis. An Imaginary City at MAXXI, Rome (2018); Enchanted Bodies / Fetish for Freedom at Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Bergamo (2018); The Red Hour, 13th Dakar Biennale (2018); More for Less at A4 Arts Foundation, Cape Town (2018); Their Own Harlems at The Studio Museum in Harlem (2017); Afrique Capitales at La Villette in Paris (2017); Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design at the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein (2015); Atopolis, Mons 2015 - European Capital of Culture; Liberated Subjects: Present Tense, Foundation De 11 Lijnen, Oudenburg (2015); The Theatre of the World, Museo Tamayo, Mexico (2014); When Attitudes Became Form Become Attitudes: A Restoration / A Remake / A Rejuvenation / A Rebellion, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco; Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit (2013); Benin Biennale (2012); La Triennale - Intense Proximity, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2012); The Global Contemporary: Art Worlds after 1989 at ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany (2011); Touched, the 2010 Liverpool Biennale; Port City at Greenland Street Gallery, Liverpool (2008); Africa Remix (2004-2007) and, in 2006, the São Paolo, Gwangju, Sydney and Havana biennales.
It was at the Rijksmuseum, Leiden, in 1997 that Gaba inaugurated his major work, the Museum of Contemporary African Art, a project in which the artist installed 12 'rooms' of a nomadic museum in various institutions over a period of five years, culminating with his presentation of a 'Humanist Space' at Documenta 11. Other 'rooms' include the Museum Restaurant (shown at W139, Amsterdam, in 1999), the Games Room (shown in Besançon, France, in 1999 and in Brussels and Gent in 2000), the Library of the Museum (Witte de With, 2001, and published in 2001), and the Salon (Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2002).
The Museum of Contemporary African Art (1997-2002) was acquired by Tate and exhibited at Tate Modern, London, in 2013. The Library of the Museum was donated by Gaba to the city of Cotonou as part of his project Musée de l'Art de la Vie Active (MAVA). Gaba's survey exhibition Museum for Contemporary African Art & More showed at the Museum de Paviljoens in Almere, the Netherlands; the Kunsthalle Fridericianum in Kassel, Germany; and the Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, in 2009/10.
Notable group shows include African Metropolis. An Imaginary City at MAXXI, Rome (2018); Enchanted Bodies / Fetish for Freedom at Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Bergamo (2018); The Red Hour, 13th Dakar Biennale (2018); More for Less at A4 Arts Foundation, Cape Town (2018); Their Own Harlems at The Studio Museum in Harlem (2017); Afrique Capitales at La Villette in Paris (2017); Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design at the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein (2015); Atopolis, Mons 2015 - European Capital of Culture; Liberated Subjects: Present Tense, Foundation De 11 Lijnen, Oudenburg (2015); The Theatre of the World, Museo Tamayo, Mexico (2014); When Attitudes Became Form Become Attitudes: A Restoration / A Remake / A Rejuvenation / A Rebellion, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco; Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit (2013); Benin Biennale (2012); La Triennale - Intense Proximity, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2012); The Global Contemporary: Art Worlds after 1989 at ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany (2011); Touched, the 2010 Liverpool Biennale; Port City at Greenland Street Gallery, Liverpool (2008); Africa Remix (2004-2007) and, in 2006, the São Paolo, Gwangju, Sydney and Havana biennales.
CV
EDUCATION
1996-1997 Rijksakademie voor Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam
1981-1985 Student at the artist studio of Zossou Gratien, Cotonou, Benin
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021
Citoyen du Monde, Stevenson, Cape Town
Money, money, money, Stevenson, Cape Town
2020
The Return of the Real, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
Songs in the Dark, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
2017
Man in Money, In Situ Fabienne Leclerc, Paris
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
Meschac Gaba: Detresse et Mon Jardin, Le Centre Atropocodji, Cotonou, Benin
2016
Bank or Economy, Stevenson, Cape Town
2015
Architectures Sculptures, Musée de l'histoire de l'immigration, Le Palais de la Porte Dorée, Paris
2014
Meschac Gaba: Exchange Market, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
Citoyen du Monde, Socrates Sculpture Park Broadway Billboard, Long Island City
Meschac Gaba: The Museum of Contemporary African Art, Deutsche Bank KunstHalle, Berlin
2013
Meschac Gaba: exposition personelle, Vieile Charite, Marseille
Museum of Contemporary African Art 1997-2002, Tate Modern, London
Meschac Gaba: Le Monde, Stevenson, Cape Town, South Africa
2012
Perruques Voitures & Archéologie contemporain, Galerie In Situ/Fabienne Leclerc, Paris
Meschac Gaba: Lac de Sagesse – Wisdom Lake, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
2011
Meschac Gaba: Souvenir Palace, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
2010
Perruques-Architecture, CeSAC Centro Sperimentale per le Arti
Contemporanee, il Filatoio di Caraglio, Caraglio, Italy
2009
Museum for Contemporary African Art & More, Museum de Paviljoens, Almere,The Netherlands;
travelled to Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany; Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas, Canary Islands
The Street, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town
Meschac Gaba: Sweetness, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing
2008
Parade Perruques Voitures à Cotonou, solo performance at different locations in the city of Cotonou, Benin
Meschac Gaba: Trace, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
Tresses Milan: Meschac Gaba, Artra Galleria, Milan
Glück – welches Glück, Deutsches Hygiene Museum, Dresden
Meschac Gaba. Couleurs de Cotonou du mur à la toile, Centre Culturel Français de Cotonou, Benin
2007
Tresses: Meschac Gaba, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town
Meschac Gaba: Tresses and Other Recent Projects, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg
Meschac Gaba. Sweetness, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
2006
Tresses: Meschac Gaba (street performance), Institute of International Visual Arts (InIVA), London
Défilé de perruques (street performance), Paris
Meschac Gaba / Hermann Pitz: Tresse, Galerie Fernand Leger, Ivry, Paris (twoperson exhibition)
2005
Library of the Museum – Museum of Contemporary African Art, BiblioNova, Geleen, The Netherlands
Meschac Gaba: Glue Me Peace, Tate Modern, London, June 24 – August 21; (traveled to Nobel Peace Center, Oslo)
Le Pain Migrateur, Artra Gallery, Milan
Meschac Gaba: Tresses, The Studio Museum, New York
2004
Peace Maker, Ernest G. Welch School of Arts & Design, Gallery of the Georgia
State University, Atlanta; traveling to Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
2003
Atlantique, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
2002
Museum Shop for Sale and Museum Living Room for Sale - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Artra Gallery, Milan and Genova, Italy
Le Discothéque du Musée - Museum of Contemporary African Art, SBK
Tramremise (Stichting Beeldende Kunst), Amsterdam
Le Salon du Musée - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Palais de Tokyo, Paris
2001
Marriage Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, INOVA, Milwaukee, WI
Library of the Museum - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Witte de With, Rotterdam, TheNetherlands; travelled to Falaki Gallery, American University of Cairo, Cairo
Ensemble: Michel François & Meschac Gaba, Galerie Lumen Travo, Amsterdam
Der Inforaum / The Info-room, Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland (two-person exhibition)
2000
Game Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Crown Gallery, Brussels
Spielregeln / Rules of the Game, Galerie Gebauer, Berlin
1999
Summer Collection - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
Salle de Jeux - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Le Pavé Dans La Mare, Besançon, France; traveled to S.M.A.K. Gent, Belgium
Museum Restaurant - Museum of Contemporary African Art, W139, Amsterdam
Vente en gros et detaille, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
1998
Missing Links: Draft Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Praterinsel, Munich
Museum of Contemporary African Art, De Nederlandsche Bank, Amsterdam
Architecture of the Museum - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Gate Foundation, Amsterdam
Meschac Gaba, SBK Kunstuitleen and Galerie 23, Amsterdam
1997
Moneta Exotica. Oorspronkelijk geld uit de hele wereld: Draft Room – Museum of Contemporary African Art, Rijksmuseum Het Koninklijk Penningkabinet, Leiden, The Netherlands
Bazar Bizar, Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam
1995
Art Festival pour la Francophonie, Palace of the President of Bénin, Cotonou, Benin
1993
Dak-art, Biennale de Dakar, Galerie Ife, Dakar, Senegal
1991
Meschac Gaba, Centre Culturelle Français de Cotonou, Benin
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021
