Exhibition
Omar Ba
Clin d’oeil

On View: Sep 9–Oct 28
FIAF Gallery



In conjunction with his solo show at the new location of TEMPLON gallery in Chelsea, FIAF is delighted to present Clin d’oeil, an exhibition of one of Omar Ba‘s most important historical works, at the FIAF Gallery.

This wall-sized painting is characteristic of the artist’s style, with a black ground layered with a vivid palette on large cardboard boxes placed directly on the floor. In this work from 2017, Omar Ba pays homage to Senegalese historian and politician Cheikh Anta Diop. He references Diop’s thesis from the 1950s in which he affirms that the societies of Ancient Egypt were populated by Black Africans, as well as his ground-breaking book of The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality. This volume, published in 1974, asserts the influence of ancient African civilizations on the rest of the world.

On Friday, September 9, join us for the start of the Crossing The Line Festival and enjoy a glass of wine at the opening reception from 6–8pm in the FIAF Gallery. Part of FIAF’s Fête de la Rentrée 2022 celebration.

Omar Ba

Born in 1977 in Senegal, Omar Ba lives and works in Dakar and New York.

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    • His paintings, produced using a variety of techniques and materials, represent political and social motifs open to multiple interpretations. His artistic vocabulary raises historical and timeless questions while formulating a wholly contemporary artistic message. Omar Ba’s iconography features personal metaphors, ancestral references and hybrid figures. This combination of heterogeneous elements illustrates his desire to abolish boundaries and categories. His work, with its enigmatic nature and poetic intensity, rejects all forms of didactic narrative, seeking instead to express his subconscious and his symbolic interpretation of the real.