Tides of Being
“Tides of Being” marks a pivotal moment in Mlengeya’s artistic practice, incorporating water as a crucial element alongside her signature minimalistic and figurative style. The series continues her exploration of black women, but here water becomes more than background—it interacts with, transforms, and envelops the figures. The show reflects on presence, motion vs stillness, depth, and the transcendent possibilities of body and environment.
Tides of Being is a solo exhibition by Tanzanian artist Sungi Mlengeya, presented by Afriart Gallery at the NADA Exhibition Space (2nd Floor), 311 East Broadway, New York. The opening took place on Thursday, April 10, 2025, from 6:00-9:00 PM. The exhibition explores the relationship between body and water, examining themes of transformation, surrender, renewal, and presence through the depiction of women in contact with water, set against vast white spaces. The show coincided with the publication of Mlengeya’s first monograph, and many works in the series use water to reshape, distort, or reflect bodies, blurring the boundary between figure and environment.
Exhibition Description
Water in these works is both literal and metaphorical—it is the medium through which the human form is reshaped, mirrored, or submerged. The figures, mostly women known to the artist (friends, family, muses), are shown in states of movement, dance, or meditative stillness. The white (negative) space remains central, evoking openness, infinity, possibility; but now water intrudes into or emerges from that space, causing distortion and reflection. The paintings aim for a poetic blending of the self with the natural world, inviting viewers into liminal spaces between clarity and abstraction.
Gallery
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