This is Not Africa – Unlearn What You Have Learned, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Denmark
2020
Return of the Real, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
Songs in the Dark, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
2019
Leaving the Echo Chamber, Making New Time, 14th Sharjah Biennial, curated by Zoe Butt, Omar Kholeif and Claire Tancons, Sharjah, UAE
How the light gets in: migration in contemporary art, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
The Studio Museum in Harlem: Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, MI, September 13 — December 8, 2019 [traveling to; Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA (January 17 — April 12, 2020); Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA (May 9- August 2, 2020); and Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (August 28—December 13, 2020)]
Mediums of Exchange, Shirley Fiterman Art Center, Borough of Manhattan Community College, New York, NY
Museum of Contemporary African Art (selections), Works from the Collection, Tate Switch House, London
The Warmth of Other Suns, The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
2018
40 years of passion, Fernet Branca Foundation, Saint-Louis, France
Enchanted Bodies / Fetish for Freedom, curated by Bernardo Mosqueira, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
The Red Hour, 13th edition of the Biennial of Contemporary African Art, DAK'ART, Dakar, Senegal
Prospect 2018, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Sand Diego, AFRICAN MĒTRÓPOLIS, curated by Simon Njami and Elena Motisi, MAXXI, National Museum of 21st Century Arts, Rome
BELIEVE, Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto, Toronto
Dakar Biennale, Dakar, Senegal
Ritual, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO
Reclamation! Pan-African Works from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA
2017
The New Parthenon, Stevenson, Cape Town
Sculpture, Painting and Video, The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Miami
Museum of Contemporary African Art (selections), Works from the Collection, Tate Switch House, London
Their Own Harlems, The Studio Museum Harlem, New York
The Restless Earth, Triennale di Milano, Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan
Markets and Man, Kunstraum Baden, Baden, Switzerland
Value, Staatlichen Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany
Value, Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich
The White Hunter. African Memories and Representations, FM Centre for Contemporary Art, Milan
When the Heavens Meet the Earth: Selected Works from the Sina Jina
Collection of Contemporary Art, Heong Gallery, Downing College, Cambridge, England
Noise and Movement, Videobox festival, Le Carreau du Temple, Paris
Afrique Capitales, La Vilette, Paris
2016
Museum of Contemporary African Art [selections], Tate Switch House, London
Afrika 010, Wereldmuseum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
We Call It Ludwig, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
2015
Making Africa, A Continent of Contemporary Design, Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain
Everything Must Go, Lewis Glucksman Gallery, University College Cork, UK
Liberated Subjects: Present Tense, Foundation De 11 Lijnen, Oudenburg, Belgium
Global Imaginations, Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden, the Netherlands
Salon Style, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany
Field, Road, Cloud: Art and Africa, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA
Atopolis, Manège de Sury, Mons, Belgium
2014
In _ We Trust: Art and Money, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH
How Far How Near, Stedelijk Musueum, Amsterdam
The Invisible Hand: Curating as Gesture, The 2nd CAFAM Biennale, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing between the lines, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
Chroma, Stevenson, Cape Town
El Teatro del Mundo (The Theatre of the World), curated by Andrea Torreblanca, Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporaneo, Bosque de Chapultepec, Mexico
2013
Geestverwanten (Kindred Spirits), Rabo Art Collection, Utrecht, The Netherlands
A Sculptural Premise, Stevenson, Cape Town
Station to Station, public art project organized by Doug Aitken, traveling from train from New York City, NY to San Francisco
2012
When Attitudes Became Form Become Attitudes: A Restoration / A Remake / A Rejuvenation / A Rebellion, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, CA; Museum of contemporary Art, Detroit
Biennale Bénin 2012 - Inventing the Word: The Artist as Citizen, Cotonou, Benin
Through an Open Window: Contemporary Art from the Rabo Art Collection, Institut Neérlandais, Paris
We Face Forward: Art from West Africa Today, Manchester City Galleries, Manchester
La Triennale 2012 - Intense Proximity, Palais de Tokyo, Paris
Six Yards: Guaranteed Dutch Design, Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem, The Netherlands
2011
What we talk about when we talk about love, Stevenson, Cape Town
Museum Show: Part 1, Arnolfini, Bristol, England
The Global Contemporary: Art worlds after 1989, ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany
Geography of Somewhere, Brodie/Stevenson, Johannesburg
2010
The Global Africa Project, Museum of Arts and Design, New York
Exhibition Models, De Bond, Bruges, Belgium
Touched, Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Liverpool
This is Our Time, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town
Act VIII: Nether Land, Dutch Culture Centre, Shanghai
Pleased to Meet You: South Africa, Gateway to Africa, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Aware: Art Fashion Identity, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2009
Esposizione Universale, GAMeC, Bergamo, Italy
Cape 09, Cape Town
2008
Glück - Welches Glück, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden
Carried Away: Procession in Art, Museum Voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem, The Netherlands
Biennale Cuvée, OK Center for Contemporary Art, Linz, Austria
Africa Now! Emerging talents from a continent on the move, World Bank
(World Bank Art Program), Washington, D.C.
2007
Port City: on mobility and exchange, Arnolfini Contemporary Art Center, Bristol, England; traveled to John Hansard Gallery, Southampton, England; Greenland Street Gallery, Liverpool
Keep the Change, Nathan Cummings Foundation, New York
Africa Remix, Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa
2006
Sweetness and Museum Shop, São Paulo Biennale, São Paulo
Tresses, 6th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea
La Maison, Sydney Biennale, Sydney
Qui Veut Cajoux, Je Veux Cajoux, Fort op de Ruigenhoeksedijk, De Kleine Biënnale (The Little Biennial for children), Utrecht, The Netherlands
Boulangerie Africaine, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
Tresses, Biennale of Havana, Havana, Cuba
Global Tour: Tresses, W139, Amsterdam
Respect! Formes de cohabitation: Peace Maker, Musée Dar Si Saïd, Marrakech, Morocco
2005
Overtures - on Water: Water Village, City of Munich, Art Circolo Kunstprojekt, Munich
Trace of a Structure of Ideas: Archaeology of a Utopia in the Hardau, City of Zürich, Zürich
Boulangerie Africaine, Hayward Gallery, London
Africa Remix: Identità & Nomadismo, Palazzo delle Papesse Centro Arte Contemporanea, Milan
Monuments for the USA, Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco
Dressing Ourselves, curated by Alessandro Guerriero, La Triennale di Milano, Milan
2004
Horizons: Rules of the Game, Museum of World Cultures, Göteborg, Sweden
Economies, Art and Gallery, Milan
Strange Planet, Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design Gallery of the Georgia State University, Atlanta
Contemporary Archeology: The Fiction of Authenticity, Miller Gallery of the Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
Money Bed, Fundament Foundation, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Africa Remix: Boulangerie Africaine, Kunstpalast, Dusseldorf, Germany; traveled to Hayward gallery, London, England; Centre George Pompidou, Paris; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg
Visa For Thirteen, International Studio Program exhibition, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City
Les Afriques: Poulet Morgue, Le Tri Postal, Lille/Cultural Capital of Europe, France
We Are The World/Rotterdam Edition of Dutch Pavilion at Venice Biennale: Ginger Bar, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Open Studios, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City
2003
Water, Water Village, Amsterdamse Duinwaterleidingen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Democracy Game, Exhibition of Exhibitions, curated by Jens Hoffmann, Casey Kaplan Gallery, New York
We Are The World: Ginger Bar, Dutch Pavilion, Venice Biennale, Venice
Plasticiens en Mouvement/Kunstenaars in Beweging: Origine du Monde, De Markten, Brussels, A Fiction of Authenticity: Contemporary Africa Abroad, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO
Prague Biennale 1: Peripheries Become the Center, National Gallery, Veletrzni Palác, Prague
2002
Artists' Games, Public's Games, Kunstverein Ulm, Germany
Library of the Museum, Museum Shop and Humanist Space, Documenta11, Kassel, Germany
Geld und Währung / Das letzte Tabu: Museum Shop, EXPO, Switzerland
2001
Democracy Game, Helsinki, Finland
International Art Fair: Museum Shop, Art /32/ Basel, Switzerland.
