Come conserviamo le nostre storie? è un titolo appropriato, poiché riflette prefettamente il profondo interesse nitrito da Bam per il linguaggio. Egli, infatti, esplora la semiotica femminile dell’intimità, della cura e della vulnerabilità, aspetti cruciali ai fini del ripensamento del rapporto dell’essere umano con la natura e, financo, smantellare i costrutti ideologici. L’artista usa l’argilla come «avatar» allo scopo di esplorare i temi dei corpi collettivi, della connettività e dei molteplici significati dell’acqua.
HOW DO WE HOLD OUR STORIES?
From September 5 to October 12, 2024, Andréhn-Schiptjenko presents How do we hold our stories? by British-Nigerian artist Ranti Bam. Previously part of the group show malleable/alléatoire (2023), this marks Bam’s first solo exhibition at the gallery. The exhibition features new Ifa sculptures alongside pieces from her Abstract Vessels series. The title How do we hold our stories? reflects Bam’s deep interest in language. She explores the feminine semiotics of intimacy, care, and vulnerability, crucial for rethinking our relationship with nature and dismantling ideological constructs. Bam uses clay as an avatar to explore themes of collective bodies, connectivity, and the multiple significations of water.
LIVING MATERIAL
For Bam, clay is a living material that ties all beings to the earth. This concept is embodied in her ongoing Ifa series, named after the Yoruba words “ifá” (divination) and “I-fàá” (to pull close). Each piece channels a profound connection to self and place, transcending language to touch the ineffable realms of energetic and material existence. The Ifas are formed by Bam physically embracing the clay before firing, resulting in dips and folds that give each sculpture a bodily presence, further emphasised by their placement on wooden, plinth-like stools. Her Abstract Vessels are defined by this same care and tenderness. Each sculpture is crafted from embellished slabs, painted or mono-printed with pigmented slips before being assembled into delicate, oblong forms. The exterior of each piece is unglazed, highlighting delicate cracked surfaces achieved by exploring the limits of the clay by rolling the unreinforced slabs as thinly as possible and firing the vessels past their prescribed temperature. In contrast, the inside of each form is glazed, embodying the idea of the anima as a luminous, reflective interiority. Bam describes her sculptures as hearths-places of communal nourishment, holding spiritual and physical sustenance. Through her vessels, Bam creates microcosms that investigate relationships, material limitations, and broader themes of freedom and containment. Her practice extends beyond ceramics to include film and photography, both of which will be featured in this exhibition.
RANTI BAM
Ranti Bam (b. 1982, Lagos, Nigeria) received her MA from The Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design and a diploma in ceramics from City Lit, London. In 2023, Bam was commissioned to produce a series of Ifas for the Liverpool Biennial in the United Kingdom. She recently had a solo exhibition, Anima, at the James Cohan Gallery, New York and her work has been featured in group exhibitions such as Insistent Presence: Contemporary African Art from the Chazen Collection (2023) Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, Wisconsin, and Hard/Soft: Textiles and Ceramics in Contemporary Art (2023), Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria. Bam’s work is represented in the public collections of the Brooklyn Museum, New York; Contemporary Art Society, London; Chazen Museum of Arts, Wisconsin; High Museum, Atlanta; Victoria & Albert Museum, London, the Princeton University Museum and the Fondation Thalie. Bam will have a residency at Black Rock Senegal in early 2025.
ABOUT ANDRÉHN-SHIPTJENKO GALLERY
Since its inception in 1991 Andréhn-Schiptjenko has consistently been committed to working on an international arena and to the long-term representation of emerging and established contemporary artists from all over the world working with painting, sculpture, photography, film and digital media as well as performance, installation-based and site-specific work. The gallery enjoys privileged relationships with museums and collectors and is also involved in projects in the public arena. As a way of expanding the gallery’s international scope and to accommodate for collaborative and multidisciplinary projects, a second space opened in Paris in the spring of 2019, allowing for a closer relationship with the gallery’s international network. In the summer of 2022, the Paris gallery relocated to a new, spacious venue, allowing for ambitious presentations of the artists represented by the gallery. Andréhn-Schiptjenko has participated in international art fairs since the mid-90s – The Armory Show, Art Basel, Material Art Fair Mexico City and Paris+ par Art Basel to name but a few. The gallery is an active member of The Swedish National Gallery Association, Le Comité Professionnel des Galeries d’Art, The Gallery Climate Coalition and the International Galleries Alliance. Since its founding, Andréhn-Schiptjenko is owned and directed by Ciléne Andréhn and Marina Schiptjenko.
INFO
“How do we hold our stories?”
Ranti Bam
5 September – 12 October 2024
Opening september 5, 6 to 9 p.m
Galerie Andréhn-Schiptjenko
56 rue Chapon
75003 Paris
Opening hours:
Tuesday-Friday: 11h-18h
Saturday: 13h-19h
