LONDON — Art critic and writer Antwaun Sargent is ruling London on his short stay.
His exhibition “The New Black Vanguard,” just opened at Saatchi Gallery, where it will be until Jan. 22, with support from Burberry.
“We really need to be thinking about diversity in terms of aesthetic concerns,” Sargent told WWD, adding that the exhibition fills a longstanding void in the art and fashion worlds.
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Inside the gallery, the exhibition includes works by Black artists based in New York; Johannesburg, South Africa; Lagos, Nigeria, and London, England, such as Campbell Addy, Quil Lemons, Daniel Obasi, Arielle Bobb-Willis, Namsa Leuba, Ruth Ossai, Micaiah Carter, Renell Medrano, Adrienne Raquel, Awol Erizku and more.
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“When the next kid who’s at university and wants to think about photography as a pathway, there are some goals posts that they can see that are diverse in nature,” explained Sargent.
One of the standout photographs in the exhibition is Tyler Mitchell’s “Untitled (Hijab Couture)” from 2019 of a model wearing a hijab against a hot pink wall enrobed in a floral halo.
Ruth Ossai’s “Gidi Gidi B Ugwa Eze (Unity Is Strength)” from 2017 shows models sporting a melange of outfits from Kenzo’s spring 2017 collection, styled by Ib Kamara.
In another room is Campbell Addy’s “Untitled” from 2016, depicting a model wearing a blood-spattered mask and decked in pearls and a rosary. The shoot is inspired by a book about Ignatius Sancho, a British writer, abolitionist and composer.