Become a My Ocula member for exclusive access to contemporary art and personalised artist recommendations.
Join Us Sign In
The Art World in Focus
Clear
Barthélémy Toguo

BARTHÉLÉMY TOGUO

Strange Fruit Galerie Lelong 12 October–25 November 2017 13 Rue de Téhéran, Paris
Overview Location
Request Exhibition Preview
Press Release

Six months after his nomination for the Marcel Duchamp prize and his installation entitled Vaincre le virus, Barthélémy Toguo is presenting a series of works produced over the summer. The title of the exhibition, Strange Fruit is, of course, an evocation of the famous song by Billie Holiday:

Southern trees bear strange fruit

Blood on the leaves and blood on the root

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze

Strange fruit hanging from poplar trees

As the song unfolds, the Strange Fruit is revealed to be people hanging from tree branches, the bodies of blacks lynched in the segregationist states of the southern United States. Now, in the early years of the 21st Century, Barthélémy Toguo is using his rich and perceptive universe to denounce the rise in racist violence around the world. Bronze crows, perched on branches from whence his drawings hang, and dogs with sharp teeth await the visitor. At the heart of the installation, a bust of Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) will serve as a reminder of the difficult struggle against segregation and lynching led by this Afro-American journalist, little known in Europe, and whose book, Southern Horrors, was only translated into French and published in Geneva in 2016.

Read More
About the Artist

Barthélémy Toguo was born in 1967 in Cameroon. He lives and works between Bandjoun and Paris. Ecole Nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Abidjan, Ivory Cost. Ecole Supérieure d’Arts, Grenoble, France. Art Academy, Düsseldorf, Germany. Multidisciplinary artist, his works is exhibited worldwide. In 2008, he founded Bandjoun Station, an artist residence focusing on artistic exchanges located in the highlands of Western Cameroon.

View Artist Profile

Also Exhibiting at Galerie Lelong

All Exhibitions
Mamma Andersson, Nalini Malani, Alison Saar
MAMMA ANDERSSON, NALINI MALANI, ALISON SAAR Estampes choisies Galerie Lelong 19 October–14 November 2026 13 Rue de Téhéran, Paris
Arlene Shechet
ARLENE SHECHET Kind of Blue Galerie Lelong 19 October–14 November 2026 13 Rue de Téhéran, Paris
Magnus Plessen
MAGNUS PLESSEN Théâtre imaginaire Galerie Lelong 19 October–14 November 2026 38 Avenue Matignon, Paris
About the Gallery
Galerie Lelong is located in Paris and New York. It was founded by Jacques Dupin, Daniel Lelong and Jean Frémon.

The Paris gallery has been exhibiting recent works from artists of international standing since 1981. The 1980s were notable for artists who went on to become household names, including Joan Miró, Antoni Tàpies, Francis Bacon, Louise Bourgeois, Eduardo Chillida, Paul Rebeyrolle, Pierre Alechinsky, but also for the next generation of artists: Konrad Klapheck, Jan Dibbets, Donald Judd, Robert Ryman, Richard Serra, Jannis Kounellis, Arnulf Rainer, Nicola De Maria and Jan Voss.

In the 1990s, the gallery hosted artists who represented major movements in contemporary art: Sean Scully, Günther Förg, Andy Goldsworthy, Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Antonio Saura. The gallery also increased international recognition of the work of Ana Mendieta.

Since the turn of the century, Galerie Lelong has accentuated the geographical and expressive diversity of its artists: from sculpture and objects by Jaume Plensa, David Nash, Wolfgang Laib, Kiki Smith, Rebecca Horn, Barry Flanagan to installations by Barthélémy Toguo and Lin Tianmiao, without forgetting painting, namely David Hockney, Robert Motherwell, Kate Shepherd, Nalini Malani, Nancy Spero, Juan Uslé, Leon Kossoff.

Galerie Lelong has a large publishing department which produces and distributes engravings, lithographs, digital prints and multiple objects, and collates these works in catalogues raisonnés.

It produces monumental sculptures to order for public spaces and private clients.

The gallery is present at the leading international contemporary art fairs (Art Basel, Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Basel Hong Kong, Fiac Paris, Frieze London, Frieze New York, Arco Madrid, Art Brussels, Expo Chicago...).

The directors of the gallery are Jean Frémon, Daniel Lelong and Patrice Cotensin in Paris and Mary Sabbatino in New York.
View Gallery Profile
Address
13 rue de Téhéran
Paris
France
Opening Hours
Tues - Fri, 10.30am - 6pm
Sat, 2pm - 6.30pm
(1)
Paris 13 rue de Téhéran
Galerie Lelong contemporary art gallery in 13 Rue de Teheran Paris France
Galerie Lelong
13 rue de Téhéran, Paris, France
+33 145 631 319
http://www.galerie-lelong.com

Opening hours
Tues - Fri, 10.30am - 6pm
Sat, 2pm - 6.30pm
Magazine Gallery Platform Advisory
Ocula Magazine

A respected voice in contemporary art discourse.

Focusing on ambitious storytelling and insightful art-world commentary. Ocula Magazine publishes in-depth interviews, critical essays and timely analysis on the artists, exhibitions and ideas driving the global art world.

 Learn more about Ocula Magazine Learn more about Ocula Magazine Ocula Gallery Platform

Showcasing the best of the art world.

Ocula partners with galleries from around the world to highlight their artists, artworks and exhibitions. Gallery membership is by application and invitation, with each member vetted by an independent panel.

 Learn more about Ocula Membership Learn more about Ocula Membership Ocula Advisory

Specialises in the sale of major artworks.

Led by a team with deep ties to the world’s leading auction houses, galleries and collectors. Ocula’s advisory team offers bespoke services to high-net-worth clients from around the world who are looking to acquire the best of contemporary and modern art.

 Learn more about our team and services Learn more about Ocula Advisory
The art world in focus