Artist Talk: Allan deSouza

Portrait of the artist. ©Taro Masushio.

In this presentation complementing the exhibition New Cartographies, Asia Society Texas Center welcomes artist Allan deSouza, who will discuss his works in the Louisa Stude Sarofim Gallery. deSouza's series Through the Black Country engages with the colonial history of the later 19th century, and connections between South Asia, East Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

deSouza will also discuss his newest book, How Art Can Be Thought: A Handbook for Change (Duke University Press, October 2018). Copies of the book will be available for sale.

The exhibition runs through March 17, 2019, and is open Tuesday – Friday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Asia Society Texas Center's monthly, docent-led art tour will immediately follow this program at 3:30 p.m. and will be free of charge.

About the Artist

Allan deSouza (b. 1958, Nairobi, Kenya; lives and works in the Bay Area) is a multi-media artist. His photography, installation, text, and performance works restage historical evidence through counter-strategies of fiction, erasure, and (mis)translation. deSouza’s recent works engage with the history of the later 19th century and connections between South Asia, East Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

His work has been exhibited in the U.S. and internationally, including at the Walther Collection, Germany; Pompidou Centre, Paris; 2008 Gwangju Biennale, Korea; 3rd Guangzhou Triennale, China; and in recent solo exhibitions at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; the Phillips Collection; the Fowler Museum; Krannert Art Museum; Talwar Gallery, NY; and Talwar Gallery, Delhi. His writings have been published in various journals, anthologies, and catalogues, including Third Text, London; Wolgan Art Monthly, South Korea; and X-TRA, Los Angeles. He is the Chair and an Associate Professor in the Department of Art Practice, UC Berkeley.

This exhibition is organized by Asia Society Texas Center

Exhibitions at Asia Society Texas Center are presented by Wells Fargo; the China Series is presented by East West Bank; the Japan Series is presented by Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas). Major support comes from Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, Nancy C. Allen, Leslie and Brad Bucher, and Mary Lawrence Porter, as well as The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston Endowment, and the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance. Generous funding also provided by The Clayton Fund, Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Wortham Foundation, Inc., The Franci Neely Foundation, Olive Jenney, Nanako and Dale Tingleaf, and Ann Wales. Funding is also provided through contributions from the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional visual art to Asia Society Texas Center.

Special exhibition support provided by Leslie and Brad Bucher.

Presenting Sponsor