Serge Attukwei Clottey Ghanaian, b. 1985
By cutting, drilling, stitching and melting found materials, Clottey’s sculptural installations are bold assemblages that act as a means of inquiry into the languages of form and abstraction. Utilising flattened Kuffuor gallon, jute sacks, discarded car tires and wood pieces, he forms abstract formations onto which he inscribes patterns and text. In doing so, he elevates the material into a powerful symbol of Ghana’s informal economic system of trade and re-use. While some surfaces resemble local textile traditions such as Kente - a key reference in west African Modernism throughout the 20th century - others refer to barcodes and feature Chinese characters in reference to the emergence of new power structures in Ghana. In Clottey’s drawings, the artist explores a formalist approach, depicting disjointed figures and faces, not unlike the visions of nude women under Cubism, a European movement which drew heavily from traditional African tribal sculpture.
At the centre of Clottey’s engaged dialogue with Ghana’s cultural history is the notion of performance as a daily activity. Through his notable work, My Mother’s Wardrobe, presented at Gallery 1957, Clottey used performance to explore traditional gender roles along with notions of family, ancestry and spirituality. In a personal work inspired by the aftermath of the death of his mother, the artist staged a performance exploring the concept of material possessions honouring women as the collectors and custodians of cloth that serves as signifiers of history and memory. Clottey’s work sits at the intersection of making and action, drawing heavily on the artist’s immediate and ever-changing environment.
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Group Show - The Storytellers
London 26 May - 16 Jul 2022The art of storytelling runs deep in any society. Even before the written word, the oral tradition of telling tales and experiences to one’s community was a way to build...Read more -
Serge Attukwei- Clottey 'Distinctive Gestures'
London 5 Aug - 30 Sep 2021Serge Attukwei Clottey - Distinctive GesturesRead more -
18:20 The Collection
Accra, Gallery I 25 Aug 2018 - 5 Jan 2019Gallery 1957 presents a group exhibition highlighting several reputable artists from our collection. All respected in the African art scene, these artists explore themes such as identity, family and society...Read more -
Serge Attukwei Clottey- The Displaced
Dubai , Lawrie Shabibi Gallery 20 Jan - 3 Mar 2018Clottey has performed and exhibited widely at solo and group shows over the past decade, including: Ibid Gallery, Los Angeles (2017); UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles (2017); Patricia Low Contemporary,...Read more -
16:16 The Collection
Accra, Gallery I 16 Dec 2016 - 26 Jan 2017.Read more -
Serge Attukwei Clottey-My Mother’s Wardrobe
Accra, Gallery I 7 Mar - 20 May 2016The exhibition My Mother’s Wardrobe comprises a series of works inspired by the aftermath of the death of the artist Serge Attukwei Clottey’s mother, overlaying narratives of personal, family and...Read more
Serge Attukwei Clottey (b. 1985) is known for work that examines the powerful agency of everyday objects. Working across installation, performance, photography and sculpture, Clottey explores personal and political narratives rooted in histories of trade and migration. Based in Accra and working internationally, Clottey refers to his work as “Afrogallonism”, a concept that confronts the question of material culture through the utilisation of yellow gallon containers.
Clottey, received an Honorary Doctorate of Art from the University of Brighton in 2019, his work has recently been presented in solo exhibitions at Gallery 1957 London and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Miami Beach. He had numerous solo shows around the world such as The Mistake Room, Los Angeles; Ever Gold [Projects], San Francisco; Gallery 1957, Accra; Gnyp, Berlin; Lorenzelli Arte, Milan; Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium Foundation, Oslo. His works have been included in recent group exhibitions at Desert X, Alula and Christie’s Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. Other group shows include Iziko South Africa National Gallery, Cape Town; UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles. During his residency at Royal Museums Greenwich in 2022, Clottey explores the museum collections and archives that relate to our oceans, maritime history, trade routes and shipping patterns between London and Accra. He will develop ideas and approaches for a forthcoming public commission (his first in the UK) on The Line project in 2022.
