Barthélémy Toguo: Faith Can Move Mountains Cat. Villa Merkel Esslingen

Barthé lé my Toguo (born 1967) has been focusing in his artistic practice on highly topical issues of identity and social belonging, like migration, flight, displacement, and the restrictions that stem from territorial borders and politics regarding sovereign rights. Against the background of his dual Cameroonian-French citizenship, he thereby explicitly adopts an anti-Eurocentric approach. He is above all concerned about the causes of ecological problems and their impact on society: drinking and industrial water shortages, maldevelopments in agriculture, the effects of climate change, corruption, armed conflicts, lack of economic development prospects, and much more. In his works – ranging from painting, drawing, sculpture, and performance to installation – he connects human concerns with nature: “ What guides me is a constantly evolving aesthetic, but also a sense of ethics, which makes a difference and structures my entire approach.” Published in this book are works created especially for the Esslingen exhibition, as well as remakes and adapted installations; also included is a small retrospective overview of the artist’ s work.

Barthé lé my Toguo (born 1967) is a Cameroonian painter, visual and performing artist. He currently splits his time living and working in both Paris and Bandjoun in Cameroon. He works in a variety of media aside from visual and performing arts including photographs, prints, sculptures, videos, and installations. Barthé lé my Toguo studied at the National school of Fine Arts in Abidjan at Ivory Coast, at the é cole supé rieure d’ Art de Grenoble, and at the Kunstakademie Dü sseldorf. Some of his paintings are collected at The Contemporary African Art Collection CAAC of Jean Pigozzi. Andreas Baur was director from 2001 until end of October 2022 of the Villa Merkel, Galerie der Stadt Esslingen, which he has shaped together with his team through exhibitions and publications as an institution for current international contemporary art. There he has supervised projects with such artists as Mark Dion, Darren Almond, Melanie Smith, Willie Doherty and Emily Jacir; in addition, he has developed the concepts for thematic group exhibitions. Together with his team, he established the format GOOD SPACE, which combines various genres and disciplines.