Standing in the Gap marks the first IN CONTEXT exhibition hosted by Goodman Gallery London – a curatorial strand in the gallery programme which considers the dynamics and tensions of place, with particular connection to the African Continent and its Diaspora. The series has introduced international artists from Joël Andrianomearisoa to Kader Attia, Wangechi Mutu to Mickalene Thomas to South African audiences and memorably included "Africans in America" (2016) co-curated by Hank Willis Thomas and Liza Essers, held concurrently with the Johannesburg iteration of the renowned international conference series BLACK PORTRAITURE[S].

Standing in the gap considers a group of artists and artworks making suppressed histories visible across a range of practices and generations, filling in the gaps where things were once omitted. Weaving narrative with a blend of fact and fiction they imagine different histories and speculate on the future. They are interested in the footnotes, marginalia and on connections yet to be made. Works range from iconic works from 1970s and 1980s by Faith Ringgold through to recent and new works created from 2021-2023 by burgeoning artists Nolan Oswald Dennis, Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum and Ravelle Pillay.

Faith Ringgold's soft sculptures were created during the early 1970s during a heightened political period when Ringgold instigated performances as an activist and campaigner for Women's Rights. In 1983, Faith Ringgold created four abstract paintings which she named the Dah series. Up to this point, Ringgold's works concerned specific people and issues, but the works from this period suggest an alternative language which the artist described as 'painting the inside of my head.'

Press release courtesy Goodman Gallery