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Serge Attukwei Clottey in Residence at Royal Museums Greenwich
19 Mar 2022During his residency at Royal Museums Greenwich - a programme organised in collaboration with London's public art walk, The Line and professional services firm, Arup...Read more -
Serge Attukwei Clottey at Desert X 2022
11 February to 30 March 2022 AlUla, Saudi Arabia 26 Jan 2022For 2022, the second edition of the biennial returns to Saudi Arabia under the theme of Sarab, exploring ideas of oasis and mirage. It is...Read more -
Gallery 1957 Presents a Group Exhibition in Collaboration With Christie's Dubai
[West] African Renaissance presents some of the most significant West African artists. 10 Nov 2021On November 14 and for the duration of one month, Gallery 1957 will open [West] African Renaissance, an exhibition in collaboration with Christie’s Dubai. On...Read more -
Gallery 1957 to participate in 1:54 Art Fair, London
28 Jun 2021Gallery 1957 are thrilled to be returning to London this October to participate in the fifth edition of 1:54 Art Fair form the 5 –...Read more
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Serge Attukwei Clottey on Vogue.com
28 Jun 2021Serge Attukwei Clottey featured on Vogue.com, talking about his new series is of performance based photographs, 'My Mother's Wardrobe'. Clottey’s powerful testimony to his mother...Read more -
Serge Attukwei Clottey at Brighton Festival
28 Jun 2021Serge Attukwei Clottey is on-show at Fabrica gallery, Brighton (UK) from 18 April - 27 May - bringing together Attukwei Clottey’s twin roles as artist...Read more -
Serge Attukwei Clottey and Gerald Chukwuma at the Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Norway
28 Jun 2021Serge Attukwei Clottey and Gerald Chukwuma are delighted to be taking part in the group show KUBATANA at the Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium. Curated by Kristin Hjellegjerde,...Read more -
Dr. Attukwei Clottey
28 Jun 2021Serge Attukwei Clottey has received Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Brighton.Read more
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Serge Attukwei Clottey Discusses ‘Afrogallonism’ and His Installation at Desert X AlUla 2022
Ekow Barnes, GQ, 21 Feb 2022 -
Gallery 1957 Heralds a New Era for West African Artists on Their Own Terms
Charlotte Jansen, Artsy, 15 Dec 2020 -
SERGE ATTUKWEI CLOTTEY: ON EXPLORING SOCIO-POLITICAL ISSUES AND CONFRONTING MATERIAL CULTURE
ADEOLUWA OLUWAJOBA, Omenka, 13 Dec 2018 -
In Conversation with Serge Attukwei Clottey “Afrogallonism” or the Migration of Plastic
DANIELLA BRITO, Contemporary And, 7 Dec 2018 -
DYLAN CHASE, Flaunt, 4 Dec 2018
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Serge Attukwei Clottey’s “Time After Time”
Katy Donoghue, Whitewall, 3 Dec 2018 -
Serge Attukwei Clottey Is Creating a Real-Life Yellow Brick Road in Accra
Alexxa Gotthardt, Artsy, 15 Nov 2018 -
In pictures: Follow Ghana's 'yellow-brick road'
BBC News, 21 Oct 2018 -
The New Afrofuturism
AMAH-ROSE MCKNIGHT-ABRAMS, Vice - Garage, 9 Feb 2018 -
This Artist Is Wearing His Mother’s Clothing to Promote
CHIOMA NNADI, Vogue, 20 Oct 2017 -
Serge Attukwei Clottey
Vogue, 10 Sep 2017 -
Ghana Artists On Accra's New Status As An Arts Hub
Grace Banks, Forbes, 8 Oct 2016
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Art Paris
7 - 10 Apr 2022Gallery 1957 participates to the 24th edition of Art Paris held at the Grand Palais Éphémère, on the Champs de Mars in Paris, from 7th...Read more -
Serge Attukwei Clottey - Untitled Art Fair
Miami Beach, USA 29 Nov - 4 Dec 2021Gallery 1957 is pleased to present a solo booth of work by Ghanaian multidisciplinary artist Serge Attukwei Clottey at Untitled Art Fair on Miami Beach....Read more -
1:54 CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART FAIR
London, England 14 - 17 Oct 2021Gallery 1957 pleased to be presenting work by Godfried Donkor, Arthur Timothy, Serge Attukwei Clottey, Lord Ohene, Cornelius Annor, Afia Prempeh and Patrick Alston in...Read more -
1-54 Paris 2021
20 - 23 Jan 2021Gallery 1957 participates for a fifth year running at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, held at Christie's salesroom in Paris, 20 – 23 January 2021....Read more