Locus/Focus: Palace of Eternity, Sonsbeek 2001 (9), Arnhem, The Netherlands
Geldlust: ModellBanking: Money Tree, Kunsthalle Tirol, Hall in Tirol, Austria
National Slavery Monument, Slave Route, City Hall, Amsterdam
Réalité Revisitée: Expérimenter le Réel : Atlantique, Cimaise & Portique centre departmental d'art contemporain, Albi, France
Red Ribbon Art: Money Box, Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands
Unfolding Perspectives, Nykytaiteen Museo Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland
Expérimenter le Réel, Cimaise et Portique, Albi, France
2000
For Real: Marriage Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
The Sky is the Limit, Meschac Gaba Made in Taiwan, Fine Arts Museum, Taipei Biennale, Taipei, Taiwan
L'Art dans le Monde: Pain et Marteaux, Paris Musées/Revue des Beaux Arts, Pont Alexandre III, Paris
East/International: Museum of Contemporary African Art - Draft Room, Norwich Gallery, Norwich, England
Play-use: Game Room, Witte de With, Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
A Casa Di: Art and Religion Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Cittadellarte/Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella, Italy
Continental Shift. A voyage between cultures: Le Discothèque du Musée - Museum of Contemporary
African Art, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Dialogues, Museum Shop presented by Lumen Travo Gallery, ARCO, Amsterdam
Worthless (invaluable). The concept of value in contemporary art: Draft Room, Museum of Contemporary African Art, Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana, Slovenia
NoTitle, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
Chess Game, Part of Game Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, presented by Galerie Gebauer, Berlin at Kunstmesse, Basel
1999
Mirror's Edge, Museum of Contemporary African Art - The Architecture of the Museum, curated by Okwui Enwezor, traveled to Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland; Castello di Rivoli, Turin, Italy; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada; and Bildmuseet, Umeå, Sweden
South Meets West: Museum Shop - Museum of Contemporary African Art, National Museum of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Waardige Zaken. Wonderkamers: Summer Collection, De Nieuwe Vide, Haarlem, The Netherlands
Casino, Le Pavé Dans La Mare, Besançon, France
TroubleSpot. Painting: Draft Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, NICC and MUHKA, Antwerp
Trafique: Museum Shop - Museum of Contemporary African Art, S.M.A.K. Ghent, Belgium
Nationaal Museum Weekend: Architecture of the Museum - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Unlimited.nl-2: Architecture of the Museum - Museum of Contemporary African Art, De Appel Foundation, Amsterdam
1998
Copy Culture. 40 Jaar Amsterdams Grafisch Atelier, Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam
Meeting Point, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
NICC, curated by Michel François, Antwerp
1997
Draft Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Blueprint, De Appel Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Virtual exhibition at africaserver.nl/virtual/exhibitions/gaba
1996
Rasa Foundation, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Open Ateliers, Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam
1995
Ewole, Lome, Togo
German Embassy, Cotonou, Benin
1994
on the occasion of the top Africa/America, Libreville, Gabon Biennale d'Abidjan 1994, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Centre Culturelle Chinois, Cotonou, Benin
Galerie GO, Cotonou, Benin
1993
Centre Culturelle Americain, Cotonou, Benin
1992
Arts sur 7. S.O.S. Artistes, Halle des Sports, Cotonou, Benin
Musée des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie curated by Fede Benet, Paris
PUBLIC ART
2013
Le Jeu, Rives de Saône, Lyon
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2017
Artist’s residency, Centre d'Art de Logozounpka ou Godonney, Cotonou, Benin
2014
Artist’s residency, MAVA Unite Residence, Contonou, Benin
2006
Artist's residency in preparation for the São Paulo Biennale, Recife, Brazil
2005
Artist's residency, Couvent des Récollets, Paris
2003-2004
Artist's residency, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City
2002
Will Grohmann Preis, Akademie der Künste, Berlin
AICA Award, International Association of Art Critiques, The Netherlands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2013
Meschac Gaba: Le Monde, Cape Town, South Africa: Michael Stevenson Gallery. Exh. Cat.
Greenberg, Kerryn (ed.). Meschac Gaba: Museum of Contemporary African Art. London: Tate Publishing.
When Attitudes Became Form Become Attitudes, CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco, CA.
2012
We Face Forward: Art from West Africa Today, Manchester City Galleries, Mancherster, UK. Exh. Cat.
2011 Geography of Somewhere, Cape Town, South Africa: Michael Stevenson Gallery. Exh. Cat.
Touched, Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Liverpool, England. Exh. Cat.
2010
Wolfs, Rein (ed.) with text by Stephan Müller. Meschac Gaba. Cologne, Germany: Walther König.
Aware: Art Fashion Identity, Royal Academy of Arts, London, England. Exh. Cat.
The Global Africa Project, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY. Exh. Cat.
2009
Museum for Contemporary African Art & More, Museum de Paviljoens, Almere, Netherlands; Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany. Exh. Cat.
Meschac Gaba: The Street, Cape Town, South Africa: Michael Stevenson Gallery. Exh. Cat.
2007
Meschac Gaba, Tresses and other recent projects, Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa: Michael Stevenson Gallery and Johannesburg Art Gallery. Exh. Cat.
Port City: On Mobility and Exchange, Arnolfini, Bristol, England. Exh. Cat.
2006
How To Live Together, 27th Biennale de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo Fever Variations, 6th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea
Zones of Contact, 15th Biennale of Sydney
2005
Fusi, Lorenzo. Identità & Nomadismo, Palazzo delle Papesse Centro Arte Contemporanea, Silvana Editoriale Spa, Milan
Rugoff, Ralph. Monuments for the USA. San Francisco, California: California College of the Arts/Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts.
Bremer, Jaap and Marieke van Schijndel, Unlocked # 2. Amsterdam: Rabo kunstcollectie / Rabo Art Collection, Rabobank Nederland.
Expérimenter le reel/réalité revisitée, Albi, France.
Kim, Cristine Y., Lauri Firstenberg, Meschac Gaba Lowery Stokes Sims.
Meschac Gaba: Tresses. New York: The Studio Museum in Harlem. Exh. Cat.
