Brice Arsène Yonkeu

Last week I sat down with @ARTnews for a Newsmakers profile by Daniel Cassady (@cassadyphotos ) —part of the magazine’s new series spotlighting the voices reshaping today’s art world. The feature traces my curatorial process and the thinking behind “Ever So Present II: Between Home and Elsewhere,” now on view at @Gagosian Park & 75 through August 8, while reflecting on the journey that began at @dot.ateliers in Accra and the exceptional contributions of the artists showing in the New York iteration. I am immensely grateful for the platform—and for the artists, collaborators, and mentors who continue to shape this path. Swipe for key excerpts (and link 🔗 in bio for full article). #ARTnews #Newsmakers #Gagosian #dotateliers #EverSoPresent #Curating #ContemporaryArt

ARTNET NEWS Bwo is featured in a profile article on @artnet covering the gallery’s inaugural exhibition with a solo of Sesse Elangwe, and discussing the founders’ motives for settling in the bustling city of Douala. Many thanks to ✍️ @rebeccaanneproctor for being part of this milestone and telling Bwo’s story. Full article 🗞️ on Artnet News. [Portrait of Brice Yonkeu and Noelle Mukete-Elhalaby taken by Wilfried Koté Amoyi] @sesseelangwe #Bwo #Artnet #ArtnetNews #SesseElangwe #Cameroon #Douala #ContemporaryArt #AfricanArt #ArtCollectors

I am beyond thrilled to share with you that I will be writing the next chapter of my life as a Gallerist @bwoartgallery . A few years ago, when Noelle (@thepinkofnobles ) and I cofounded our art advisory and artist management company Bwo Art, we were driven by the possibilities of echoing artists’ statements and expanding private collections by advising on works by artists of African descent with unique voices, perspectives and stories who through their practice, contribute substantially to contemporary art. Over the years, we remained focused and committed to assisting artists, and collectors till the point where the opening of a gallery became the evident next step for us to pursue our mission. So here is Bwo, a contemporary art gallery based in Douala, Cameroon, created to serve artists from Africa and its global diaspora. Bwo will give us the opportunity to go a step further by focusing on bold curation, creating bridges and new narratives for our communities in Cameroon, and beyond borders on the global stage. To the artists and collectors who have been supporting Bwo Art since its inception, thank you from the bottom of my heart. To my gallerists friends, thank you for inspiring me. By trusting us, you made us grow beyond measure and dream bigger. At 27, alongside the best team I could ever hope for, I am launching an art gallery in my home country. Mille mercis! The gallery will open on September 2, 2023 with a solo exhibition by @sesseelangwe . Everyone is invited! 🥂 Slide 1 Photo credits: Wilfried Koté Amoyi Slide 1 Painting: Stephen Price (@stephenart_ ), To You Again (2022) #Bwo #BwoArt #BwoArtGallery #BwoGallery #ContemporaryAfricanArt #SesseElangwe

‘In Abstracto, In Concreto: On Memory and Presence’ curated by Brice Arséne Yonkeu (@iambayn ) Opening this evening, this group exhibition brings together an encounter with works on paper and paintings by leading contemporary artists: Luke Agada (@lukechidiagada ), Tunji Adeniyi-Jones (@tunjiaj ), Ludovic Nkoth (@lnkoth ) and Naïla Opiangah (@bouenguidi ). “Three interwoven threads run through the exhibition without dividing it into fixed zones. The first follows the surfaces where memory and inheritance accumulate, where what has been endured leaves its mark on form itself. The second traces the generative transformation that occurs when inherited material passes through mythological or surrealist registers, producing new lineages and hybrid worlds. The third attends to the body as a site of tenderness and care, insisted upon in its fullness, protected in its vulnerability. These threads interpenetrate across works and across practices, carried by materials that share a quality of immediacy and vulnerability.” - Brice Arséne Yonkeu ——— Photos courtesy of Efie Gallery and artists #EfiɛGallery #EfieGallery

For May’s edition of the GIDA Library, Brice Arsène Yonkeu (@iambayn ) brings together a selection of works across photography, film, painting, literature, and exhibition-making! The French-Cameroonian independent curator and art dealer’s practice explores the intersections of memory, identity, and spatial politics across contemporary Africa and diasporic contexts. Through storytelling, research, and an attention to underexamined histories, his work considers how personal and collective narratives continue to shape cultural memory. For this month’s selection, Yonkeu highlights works that reflect on freedom, spirituality, political consciousness, and identity. Moving between Malick Sidibé’s images of post-independence liberation, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s emotionally charged paintings, and Achille Mbembe’s reflections on postcolonial Africa, the selection offers an intimate insight into the references, encounters, and ideas that continue to inform his curatorial perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter via the link in our bio to read the full selection of recommendations.

