Artist: Serge Alain Nitegeka
Exhibition title: Ode to Black
Venue: STEVENSON, Johannesburg, South Africa
Date: May 25 – June 30, 2017
Photography: All images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Stevenson Cape Town/Johannesburg
STEVENSON is pleased to present Ode to Black, a solo exhibition by Serge Alain Nitegeka, his fifth with the gallery.
Nitegeka says:
Black is the colour of mourning and melancholy. Black epitomises stealth; it is central to clandestine ventures and cool lonesomeness. Black is the colour of executive cars, gadgets, accessories and clothing. Eternally beautiful, Black is the colour of the universe, the infinite deep dark unknown abyss. Black is a wormhole, mysterious and ever-receding, absorbing everything around it and revealing nothing. Black is all colours mixed together, perhaps the sum of the visible. Black is the only colour without light, though full and empty.
Black is a colour reserved unto itself. It is comfortable in its own nature, unruffled and confident. It tries very hard to stay anonymous but inquiring eyes are drawn to it; spectators cannot resist it. It is not popular. It reveals little because it is neither warm nor cold. It is an enigmatic pigment.
The colour black presents itself ambiguously in meaning, like the abstract forms in my practice. Ode to Black explores the multitude of meanings that the colour black invites in my work thus far, in paintings, sculptures and installations.
Serge Alain Nitegeka, Colour & Form XXIV, 2017, Paint on wood, 110 x 190cm
Serge Alain Nitegeka, Colour & Form V, VI, VII, 2017, Paint on wood, Tryptich, 42.5 x 35cm each
Serge Alain Nitegeka, Ode to Black III, 2017, Paint on wood, 122 x 244cm
Serge Alain Nitegeka, Ode to Black V, 2017, Paint on wood, 244 x 122cm
Serge Alain Nitegeka, Ode to Black IV, 2017, Paint on wood, 244 x 122cm
Serge Alain Nitegeka, Found Form V, 2017, Paint on wood, 69 x 61 x 56cm
Serge Alain Nitegeka, Found Form IV, 2017, Paint on wood, 74 x 61 x 44cm
Serge Alain Nitegeka, Found Object V, 2017, Wood and concrete, 81 x 42 x 29.5cm
Serge Alain Nitegeka, Found Object VI, 2017, Wood and concrete, 95.5 x 41 x 19m
Serge Alain Nitegeka, Found Object III, 2017, Concrete and wood, 29 x 60 x 20cm
Serge Alain Nitegeka, Found Object IV, 2017, Concrete and wood, 20 x 83 x 55cm