Meschac Gaba: Glue Me Peace, Tate Modern, London. Exh. Cat.
Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent. Africa ’05. South Bank Center, London. Exh. Cat.
Respect! Form of Community. Contemporary Art from the Netherlands, El Badi Palace, Marrakech, Morocco. Exh. Cat.
Dressing Ourselves, curated by Alessandro Guerriero, La Triennale di Milano, Italy. Exh. Cat.
2004
Intruders. Reflections on Art and the Ethnological Museum. Leiden, Netherlands: National Museum of Ethnology.
Strange Planet. Atlanta, Georgia: Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design Gallery, Georgia State University & Saltworks Gallery.
Visa for Thirteen. Long Island City, NY, PS1 International Studio Program Exhibition, MoMA P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center.
Op Hoogte Gedacht. Groningen, Netherlands: Beeldende Kunst op Groninger Kerkhoven, Stichting Oude Groninger Kerken.
2003
Water. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdamse Duinwaterleidingen.
We Are The World, Venice Biennale 2003. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Artimo Foundation.
A Fiction of Authenticity: Contemporary Africa Abroad, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO. Exh. Cat.
Prague Biennale 1: Peripheries Become the Center, National Gallery, Veletrzni Palác, Prague, Czech Republic. Exh. Cat.
2002
Meschac Gaba: 11th Room, Le Salon Du Musée d’art Contemporain Africain, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, 2012. Exh. Cat.
Documenta11: Platform 5, Kassel, Germany. Exh. Cat.
2001
Locus/Focus: Sonsbeek 9. Aarnhem, Netherlands: Sonsbeek. Exh. Cat.
Steevensz, Bert, and Gijs Stork (eds). Texts by Bart de Baere, Nicolas Dings, Jean Bernard Koeman, et al. Meschac Gaba: Library of the Museum / Bibliothèque du Musée, Vol. 1, Museum of Contemporary African Art. Amsterdam: Artimo Foundation.
Unfolding Perspectives, Nykytaiteen Museo Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland. Exh. Cat.
Expérimenter le Réel, Cimaise et Portique, Albi, France. Exh. Cat.
2000
For Real. Een voorstel tot Gemeentelijke Kunstaankopen / A Proposal for Municipal Art Acquisitions, 1999/2000. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Stedelijk Museum Publishing.
The Sky is the Limit, Taipei Biennale, Taipei, Taiwan.
East/International. Norwich, United Kingdom: Norwich Gallery. Exh. Cat.
L’Art dans le Monde. Paris, France: Paris Musées/Revue des Beaux Arts.
Continental Shift. A Voyage between Cultures, Maastricht, Netherlands: Bonnefanten Museum.
“Perché? (belongs to the future). Because art doesn’t change the world, it shapes the world,” Magazzino d’Arte Moderna, no. 1, curated by Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, Rome, Italy.
1999
Trafique, S.M.A.K extra muros. Ghent, Belgium: SMAK Publishing.
Waardige Zaken. 14 Wonderkamers in Noord-Holland van beeldende kunstenaars, Haarlem, Netherlands: De Nieuwe Vide.
Mirror’s Edge. Umeå, Sweden: Bildmuseet Publishing.
South Meets West. Accra, Ghana, i.c.w.: National Museum of Ghana Publishing.
Kunsthalle/Historische Museum, Bern, Switzerland.
Unlimited.nl-2. Amsterdam, Netherlands: De Appel Foundation.
TroubleSpot.Painting, Antwerp, Belgium: NICC and MUHKA Publishing.
1998
Copy Culture. 40 Jaar Amsterdams Grafisch Atelier, Amsterdam,
Netherlands: Arti et Amicitiae.
1997
Moneta Exotica. Oorspronkelijk geld uit de hele wereld, Leiden, Netherlands: Rijksmuseum Het Koninklijk Penningkabinet.
Blueprint (Hong Kong Project). Amsterdam: De Appel Foundation.
ESSAYS
2001
Alexandra van Dongen and Meschac Gaba, “Habitación de Matrimonio / Marriage Room.” Atlantica, no. 30, October.
PRESS
2017
“’Ritual’ at Aspen Art Museum, Aspen,” Blouin ArtInfo, December 19, 2017.
“Meschac Gaba at In Situ Fabienne Leclerc, Paris,” Blouin ArtInfo, November 9, 2017.
Ochieng, Akinyi. “5 Works of Art You Need To See at 1:54 Contemporary African Fair London 2017,” okayafrica., October 6, 2017.
“What to See in New york Art Galleries This Week,” The New York Times, July 21, 2017.
Jaojoco, Patrick. “New York: Meschac Gaba,” Artforum, July 19, 2017.
“Goings On About Town: Meschac Gaba,” The New Yorker, July 19, 2017.
“Meschac Gaba,” Daily Art Fair, June 30, 2017.
“Meschac Gaba at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York,” Blouin ArtInfo, June 30, 2017.
“12 Exhibitions To See in New York This Summer,” Galerie, June 27, 2017.
“Meschac Gaba,” Time Out New York, June, 23, 2017.
Nicolaides, Ilse. “Meschac Gaba Solo Exhibition at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery,” Dutch Culture USA, May 20, 2017.
2016
Pijbes, Wim “Wim Pijbes ontdekt ‘Afrikaanse kunst’ in Rotterdam”. NRC. November 1, 2016. [online]
Robertson, Erin C.J. “Beninese Artist Meschac Gaba Transforms Holland’s Architecture Into Towering Colorful Wigs”. Okayafrica. June 24, 2016. [online]
“We Call It Ludwig: Exhibition is high point of Museum Ludwig’s landmark year”. Art Daily. 2016. [online]
2015
Morain, Michael " There and back: Art Center explores Africa". The Des Moines Register. February 13, 2015. [online]
2014
“Meschac Gaba and his 12 rooms.” Berlin Global, October 2, 2014. [online]
“Meschac Gaba: Museum of Contemporary African Art at Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle.” Contemporary And, September, 2014. [online]
Walleston, Aimee, “Meschac Gaba,” Art in America, September 22, 2014.[online]
Seigol, Micol, “Hyppthecation,” Transition International Review, Issue 114, Indiana University Press
Yerebakan, O.C., “Meschac Gaba: Exchange Market at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery,” Art Observed, June Tiernan, Kate, “Meschac Gaba: Exchange Market,” Studio International, May 21, 2014, http://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/meschac-gabaexchange-market
Wright, Karen, “In the Studio: Meschac Gaba, artist,” The Independent, January 21.
2013
Sumpter, Helen, “Meschac Gaba: Museum of Contemporary African Art,” Art Review, October
Enwezor, Okwui. “Best of 2013.” Artforum, December.
Jagoe, Rebecca. “Contemporary Art in Benin: A History in Ten Artists.” The Culture Trip, July 8.
Luke, Ben. “Meschac Gaba: Museum of Contemporary African Art, Tate Modern – exhibition review.” The London Evening Standard, July 2. ed. “The art of Meschac Gaba: Making Space.” The Economist, June 19.
Interview with Meschac Gaba, Rives de Saone Project Vincent, Cedric. “Friction in Benin,” e-flux, December 2013
Jones, Jonathan, “Meschac Gaba’s anti-museum shows he strength of modern African art,” The Guardian Online, July.
Bouwhuis, Jele, “Biennale Regard Benin 2012,” frieze, March.
