With more than 50 international galleries participating this year—including over a dozen debuts—1-54 delivers a visual feast that spans the full breadth of African and diasporic talent, from Mónica de Miranda’s courtyard installation Earthworks to “ęmí: freedomsong,” the audio-visual installation inspired by bell hooks’ All About Love and Camille Sapara Barton’s Tending Grief, to “The Sartorial Spirit of Punk Tailors” and its limited collaborative capsule. Among so much to love, the following nine artists brought work that stood out from the crowd.
Larissa de Souza
albertz benda
Brazilian self-taught artist Larissa de Souza infuses her works with Afro-Brazilian folk influences. Her works often paint intergenerational family scenes of domestic rituals, kinship and playfulness. The works included for 1-54 are more symbolic and esoteric. They show two-headed Black feminine figures, on which golden and silver stars have been drawn instead of eyes. Their conjoined neck rises like a volcano, and we guess that they are of the same essence and life force. Duality and complementarity are accentuated by the use of color (blue and gold). Connection with the ocean is emphasized through the inclusion of seashells. The figures are human, yet they hark back to something deeper and sacred. In doing so, de Souza adds to her repository of personal iconography. More of her works will be presented in a New York solo show next year.
