Cotonou and Rotterdam-based Meschac Gaba is the subject of a solo show at Michael Stevenson during October and November.

In The Street, Gaba presents a new series of Tresses, this time in the shape of cars - works including Mercedes, Citroën DS, Studebaker, Jeep, Fire Truck, School Bus, Tractor, Tank, Smart, Picasso and Beetle. Like the skyscrapers which inspired Gaba's first series of Tresses while on a residency in New York City, cars are potent symbols of progress in the modern era, embodying technological achievement and prosperity. In the current global economic and environmental crisis, however, in which the bankruptcy of General Motors epitomises the end of an era and an uncertain future, these signs are radically destabilised, if no less powerfully associative.

Image courtesy of Michael Stevenson

01 October - 21 November

In the first solo exhibition by Paul Edmunds at Michael Stevenson, Edmunds continues the investigation of pattern, form, symmetry and unconventional materials for which he is known.

'Subtropicalia' began with a story Edmunds wrote in his childhood, which he now uses as a template through which to view the work, tracking how memory and sensory phenomena inform his exploration of materials, forms and repetitive processes. The exhibition will include Edmunds’ sculptural forms, paper cut-out wall pieces, the video projection Weft, and a small publication featuring the short story by Edmunds that gave rise to this body of work.

Meshac Gaba
The Street
Michael Stevenson
1 Oct-21 November

In ‘The Street’, Meshac Gaba presents a new series of Tresses, colourful braided fibre sculptures, this time in the shape of cars - works including Mercedes, Citroën DS, Studebaker, Jeep, Fire Truck, School Bus and Beetle. Like the skyscrapers that inspired Gaba's first series of Tresses while on a residency in New York City, cars are potent symbols of progress in the modern era, embodying technological achievement and prosperity.

Image caption: Meshac Gaba, Tank, 2008

An installation of 20 small paintings by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye forms part of Michael Stevenson’s FOREX project series. The work is the first of this London-based artist to be shown in South Africa and is informed by the romantic traditions in Western art history. Wiith reference to Goya and Manet, she paints portraits of people starkly positioned against dark or indistinct backgrounds. Her fictitious characters, usually black, are prompted by photographs or paintings in which the artist sees a representation that resonates for her.