• Paris exhibition showcases Brazilian painter Gonçalo Ivo’s Africa-inspired works

• Show runs March 20-July 9 at La Maison Gacha

• Exhibition blends African crafts with contemporary abstract art

An exhibition dedicated to painter Gonçalo Ivo will open on March 20 at La Maison Gacha in Paris and run until July 9.

Titled “Gonçalo Ivo — Fenêtre sur l’Afrique,” the show will run for more than three months at the cultural venue, which focuses on preserving and promoting traditional crafts and artisanal know-how from Africa and other regions.

The exhibition draws inspiration from the legacy of Martinican writer and philosopher Édouard Glissant (1928-2011), who won the Prix Renaudot in 1958 for his novel La Lézarde. That same year, Gonçalo Ivo was born. His work explores visual art as a bridge between worlds, deliberately moving beyond conventional artistic constraints.

“The exhibition is rooted in the thinking of Édouard Glissant, for whom the museum of tomorrow should not ‘recap’ a closed narrative but constantly invent new arrangements and new relationships. It becomes a space for the circulation of forms,” the institution said on its website.

African culture in the spotlight

The exhibition explores both physical and abstract dimensions, bringing together fragments of disparate elements that eventually merge into new works.

African textile and craft traditions — from Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Cameroon — are presented alongside contemporary abstract art, totemic sculptures and geometric compositions. Kasai, Baoulé and Kente fabrics, Bamileke calabashes and non-figurative artworks form a dialogue between heritage and modernity.

The initiative reflects La Maison Gacha’s commitment to intercultural exchange and knowledge sharing. The venue traces its origins to the Jean-Félicien Gacha Foundation in Bangoulap, in western Cameroon. Its programming includes exhibitions, conferences, artist residencies and workshops held both on-site and off-site.

Ubrick F. Quenum