Fahamu Pecou: Brand NewBeins

Tufenkian Fine Arts is pleased to present, Brand NewBeins, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Atlanta-based interdisciplinary artist Fahamu Pecou. We are excited to share that this will be the artist’s first solo presentation with the gallery. This exhibition will be on view from May 6th through June 17th, 2023, with an opening reception to be held at the gallery on Saturday, May 6th from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Fahamu Pecou’s work seeks to confront and question the societal norms and stereotypes associated with the Black body. Through his paintings, drawings, performance art, and writing, Pecou explores the ways in which blackness is often defined by external forces, including stereotypes, media representations, and societal expectations. Pecou’s artistic practice challenges the dominant narratives surrounding Black identity and offers a more nuanced and complex representation of blackness that celebrates diversity of experience and the resilience of the Black community.

The works in Brand NewBeins seek to affirm and present new perspectives of being for African-descended peoples who find themselves living in realities far from “home” yet firmly rooted where they are. The enslavement of millions of Africans throughout Central and West Africa as well as the subsequent pillaging and colonization of the continent has resulted in generations of displaced Afro-descended people whose notion of home continues to be in flux. Influenced by Kenyan philosopher Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o’s theory on the dismembering and fragmentation of Black identity, Pecou’s work has become increasingly Pan-African in its attempts to re-member the fractured Black body.

The paintings in this exhibition mine a new cosmology of Black being by syncretizing contemporary and historical ideas around Black culture. These new works are directly conversant with these ideas and represent an ongoing interrogation of what it has meant, what it means now, and what a future Black body politic might mean. Throughout the exhibition, Pecou uses various ideas, constructs, and concepts around Black subjectivity to interrogate, explore, and expose the often problematic narratives that inform readings and expressions of Blackness.