Valle, Ines, “Choices: 11th Edition of Frieze Art Fair London 2013,” Omenka, Volume I, Issue 3
2012
de Wildt, Annemarie, “Bibliotheque Roulante,” Amsterdam Museum [online]
2007
Collison, Carl, “Art Attack,” City Press, Dec. 2, 2007, p. 13.
2004
Cullum, Jerry, “Between Berlin and Benin,” Art Papers, September / October.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
A4 Art Foundation, Cape Town
AkzoNobel Art Foundation, The Netherlands
Banks of the Saone, Greater Lyon
Banque Central des Etat de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, Cotonou, Benin
BECEAO Banque, Cotonou, Benin
BECEAO Banque, Dakar, Senegal
Beth Rudin Dewoody, Palm Beach, FL
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Bristol, England
Centre Pompidou, Paris
Cité nationale de l'histoire de l'immigration, Paris
Stichting Oude Groninger, Groninger, The Netherlands
De Nederlandse Bank, Amsterdam
Fonds National d'Art Contemporain, France
Fonds Régional d'Art Contemporain de la Réunion, France
Hamlet of Wierhuizen, The Netherlands
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Institute of International Visual Arts, London
Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg
National Museum for World Cultures, Leiden, The Netherlands
New Church Museum, Cape Town
Margulies Family Collection, Miami
Musee de l'Histoire de l'Immigration, Paris
Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Arnhem, The Netherlands
Museum De Domeinen, Sittard, The Netherlands
Perez Art Museum Miami, Miami
Presidence du Benin (former president Soglo), Cotonou, Benin
Rabobank Art Collection, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Rollins College, Winter Park, FL
Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario
S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium
Societe Fagace, Cotonou, Benin
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Studio Museum, Harlem, New York
Tate Modern, London
1996-1997 Rijksakademie voor Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam
1981-1985 Student at the artist studio of Zossou Gratien, Cotonou, Benin
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021
Citoyen du Monde, Stevenson, Cape Town
Money, money, money, Stevenson, Cape Town
2020
The Return of the Real, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
Songs in the Dark, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
2017
Man in Money, In Situ Fabienne Leclerc, Paris
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
Meschac Gaba: Detresse et Mon Jardin, Le Centre Atropocodji, Cotonou, Benin
2016
Bank or Economy, Stevenson, Cape Town
2015
Architectures Sculptures, Musée de l'histoire de l'immigration, Le Palais de la Porte Dorée, Paris
2014
Meschac Gaba: Exchange Market, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
Citoyen du Monde, Socrates Sculpture Park Broadway Billboard, Long Island City
Meschac Gaba: The Museum of Contemporary African Art, Deutsche Bank KunstHalle, Berlin
2013
Meschac Gaba: exposition personelle, Vieile Charite, Marseille
Museum of Contemporary African Art 1997-2002, Tate Modern, London
Meschac Gaba: Le Monde, Stevenson, Cape Town, South Africa
2012
Perruques Voitures & Archéologie contemporain, Galerie In Situ/Fabienne Leclerc, Paris
Meschac Gaba: Lac de Sagesse – Wisdom Lake, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
2011
Meschac Gaba: Souvenir Palace, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
2010
Perruques-Architecture, CeSAC Centro Sperimentale per le Arti
Contemporanee, il Filatoio di Caraglio, Caraglio, Italy
2009
Museum for Contemporary African Art & More, Museum de Paviljoens, Almere,The Netherlands;
travelled to Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany; Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas, Canary Islands
The Street, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town
Meschac Gaba: Sweetness, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing
2008
Parade Perruques Voitures à Cotonou, solo performance at different locations in the city of Cotonou, Benin
Meschac Gaba: Trace, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
Tresses Milan: Meschac Gaba, Artra Galleria, Milan
Glück – welches Glück, Deutsches Hygiene Museum, Dresden
Meschac Gaba. Couleurs de Cotonou du mur à la toile, Centre Culturel Français de Cotonou, Benin
2007
Tresses: Meschac Gaba, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town
Meschac Gaba: Tresses and Other Recent Projects, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg
Meschac Gaba. Sweetness, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy
2006
Tresses: Meschac Gaba (street performance), Institute of International Visual Arts (InIVA), London
Défilé de perruques (street performance), Paris
Meschac Gaba / Hermann Pitz: Tresse, Galerie Fernand Leger, Ivry, Paris (twoperson exhibition)
2005
Library of the Museum – Museum of Contemporary African Art, BiblioNova, Geleen, The Netherlands
Meschac Gaba: Glue Me Peace, Tate Modern, London, June 24 – August 21; (traveled to Nobel Peace Center, Oslo)
Le Pain Migrateur, Artra Gallery, Milan
Meschac Gaba: Tresses, The Studio Museum, New York
2004
Peace Maker, Ernest G. Welch School of Arts & Design, Gallery of the Georgia
State University, Atlanta; traveling to Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
2003
Atlantique, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
2002
Museum Shop for Sale and Museum Living Room for Sale - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Artra Gallery, Milan and Genova, Italy
Le Discothéque du Musée - Museum of Contemporary African Art, SBK
Tramremise (Stichting Beeldende Kunst), Amsterdam
Le Salon du Musée - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Palais de Tokyo, Paris
2001
Marriage Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, INOVA, Milwaukee, WI
Library of the Museum - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Witte de With, Rotterdam, TheNetherlands; travelled to Falaki Gallery, American University of Cairo, Cairo
Ensemble: Michel François & Meschac Gaba, Galerie Lumen Travo, Amsterdam
Der Inforaum / The Info-room, Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland (two-person exhibition)
2000
Game Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Crown Gallery, Brussels
Spielregeln / Rules of the Game, Galerie Gebauer, Berlin
1999
Summer Collection - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
Salle de Jeux - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Le Pavé Dans La Mare, Besançon, France; traveled to S.M.A.K. Gent, Belgium
Museum Restaurant - Museum of Contemporary African Art, W139, Amsterdam
Vente en gros et detaille, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
1998
Missing Links: Draft Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Praterinsel, Munich
Museum of Contemporary African Art, De Nederlandsche Bank, Amsterdam
Architecture of the Museum - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Gate Foundation, Amsterdam
Meschac Gaba, SBK Kunstuitleen and Galerie 23, Amsterdam
1997
Moneta Exotica. Oorspronkelijk geld uit de hele wereld: Draft Room – Museum of Contemporary African Art, Rijksmuseum Het Koninklijk Penningkabinet, Leiden, The Netherlands
Bazar Bizar, Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam
1995
Art Festival pour la Francophonie, Palace of the President of Bénin, Cotonou, Benin
1993
Dak-art, Biennale de Dakar, Galerie Ife, Dakar, Senegal
1991
Meschac Gaba, Centre Culturelle Français de Cotonou, Benin
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021
This is Not Africa – Unlearn What You Have Learned, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Denmark
2020
Return of the Real, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
Songs in the Dark, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
2019
Leaving the Echo Chamber, Making New Time, 14th Sharjah Biennial, curated by Zoe Butt, Omar Kholeif and Claire Tancons, Sharjah, UAE
How the light gets in: migration in contemporary art, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
The Studio Museum in Harlem: Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, MI, September 13 — December 8, 2019 [traveling to; Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA (January 17 — April 12, 2020); Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA (May 9- August 2, 2020); and Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (August 28—December 13, 2020)]
Mediums of Exchange, Shirley Fiterman Art Center, Borough of Manhattan Community College, New York, NY
