Art News

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Shows Iconic African Sculptures

artwork: Pwo mask, Chokwe peoples; southern Kasai. Democratic Republic of the Congo, 19th century. Wood, fiber, pigments, metal, plastic, animal and plant material, 8 ¼ x 7 in. (21 x 18 cm). - The Royal Museum for Central Africa, Belgium


NEW YORK, N.Y.- An ambitious exhibition—sweeping in scope and challenging conventional perceptions of African art—opened at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Bringing together more than 100 masterpieces drawn from the premier collections in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, and the United States, Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures considers eight landmark sculptural traditions that flourished in West and Central Africa between the 12th and the early 20th century. These works were created by some of the regions’ most gifted artists, who were charged with producing enduring visual monuments dedicated to the legacies of revered leaders. On exhibition through 29 January.