Jane Lombard Gallery is delighted to announce the representation of France and Algeria-based artist Massinissa Selmani in the United States. The artist will have his debut exhibition with the gallery in Fall 2023. Selmani's work is on view at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2022, through April 10, 2023, and has recently been included in publications: African Art Now: 50 Pioneers Defining African Art for the Twenty-First Century (Ilex/Tate), and Vitamin D3: Today's Best in Contemporary Drawing (Phaidon). We are pleased to welcome Selmani to our roster of artists whose work resonates with the social and political climate of today.
Massinissa Selmani creates drawn forms that intermingle documentary approach, fictional compositions, animations, and sculptures- utilizing press clippings of contemporary issues and events as a springboard. Through confrontation, juxtaposition, and superimposition of actual elements whose contexts are systematically concealed, the artist creates enigmatic, ambiguous scenes unlikely to happen in reality.
The works bear witness to the absurdity of human behaviors, balancing these depictions within the realms of comedy and tragedy. Architecture serves as an instrument of power throughout. Playing with positive and negative space, and effects of transparency, Selmani invites us to fill in the gaps and to question the way we remember and write history, beyond linear structure. In this way, he explores not only the production process, but also the circulation and proliferation of media images, and how they influence our perception of both historical and current events. Selmani is also represented by Galerie Anne-Sarah Bénichou (Paris) and Selma Feriani Gallery (Tunis & London).
Learn more about the artist here.