Museum of Contemporary African Art (selections), Works from the Collection, Tate Switch House, London
The Warmth of Other Suns, The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
2018
40 years of passion, Fernet Branca Foundation, Saint-Louis, France
Enchanted Bodies / Fetish for Freedom, curated by Bernardo Mosqueira, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
The Red Hour, 13th edition of the Biennial of Contemporary African Art, DAK'ART, Dakar, Senegal
Prospect 2018, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Sand Diego, AFRICAN MĒTRÓPOLIS, curated by Simon Njami and Elena Motisi, MAXXI, National Museum of 21st Century Arts, Rome
BELIEVE, Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto, Toronto
Dakar Biennale, Dakar, Senegal
Ritual, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO
Reclamation! Pan-African Works from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA
2017
The New Parthenon, Stevenson, Cape Town
Sculpture, Painting and Video, The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Miami
Museum of Contemporary African Art (selections), Works from the Collection, Tate Switch House, London
Their Own Harlems, The Studio Museum Harlem, New York
The Restless Earth, Triennale di Milano, Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan
Markets and Man, Kunstraum Baden, Baden, Switzerland
Value, Staatlichen Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany
Value, Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich
The White Hunter. African Memories and Representations, FM Centre for Contemporary Art, Milan
When the Heavens Meet the Earth: Selected Works from the Sina Jina
Collection of Contemporary Art, Heong Gallery, Downing College, Cambridge, England
Noise and Movement, Videobox festival, Le Carreau du Temple, Paris
Afrique Capitales, La Vilette, Paris
2016
Museum of Contemporary African Art [selections], Tate Switch House, London
Afrika 010, Wereldmuseum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
We Call It Ludwig, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
2015
Making Africa, A Continent of Contemporary Design, Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain
Everything Must Go, Lewis Glucksman Gallery, University College Cork, UK
Liberated Subjects: Present Tense, Foundation De 11 Lijnen, Oudenburg, Belgium
Global Imaginations, Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden, the Netherlands
Salon Style, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany
Field, Road, Cloud: Art and Africa, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA
Atopolis, Manège de Sury, Mons, Belgium
2014
In _ We Trust: Art and Money, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH
How Far How Near, Stedelijk Musueum, Amsterdam
The Invisible Hand: Curating as Gesture, The 2nd CAFAM Biennale, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing between the lines, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
Chroma, Stevenson, Cape Town
El Teatro del Mundo (The Theatre of the World), curated by Andrea Torreblanca, Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporaneo, Bosque de Chapultepec, Mexico
2013
Geestverwanten (Kindred Spirits), Rabo Art Collection, Utrecht, The Netherlands
A Sculptural Premise, Stevenson, Cape Town
Station to Station, public art project organized by Doug Aitken, traveling from train from New York City, NY to San Francisco
2012
When Attitudes Became Form Become Attitudes: A Restoration / A Remake / A Rejuvenation / A Rebellion, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, CA; Museum of contemporary Art, Detroit
Biennale Bénin 2012 - Inventing the Word: The Artist as Citizen, Cotonou, Benin
Through an Open Window: Contemporary Art from the Rabo Art Collection, Institut Neérlandais, Paris
We Face Forward: Art from West Africa Today, Manchester City Galleries, Manchester
La Triennale 2012 - Intense Proximity, Palais de Tokyo, Paris
Six Yards: Guaranteed Dutch Design, Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem, The Netherlands
2011
What we talk about when we talk about love, Stevenson, Cape Town
Museum Show: Part 1, Arnolfini, Bristol, England
The Global Contemporary: Art worlds after 1989, ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany
Geography of Somewhere, Brodie/Stevenson, Johannesburg
2010
The Global Africa Project, Museum of Arts and Design, New York
Exhibition Models, De Bond, Bruges, Belgium
Touched, Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Liverpool
This is Our Time, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town
Act VIII: Nether Land, Dutch Culture Centre, Shanghai
Pleased to Meet You: South Africa, Gateway to Africa, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Aware: Art Fashion Identity, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2009
Esposizione Universale, GAMeC, Bergamo, Italy
Cape 09, Cape Town
2008
Glück - Welches Glück, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden
Carried Away: Procession in Art, Museum Voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem, The Netherlands
Biennale Cuvée, OK Center for Contemporary Art, Linz, Austria
Africa Now! Emerging talents from a continent on the move, World Bank
(World Bank Art Program), Washington, D.C.
2007
Port City: on mobility and exchange, Arnolfini Contemporary Art Center, Bristol, England; traveled to John Hansard Gallery, Southampton, England; Greenland Street Gallery, Liverpool
Keep the Change, Nathan Cummings Foundation, New York
Africa Remix, Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa
2006
Sweetness and Museum Shop, São Paulo Biennale, São Paulo
Tresses, 6th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea
La Maison, Sydney Biennale, Sydney
Qui Veut Cajoux, Je Veux Cajoux, Fort op de Ruigenhoeksedijk, De Kleine Biënnale (The Little Biennial for children), Utrecht, The Netherlands
Boulangerie Africaine, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
Tresses, Biennale of Havana, Havana, Cuba
Global Tour: Tresses, W139, Amsterdam
Respect! Formes de cohabitation: Peace Maker, Musée Dar Si Saïd, Marrakech, Morocco
2005
Overtures - on Water: Water Village, City of Munich, Art Circolo Kunstprojekt, Munich
Trace of a Structure of Ideas: Archaeology of a Utopia in the Hardau, City of Zürich, Zürich
Boulangerie Africaine, Hayward Gallery, London
Africa Remix: Identità & Nomadismo, Palazzo delle Papesse Centro Arte Contemporanea, Milan
Monuments for the USA, Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco
Dressing Ourselves, curated by Alessandro Guerriero, La Triennale di Milano, Milan
2004
Horizons: Rules of the Game, Museum of World Cultures, Göteborg, Sweden
Economies, Art and Gallery, Milan
Strange Planet, Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design Gallery of the Georgia State University, Atlanta
Contemporary Archeology: The Fiction of Authenticity, Miller Gallery of the Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
Money Bed, Fundament Foundation, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Africa Remix: Boulangerie Africaine, Kunstpalast, Dusseldorf, Germany; traveled to Hayward gallery, London, England; Centre George Pompidou, Paris; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg
Visa For Thirteen, International Studio Program exhibition, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City
Les Afriques: Poulet Morgue, Le Tri Postal, Lille/Cultural Capital of Europe, France
We Are The World/Rotterdam Edition of Dutch Pavilion at Venice Biennale: Ginger Bar, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Open Studios, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City
2003
Water, Water Village, Amsterdamse Duinwaterleidingen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Democracy Game, Exhibition of Exhibitions, curated by Jens Hoffmann, Casey Kaplan Gallery, New York
We Are The World: Ginger Bar, Dutch Pavilion, Venice Biennale, Venice
Plasticiens en Mouvement/Kunstenaars in Beweging: Origine du Monde, De Markten, Brussels, A Fiction of Authenticity: Contemporary Africa Abroad, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO
Prague Biennale 1: Peripheries Become the Center, National Gallery, Veletrzni Palác, Prague
2002
Artists' Games, Public's Games, Kunstverein Ulm, Germany
Library of the Museum, Museum Shop and Humanist Space, Documenta11, Kassel, Germany
Geld und Währung / Das letzte Tabu: Museum Shop, EXPO, Switzerland
2001
Democracy Game, Helsinki, Finland
International Art Fair: Museum Shop, Art /32/ Basel, Switzerland.
