Ritual Ecstasy of the Modern

“We are going through a kind of African renaissance moment now, too, so I wanted to understand the origins of how Black culture became fashionable in Western modernism. I am kind of revisiting how the power of African aesthetics managed to inspire a whole movement in the West.”

Cristea Roberts Gallery is pleased to present Ritual Ecstasy of the Modern by Yinka Shonibare CBE. New collaged prints and never-before-seen editioned sculptures of African ritual masks will be unveiled alongside earlier works featuring the motif of the all-American cowboy and symbols of the British empire.

Showcasing Shonibare’s evolving printmaking practice over the past seven years, this exhibition also marks the artist’s first solo show with the gallery.