I was recently invited to Harvard to speak at a conference, and extended my stay to visit Noah Davis’ retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art before its closing. It was a rare and genuinely moving experience to be in such close proximity to the full weight of his oeuvre. At its core, Davis’ practice begins with something deceptively simple: the desire to portray Black life. But to understand why that gesture carries such force, you have to hold it against centuries of willful invisibilization in art history. What he does with that weight is remarkable. The banal becomes elevated, reimagined through the filter of his inner world, and the familiar, a gesture, a room, a moment, a neighborhood, gets suspended somewhere between memory and dream. He was 32 when he died in 2015. And yet the breadth of what he left behind is staggering. Canvas after canvas, I kept thinking of how clearly I could trace his influence running through the work of many artists painting today. His vocabulary has become part of a shared inheritance. The work is introspective, but also ambitious, futuristic, altruistic, comforting, and quietly interrogative all at once. Making art was his primary language for engaging with the world, and it remained so until his very last day. This was heartfelt throughout the entire exhibition.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ #NoahDavis #ContemporaryArt #BlackArt #UndergroundMuseum #philadephia

By His grace. Life in minor keys #2025

EP 102 with Brice A. Yonkeu: “I never know how to answer if I’m francophone or anglophone.” In this conversation, @iambayn opens up about Cameroon, identity, and what it means to be a curator navigating multiple worlds. On EP 102, Brice A. Yonkeu discusses his recent exhibition, Ever So Present II: Between Home and Elsewhere at Gagosian Gallery in New York featuring the work of Luke Agada @lukechidiagada , Amoako Boafo @amoakoboafo , Josèfa Ntjam @josefantjam , and Emma Prempeh @reclus__e . Catch the full story on LightWork 🎧 Link in bio Thank you to our hosts at WSA. @wsanyc #LightWorkPodcast #BriceYonkeu #AfricanArt #ContemporaryArt #Cameroon #ArtCurator

EP102 with Brice A. Yonkeu: “What’s different this time?” ⁠ ⁠ Independent curator @iambayn talks about the shift in how he approached his latest exhibition — with more intention, more dialogue, and more freedom.⁠ ⁠ On EP 102, Brice A. Yonkeu discusses his recent exhibition, Ever So Present II: Between Home and Elsewhere at Gagosian Gallery in New York featuring the work of Luke Agada @lukechidiagada , Amoako Boafo @amoakoboafo , Josèfa Ntjam @josefantjam , and Emma Prempeh @reclus__e . Listen to the full convo on LightWork🎙️ Link in bio.⁠ Thank you to our hosts at WSA. @wsanyc #LightWorkPodcast #BriceYonkeu #ArtCurator #ContemporaryArt #Gagosian

Last Friday marked the opening of “Bienvenue dans mon instabilité”, @merveillekelekelekelekelelele ’s Paris debut at La Galerie du Jour, La Fab. — agnès b. foundation. The moment felt particularly moving and highlights a striking development. Four years have passed since I advised on the very first painting Merveille ever sold, when he was still a freshman at @beauxartsparis , and since then, the work has gained remarkable maturity, clarity, and complexity. Three years after including him in my exhibition ‘Still I Rise’ (Google HQ, Paris), it is powerful to see this progression culminate in a solo presentation, his Parisian debuts, at such a central institution in city’s creative pulse. What emerges in this exhibition is not only technical evolution, but also the resonance of a personal journey — from DR Congo to Paris — where migration, identity, and belonging shape a certain sense of instability. That condition becomes generative: a lens through which he revisits inherited mythologies and creates new ones, weaving stories that move between the personal and the collective, the historic and the spiritual. The new paintings reveal a heightened complexity: the multiplicity of figures in the foreground, the play with perspective, the realism, and the textural richness. The scenes convey a strong sense of storytelling, with vibrant narratives that immerse viewers in a world and philosophy meditating on humanity, death, life, spirituality, and the dream state. It was a privilege to witness this moment in person and to reflect on the larger purpose of supporting artists as they step into their voices. Curated by @amidiouff , the exhibition is on view through October 26 at @la_fab_officiel / @galeriedujour . #MerveilleKelekeleKelekele #contemporaryart #Africanart #Paris

Have you heard my latest episode with Brice Arsène Yonkeu? Listen to it today! Tap the link in bio and check out the full episode! ⁠ ⁠ On this episode I’m joined by Brice Yonkeu as we discuss his career in the arts. He shares his experiences working in the arts, from opening his own gallery, Bwo Art Gallery in Cameroon, to participating in Amoako Boafo’s residency, dot.ateliers, as the first curator in residency, and showcasing his latest exhibition, a continuation of the show he presented at dot.aterliers upon completion of the residence, on view at Gagosian through August 8.⁠ ⁠ Brice reflects on his transition into art curation, and underscores the importance of presenting complex and rich contemporary African art practices. He also recounts his journey into the art field, and the necessity of creating spaces for African artists to showcase their heritage and contributions to global cultural production and ingenuity

Each time I’m in Dallas, I make it a point to visit the Green’s (@greenfamilyartfoundation ) private collection. These have always been transformative moments for me — intimate encounters with exceptional works from their world-class holdings, with over 150 pieces displayed at their home. What an immense privilege it is, to live with and be stewards to such a constellation of works. Across the years, every visit has offered me an opportunity to learn, deepen my understanding, and train my eye — reminding me that we are all, always, students (of art). Few words can capture the quiet awe I feel stepping into each new room and am greeted by remarkable works, each holding space. Grateful to the Greens for their unwavering commitment to art, and for continuously nourishing my curiosity. Artists not tagged in the slideshow (credits): Slide 1: @mariaberriostudio Slide 3: @danielle_mckinney_ Slide 4: #LisaBrice Slide 5: #LouisFratino Slide 14: @salman.toor #GreenFamilyArtFoundation #ContemporaryArt #Dallas #DerekFordjour #LynetteYiadomBoakye #AmoakoBoafo #ClaireTabouret #DanielleMcKinney #HenryTaylor #MagdaleneOdundo #DoronLangberg #MarkBradford #AmySherald #JulieMehretu