Locus/Focus: Palace of Eternity, Sonsbeek 2001 (9), Arnhem, The Netherlands
Geldlust: ModellBanking: Money Tree, Kunsthalle Tirol, Hall in Tirol, Austria
National Slavery Monument, Slave Route, City Hall, Amsterdam
Réalité Revisitée: Expérimenter le Réel : Atlantique, Cimaise & Portique centre departmental d'art contemporain, Albi, France
Red Ribbon Art: Money Box, Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands
Unfolding Perspectives, Nykytaiteen Museo Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland
Expérimenter le Réel, Cimaise et Portique, Albi, France
2000
For Real: Marriage Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
The Sky is the Limit, Meschac Gaba Made in Taiwan, Fine Arts Museum, Taipei Biennale, Taipei, Taiwan
L'Art dans le Monde: Pain et Marteaux, Paris Musées/Revue des Beaux Arts, Pont Alexandre III, Paris
East/International: Museum of Contemporary African Art - Draft Room, Norwich Gallery, Norwich, England
Play-use: Game Room, Witte de With, Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
A Casa Di: Art and Religion Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Cittadellarte/Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella, Italy
Continental Shift. A voyage between cultures: Le Discothèque du Musée - Museum of Contemporary
African Art, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Dialogues, Museum Shop presented by Lumen Travo Gallery, ARCO, Amsterdam
Worthless (invaluable). The concept of value in contemporary art: Draft Room, Museum of Contemporary African Art, Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana, Slovenia
NoTitle, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
Chess Game, Part of Game Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, presented by Galerie Gebauer, Berlin at Kunstmesse, Basel
1999
Mirror's Edge, Museum of Contemporary African Art - The Architecture of the Museum, curated by Okwui Enwezor, traveled to Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland; Castello di Rivoli, Turin, Italy; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada; and Bildmuseet, Umeå, Sweden
South Meets West: Museum Shop - Museum of Contemporary African Art, National Museum of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Waardige Zaken. Wonderkamers: Summer Collection, De Nieuwe Vide, Haarlem, The Netherlands
Casino, Le Pavé Dans La Mare, Besançon, France
TroubleSpot. Painting: Draft Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, NICC and MUHKA, Antwerp
Trafique: Museum Shop - Museum of Contemporary African Art, S.M.A.K. Ghent, Belgium
Nationaal Museum Weekend: Architecture of the Museum - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Unlimited.nl-2: Architecture of the Museum - Museum of Contemporary African Art, De Appel Foundation, Amsterdam
1998
Copy Culture. 40 Jaar Amsterdams Grafisch Atelier, Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam
Meeting Point, Lumen Travo Gallery, Amsterdam
NICC, curated by Michel François, Antwerp
1997
Draft Room - Museum of Contemporary African Art, Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Blueprint, De Appel Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Virtual exhibition at africaserver.nl/virtual/exhibitions/gaba
1996
Rasa Foundation, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Open Ateliers, Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam
1995
Ewole, Lome, Togo
German Embassy, Cotonou, Benin
1994
on the occasion of the top Africa/America, Libreville, Gabon Biennale d'Abidjan 1994, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Centre Culturelle Chinois, Cotonou, Benin
Galerie GO, Cotonou, Benin
1993
Centre Culturelle Americain, Cotonou, Benin
1992
Arts sur 7. S.O.S. Artistes, Halle des Sports, Cotonou, Benin
Musée des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie curated by Fede Benet, Paris
PUBLIC ART
2013
Le Jeu, Rives de Saône, Lyon
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2017
Artist’s residency, Centre d'Art de Logozounpka ou Godonney, Cotonou, Benin
2014
Artist’s residency, MAVA Unite Residence, Contonou, Benin
2006
Artist's residency in preparation for the São Paulo Biennale, Recife, Brazil
2005
Artist's residency, Couvent des Récollets, Paris
2003-2004
Artist's residency, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City
2002
Will Grohmann Preis, Akademie der Künste, Berlin
AICA Award, International Association of Art Critiques, The Netherlands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2013
Meschac Gaba: Le Monde, Cape Town, South Africa: Michael Stevenson Gallery. Exh. Cat.
Greenberg, Kerryn (ed.). Meschac Gaba: Museum of Contemporary African Art. London: Tate Publishing.
When Attitudes Became Form Become Attitudes, CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco, CA.
2012
We Face Forward: Art from West Africa Today, Manchester City Galleries, Mancherster, UK. Exh. Cat.
2011 Geography of Somewhere, Cape Town, South Africa: Michael Stevenson Gallery. Exh. Cat.
Touched, Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Liverpool, England. Exh. Cat.
2010
Wolfs, Rein (ed.) with text by Stephan Müller. Meschac Gaba. Cologne, Germany: Walther König.
Aware: Art Fashion Identity, Royal Academy of Arts, London, England. Exh. Cat.
The Global Africa Project, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY. Exh. Cat.
2009
Museum for Contemporary African Art & More, Museum de Paviljoens, Almere, Netherlands; Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany. Exh. Cat.
Meschac Gaba: The Street, Cape Town, South Africa: Michael Stevenson Gallery. Exh. Cat.
2007
Meschac Gaba, Tresses and other recent projects, Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa: Michael Stevenson Gallery and Johannesburg Art Gallery. Exh. Cat.
Port City: On Mobility and Exchange, Arnolfini, Bristol, England. Exh. Cat.
2006
How To Live Together, 27th Biennale de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo Fever Variations, 6th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea
Zones of Contact, 15th Biennale of Sydney
2005
Fusi, Lorenzo. Identità & Nomadismo, Palazzo delle Papesse Centro Arte Contemporanea, Silvana Editoriale Spa, Milan
Rugoff, Ralph. Monuments for the USA. San Francisco, California: California College of the Arts/Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts.
Bremer, Jaap and Marieke van Schijndel, Unlocked # 2. Amsterdam: Rabo kunstcollectie / Rabo Art Collection, Rabobank Nederland.
Expérimenter le reel/réalité revisitée, Albi, France.
Kim, Cristine Y., Lauri Firstenberg, Meschac Gaba Lowery Stokes Sims.
Meschac Gaba: Tresses. New York: The Studio Museum in Harlem. Exh. Cat.
Meschac Gaba: Glue Me Peace, Tate Modern, London. Exh. Cat.
Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent. Africa ’05. South Bank Center, London. Exh. Cat.
Respect! Form of Community. Contemporary Art from the Netherlands, El Badi Palace, Marrakech, Morocco. Exh. Cat.
Dressing Ourselves, curated by Alessandro Guerriero, La Triennale di Milano, Italy. Exh. Cat.
2004
Intruders. Reflections on Art and the Ethnological Museum. Leiden, Netherlands: National Museum of Ethnology.
Strange Planet. Atlanta, Georgia: Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design Gallery, Georgia State University & Saltworks Gallery.
Visa for Thirteen. Long Island City, NY, PS1 International Studio Program Exhibition, MoMA P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center.
Op Hoogte Gedacht. Groningen, Netherlands: Beeldende Kunst op Groninger Kerkhoven, Stichting Oude Groninger Kerken.
2003
Water. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdamse Duinwaterleidingen.
We Are The World, Venice Biennale 2003. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Artimo Foundation.
A Fiction of Authenticity: Contemporary Africa Abroad, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO. Exh. Cat.
Prague Biennale 1: Peripheries Become the Center, National Gallery, Veletrzni Palác, Prague, Czech Republic. Exh. Cat.
2002
Meschac Gaba: 11th Room, Le Salon Du Musée d’art Contemporain Africain, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, 2012. Exh. Cat.
Documenta11: Platform 5, Kassel, Germany. Exh. Cat.
2001
Locus/Focus: Sonsbeek 9. Aarnhem, Netherlands: Sonsbeek. Exh. Cat.
