At Alexis, Tete- Katchan's 'Cuboid' blossoms in plurality

'Anne-Marie and Marrie+Mitchell In The Yellow Room' (acrylic on canvas, 160x150cm, dated 2021), by Samuel Tete-Katchan.

WITHIN the context of 21st century contemporary creative energy, Samuel Tete- Katchan's art emits  the good old  modernism contents, so suggest the artist's paintings and woodworks of expressive depth. Strengthening Tete-Katchan's duality expressions is his exposure to multicultural environment, within West Africa.

In the last ten years, Samuel Tete-Katchan has been a familiar name to art lovers in Lagos, but the artist returns to the exhibition cirxuitt with some freshness into his paintings and woodworks. It's also a familiar space at His Alexis Galleries, Victoria Island where Tete-Katchan has been ahowing, in nearly every year. His current solo exhibition titled Cuboid, showing from  Saturday,  November 13-27, 2021, 3 pm-6 pm, at Alexis Galleries, No 282, Akin Olugbade Street, Off Idowu Martins, Victoria Island, Lagos State.  After the opening day, it continues from 10 am-6 pm (daily) while also showing on virtually on the opening day, on  Instagram- alexisgalleries, Facebook- Thehomestores & Alexisgalleries. 

The Cuboid title of the exhibition captures an artist's pulsating journey in creative dexterity.  As a cubist,  Tete- Katchan spices his style with strokes of minimalist characterisitcs, highlighting, celebrating or probing certain socio-economic norms. 

Yes, community trading in petty economic activities us among the themes that has been treated by ar.tists across generations and cultures, but injecting new depth .Ames the difference. For Tete- Katchan's Market Woman (140x120cm. acrylic on canvas. dated 2021), his  simplification of figurative forms as well as composition skill creates curiosity.

Alexis explained Cuboid as coined out of "Tete's approach in rendering his forms" geometrically.  The gallery noted that Tete-Katchan "loves the staggering in defective sizes, yet artistic style only he can achieve or justify." 

Included in the artist's styles are bold shapes of "gestural with expressive colours," that  expose the "physical, mental, and erratic relationship with their selected audience." Tete-Katcha's themes, according to Alexis "vacillate with the humanistic issues of life."

Tete-Katchan's studio practice is enriched with  pluralistic textures: though based, currently, in Accra, Ghana, he was born in Togo, 1975.  His art, interestingly, started incubating with contents from the reverted 'Osogbo school' of South West of Nigeria.

Excerpt from his bio: Tete-Katchan  attended the instituto Rural de Arte Hosz del Jucar (Albacete in Spain) in 2007. He is seem as  a cultural agent, graphic designer and painter who has, on numerous occasions, the opportunity to use Art as a medium for social development by working on various art projects. His public space art projects are in Ghana (done in collaboration with ICOMOS International and students of the University of Virginia (USA). 

 For  Cuboid, Alexis  partners with Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria, by donating part of the exhibition proceeds to the course of the non-governmental and not-for–profit As an organization, Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria is dedicated to the proper care and control of sickle cell disorder in in the country, 

Pepsi, Tiger, Indomie, Mikano, The Guardian, Wazobia TV, Cool FM, UPS, Heier Thermocool, Cobranet,  Delta  Airlines, Aina Blankson, The Homestores,  Art Café and L ost In A City, AMG Logistics and  Ashir De-sign are sponsores  of Cuboid.