After a £2m refurbishment Modern Art Oxford opens to the public with an exhibition of an artist many visitors won’t have heard of – Cuban artist Belkin Ayon. It was a name that was new to me but clearly, I wasn’t paying enough attention to the labels at the Venice Biennale 2022 where her works were displayed at the Giardini as part of the main exhibition.
Ayon had a short career, dying aged 32, but there’s an assurance to these large-scale prints that suggest a mature artist. Her works are based on the Afro-Cuban religious myth of Sikan and her discovery of a fish channelling the spirit of a supreme deity. The concept comes from a religion founded in West Africa that travelled to Cuba via those who were subjected to the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade.
Ayon’s prints tell these myths through prints where figures loom over us and given we normally only see paintings at this scale it makes them more compelling. The larger prints are the most effective as the silhouette-like figures look down upon us with their white eyes. Having them as collograph prints rather than paintings gives them an inky depth that adds to their mysterious world. There are a few works in colour, and while they are more immediately eye-catching I found the black-and-white ones far more effective in conveying this mythical world.
Each work is layered with symbolism and imagery, and while some of it will feel familiar to those more accustomed to European art history, I enjoyed being immersed in a world I knew little about. Ayon’s work is far better known in Cuba but I think it will feel fresh to a UK audience.
It’s a bold choice to re-open with an artist lesser known to Western eyes and I think it pays off. Ayon’s works are a great choice for inaugurating its newly refurbished space.
The wider refurbishment by David Kohn architects, who recently did the new Stephen Friedman Gallery space on Cork Street, is also a triumph. The entrance feels a lot warmer, with comfy sofas to sit and chat, and the larger education space for adults and children to get creative is also welcome. The ground-floor gallery is dedicated to local graduate artists, and I’m hoping it will continue to showcase local talent, as it’s a great idea.
The secret weapon is downstairs with a cafe that’s been produced working with artist Emma Hart. She’s given it the feel of a rave with a sunset of colours and chairs whose backs all resemble hands in the air as if we’re being welcomed into the cafe as a DJ is welcomed to the stage. It brightens up a space with no natural light and I love how the seats and tables are pink/purple-hued so that light shining through it projects circles onto the floor, like spotlights in a club. It’s a great blueprint that other gallery cafes should follow.
First two images courtesy the estate of Belkin Ayon, third photo by Benjamin Westoby.