Steevensz, Bert, and Gijs Stork (eds). Texts by Bart de Baere, Nicolas Dings, Jean Bernard Koeman, et al. Meschac Gaba: Library of the Museum / Bibliothèque du Musée, Vol. 1, Museum of Contemporary African Art. Amsterdam: Artimo Foundation.
Unfolding Perspectives, Nykytaiteen Museo Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland. Exh. Cat.
Expérimenter le Réel, Cimaise et Portique, Albi, France. Exh. Cat.
2000
For Real. Een voorstel tot Gemeentelijke Kunstaankopen / A Proposal for Municipal Art Acquisitions, 1999/2000. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Stedelijk Museum Publishing.
The Sky is the Limit, Taipei Biennale, Taipei, Taiwan.
East/International. Norwich, United Kingdom: Norwich Gallery. Exh. Cat.
L’Art dans le Monde. Paris, France: Paris Musées/Revue des Beaux Arts.
Continental Shift. A Voyage between Cultures, Maastricht, Netherlands: Bonnefanten Museum.
“Perché? (belongs to the future). Because art doesn’t change the world, it shapes the world,” Magazzino d’Arte Moderna, no. 1, curated by Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, Rome, Italy.
1999
Trafique, S.M.A.K extra muros. Ghent, Belgium: SMAK Publishing.
Waardige Zaken. 14 Wonderkamers in Noord-Holland van beeldende kunstenaars, Haarlem, Netherlands: De Nieuwe Vide.
Mirror’s Edge. Umeå, Sweden: Bildmuseet Publishing.
South Meets West. Accra, Ghana, i.c.w.: National Museum of Ghana Publishing.
Kunsthalle/Historische Museum, Bern, Switzerland.
Unlimited.nl-2. Amsterdam, Netherlands: De Appel Foundation.
TroubleSpot.Painting, Antwerp, Belgium: NICC and MUHKA Publishing.
1998
Copy Culture. 40 Jaar Amsterdams Grafisch Atelier, Amsterdam,
Netherlands: Arti et Amicitiae.
1997
Moneta Exotica. Oorspronkelijk geld uit de hele wereld, Leiden, Netherlands: Rijksmuseum Het Koninklijk Penningkabinet.
Blueprint (Hong Kong Project). Amsterdam: De Appel Foundation.
ESSAYS
2001
Alexandra van Dongen and Meschac Gaba, “Habitación de Matrimonio / Marriage Room.” Atlantica, no. 30, October.
PRESS
2017
“’Ritual’ at Aspen Art Museum, Aspen,” Blouin ArtInfo, December 19, 2017.
“Meschac Gaba at In Situ Fabienne Leclerc, Paris,” Blouin ArtInfo, November 9, 2017.
Ochieng, Akinyi. “5 Works of Art You Need To See at 1:54 Contemporary African Fair London 2017,” okayafrica., October 6, 2017.
“What to See in New york Art Galleries This Week,” The New York Times, July 21, 2017.
Jaojoco, Patrick. “New York: Meschac Gaba,” Artforum, July 19, 2017.
“Goings On About Town: Meschac Gaba,” The New Yorker, July 19, 2017.
“Meschac Gaba,” Daily Art Fair, June 30, 2017.
“Meschac Gaba at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York,” Blouin ArtInfo, June 30, 2017.
“12 Exhibitions To See in New York This Summer,” Galerie, June 27, 2017.
“Meschac Gaba,” Time Out New York, June, 23, 2017.
Nicolaides, Ilse. “Meschac Gaba Solo Exhibition at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery,” Dutch Culture USA, May 20, 2017.
2016
Pijbes, Wim “Wim Pijbes ontdekt ‘Afrikaanse kunst’ in Rotterdam”. NRC. November 1, 2016. [online]
Robertson, Erin C.J. “Beninese Artist Meschac Gaba Transforms Holland’s Architecture Into Towering Colorful Wigs”. Okayafrica. June 24, 2016. [online]
“We Call It Ludwig: Exhibition is high point of Museum Ludwig’s landmark year”. Art Daily. 2016. [online]
2015
Morain, Michael " There and back: Art Center explores Africa". The Des Moines Register. February 13, 2015. [online]
2014
“Meschac Gaba and his 12 rooms.” Berlin Global, October 2, 2014. [online]
“Meschac Gaba: Museum of Contemporary African Art at Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle.” Contemporary And, September, 2014. [online]
Walleston, Aimee, “Meschac Gaba,” Art in America, September 22, 2014.[online]
Seigol, Micol, “Hyppthecation,” Transition International Review, Issue 114, Indiana University Press
Yerebakan, O.C., “Meschac Gaba: Exchange Market at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery,” Art Observed, June Tiernan, Kate, “Meschac Gaba: Exchange Market,” Studio International, May 21, 2014, http://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/meschac-gabaexchange-market
Wright, Karen, “In the Studio: Meschac Gaba, artist,” The Independent, January 21.
2013
Sumpter, Helen, “Meschac Gaba: Museum of Contemporary African Art,” Art Review, October
Enwezor, Okwui. “Best of 2013.” Artforum, December.
Jagoe, Rebecca. “Contemporary Art in Benin: A History in Ten Artists.” The Culture Trip, July 8.
Luke, Ben. “Meschac Gaba: Museum of Contemporary African Art, Tate Modern – exhibition review.” The London Evening Standard, July 2. ed. “The art of Meschac Gaba: Making Space.” The Economist, June 19.
Interview with Meschac Gaba, Rives de Saone Project Vincent, Cedric. “Friction in Benin,” e-flux, December 2013
Jones, Jonathan, “Meschac Gaba’s anti-museum shows he strength of modern African art,” The Guardian Online, July.
Bouwhuis, Jele, “Biennale Regard Benin 2012,” frieze, March.
Valle, Ines, “Choices: 11th Edition of Frieze Art Fair London 2013,” Omenka, Volume I, Issue 3
2012
de Wildt, Annemarie, “Bibliotheque Roulante,” Amsterdam Museum [online]
2007
Collison, Carl, “Art Attack,” City Press, Dec. 2, 2007, p. 13.
2004
Cullum, Jerry, “Between Berlin and Benin,” Art Papers, September / October.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
A4 Art Foundation, Cape Town
AkzoNobel Art Foundation, The Netherlands
Banks of the Saone, Greater Lyon
Banque Central des Etat de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, Cotonou, Benin
BECEAO Banque, Cotonou, Benin
BECEAO Banque, Dakar, Senegal
Beth Rudin Dewoody, Palm Beach, FL
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Bristol, England
Centre Pompidou, Paris
Cité nationale de l'histoire de l'immigration, Paris
Stichting Oude Groninger, Groninger, The Netherlands
De Nederlandse Bank, Amsterdam
Fonds National d'Art Contemporain, France
Fonds Régional d'Art Contemporain de la Réunion, France
Hamlet of Wierhuizen, The Netherlands
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Institute of International Visual Arts, London
Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg
National Museum for World Cultures, Leiden, The Netherlands
New Church Museum, Cape Town
Margulies Family Collection, Miami
Musee de l'Histoire de l'Immigration, Paris
Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Arnhem, The Netherlands
Museum De Domeinen, Sittard, The Netherlands
Perez Art Museum Miami, Miami
Presidence du Benin (former president Soglo), Cotonou, Benin
Rabobank Art Collection, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Rollins College, Winter Park, FL
Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario
S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium
Societe Fagace, Cotonou, Benin
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Studio Museum, Harlem, New York
Tate Modern, London
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