Tchif Tchiakpe (1973, Cotonou), master colorist from Fon descent is close at heart to Gléhoué (Ouidah) and its Vodoun beliefs. Internationally well-recognized for his abstract works, Tchif returns to his figurative abstract painting style in this new body of works, where he shows in one hand the duality of life, be it at a personal level or at large in society, and in the other the universality of it all. That results in a series of poetic almost mask-type portraits, beautiful and bold in their apparent simplicity. Where every line and color, every square cm seems to be exactly and consciously dosed: The opposing Les roi and Les visables, Mi Ange and Mi Ange1, but also the universal Les as de Dieu and Les as des coeurs.

Marcel Kpoho (1988, Porto Novo), emerging artist also from Fon descent but equally close to other spiritual traditions, like the Yoruba Ife religion, creates his own black universe populated by sculptures from recycled tyre slices. Kpoho’s choice to recycle the omnipresent non-biodegradable rubber tyres in African urban life, is not only a way to cycle up waste and create awareness of environmental issues, but also serves as a great metaphor for the dark, tough side of mankind which intrigues him and is part of the society he grew up in. Ranging from sculptures larger than life to wall sculptures, all have this raw, edgy, intriguing quality, confronting viewers with an almost harsh, masculine reflection of human identity.  Some of the masks presented relate to his contemporary interpretation of indigenous deities, but most are typically symbolic means for man to protect himself and elevate his soul through meditation from his dark, heavy self.

Rafiy Okefolahan (1979 Porto Novo) is a multidisciplinary artist, who started his formal training in glas painting and photography and experiments also with performance art and sculpting, but found his real expressive edge in painting. Okefolahan draws his inspiration from daily urban life around him and puts  humans at the center of his work, in all their ups and downs of their daily struggles. Giving the invisables a voice against the myth of violence and  His colorful neo-expressionist textures, made from a mixture of materials with acrylics at its base, breath a vigorous, almost palpable energy, which gives a sense of urgency to the figures he portrays. Figures obscured by heavy layers of abstraction, carrying hints of Basquiat and Bacon, but distinctly different in his own style and expression.