Capsule

15 October 2021 - 12 March 2022

Tracing overlapping influences of history and culture in everyday life, Florence Benson’s collection features a myriad of cultural artifacts such as bronze works hailing from the Ife and Benin Kingdoms of present day Nigeria, contemporary paintings by Nigerian and Ghanaian artists and indigenous sculpture and wood carvings from across West Africa.

 

Offering a visual reserve on traditional and contemporary African art throughout the ages, “Capsule”, presents a multitude of shared experiences across our collective histories. Each piece boasts of authenticity in its accurate depictions of various segments of African history and society.

 

Benson’s collection presents potential collectors and patrons with the unique opportunity to preserve and promote a version of living history, picking up the mantle to promote African narratives on culture and identity.

 

The featured image is a work by Amon Kotei, a distinguished Ghanaian painter and ceramist known for his emotive pastel portraits and scenic landscape paintings. Kotei also designed the 1957 Ghanaian National Coat of Arms now used on all official government letterheads.

The Capsule collection consists of works from internationally recognised figures such as artist Ablade Glover, one of Ghana’s frontier artists and educators, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Ini Brown and Abiodun Olaku among others.

 

 

About the Collector: Mrs. Florence Benson

Mrs. Florence Benson is a pioneering gallerist and collector who worked across UK, Ghana and Nigeria over 3 decades. Spanning the entire sub-region, her collection, “Capsule”, is an amalgamation of her lived experiences with the rich culture and history of the unique pieces. Benson, though retired from the gallery business continues to collect contemporary art from both old and young artists across the globe playing her part in preserving culture and tradition. In 2012, part of her collection was displayed in an exhibition-Slice of History at Nubuke Foundation.