CasildART Contemporary is thrilled to announce the debut of The Future is Now Part II: Re/Form~ation, an innovative exhibition that delves into the profound dialogue between material and form. The group exhibition features contemporary Black artists exploring the transformative potential of materials to address the past and present, and imagine the future. The featured artists are; Àsìkò, Donald Baugh, Christopher Day, Othello De’Souza-Hartley, Elaine Mullings, Margaret Scott and Theresa Weber.
The Future is Now Part II: Re/Form~ation is open to the public from 26th July – 7th September, and the exhibition showcases how art can challenge outdated paradigms and transform everyday objects into powerful artistic expressions.
Christopher Day ‘Unconditional Love’. Photo credit: Agata Pec.
The Future is Now Part II: Re/Form~ation features the work of Christopher Day, a glass artist who, only 4 years ago, was working as a plumber. Day has created a bespoke artwork specifically for this exhibition, which will be unveiled at the preview. The glass sculpture, titled “Unconditional Love,” is a symbolic and powerful reminder of the most brutal of circumstances. During the transatlantic slave trade, children were ripped away from their mothers and sold off to the highest bidder. The most horrific images depict enslaved Africans being auctioned off, with children clinging to their mothers in desperation, unaware of the horrors they would face. The material, therefore, does not merely function as part of the composition but beckons the viewer to engage in a dialogue about Britain’s racial past and present, and the tragic legacy of Colonialism.
CasildART proudly represents Àsìkò, Donald Baugh, Christopher Day, Othello De’Souza-Hartley, Elaine Mullings, Margaret Scott and Theresa Weber. Although working across different mediums including painting, sculpture, photography, textiles and glass, what binds these artists together is the love of their craft and a thorough grasp of the material process and form of bringing an idea into being.
Sukai Eccleston, founder and curator at CasildART Contemporary, shares her inspiration for the exhibition: In The Future is Now Pt. II: Re/form~ation, we celebrate the boundless creativity that arises when artists push the boundaries of what is considered art. This exhibition is a testament to the ingenuity of artists who use materiality to challenge what we think is real, finding beauty in the discarded to forge connections across time and layering the work with new meaning and context. The artists in Re/ Form~ation are not just makers; they are storytellers, weaving narratives that bridge the gap between the past and the present, paving the way for us to think about traditional structures and expand the possibilities for a better future now!”
CasildART Contemporary is a not-for-profit gallery dedicated to addressing the underrepresentation of Black artists in fine art institutions, commercial galleries, and museums. CasildART Founder Sukai Eccleston launched the gallery with a mission to be a catalyst for change, and transform the visual landscape in the UK by inserting Black narratives into the culture. Eccleston believes art has the ability to foster connections and initiate conversations about culture and heritage, and through the CasildART programme her aim is to redress the racial and cultural balance within the UK and international contemporary art scene.
The exhibition opening night on 25th July is sponsored by Kromanti Rum who commented: “Kromanti Rum is steeped in heritage and innovation, designed in a way that honours our ancestors and the gifts they passed down through generations. With our joint aims to preserve and expand on this narrative, Kromanti are ecstatic to be working with CasildART on their Future is Now exhibition which encapsulates a mutual cross-section of values, including our collective envisioning of a collaboratively prosperous future for our communities.”
The Future is Now PT.II: Re/Form ~ation is at CasildART 32 Connaught Street, Connaught Village, London W2 2AF from 26th July to 7th September, 2024: https://casildart.com
