Godfried Donkor - 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia: Curated by Koyo Kouoh.

9 May - 22 Nov 2026
Overview
Godfried Donkor - 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Curated by Koyo Kouoh.

Gallery 1957 announces Godfried Donkor’s participation in the main exhibition of the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.

Godfried Donkor’s participation in the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia marks a significant moment within the artist’s longstanding exploration of history, mythology, migration and cultural memory. Presented as part of the main exhibition curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, the presentation brings together a newly commissioned painting, three new works, and four works on paper originally exhibited in The First Day of the Yam Custom: 1817 (2017), Donkor’s first exhibition with Gallery 1957. Together, the selection stands as both an artistic and personal tribute to a decades-long friendship and creative dialogue.
 
At the centre of the presentation is Michael and the Dragon II (2026), a monumental new commission that draws on mythological iconography associated with the triumph of good over evil. Donkor layers these symbolic references with historical resonance through the inclusion of a slave ship — a recurring motif within his practice that reflects his ongoing investigation into the legacies of transatlantic slavery and global systems of exchange. Moving fluidly across geographies and temporalities, the work incorporates references ranging from Chinese dragons to Brazilian slave ships, resisting singular readings of history while foregrounding the interconnectedness of empire, trade and migration. Central to the composition is Donkor’s use of Financial Times newspaper, transforming economic statistics and printed text into a visual language that interrogates how histories of power, commerce and identity are constructed, circulated and remembered.
 
The presentation further revisits Queen Mother (2017), Anokye’s Dance II (2017), Asafo II (2017) and FT Man (2017), works first conceived for Kouoh’s 2017 exhibition at Gallery 1957. These works reimagine The First Day of the Yam Custom, an early nineteenth-century illustration by English explorer Thomas Edward Bowdich, considered among the earliest recorded depictions of Asante visual culture and ceremony. Through processes of collage, layering and reinterpretation, Donkor reclaims and complicates this colonial image, inviting viewers to reconsider the shared and contested histories between Africa and Europe.
 
2026 marks a landmark year for Donkor, with major institutional presentations across Europe including his first UK solo exhibition at Firstsite, Colchester, and participation in Tirailleurs: Trials and Tribulations at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Berlin. Across these exhibitions, Donkor continues to examine the entanglements of trade, empire, sport and representation through richly layered compositions that bridge archival material and contemporary visual culture.
 
 
Download the press release below for more information.
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