Virtual tour

Africa

Africa provided one of the richest sources of exotic imagery for Art Deco designers. The bold, abstract and geometric zigzags, hatch marks, circles and triangles of African textiles, shields and sculptures became part of the repertoire of Art Deco.

Many designers used the African figure as a decorative motif, while others explored the African sculptural tradition of masks. In France, Jean Lambert-Rucki and Pierre Legrain produced African-inspired sculpture, furniture and decorative wares. In America, the black artist Sargent Johnson and others saw African art as the source of a new decorative style expressive of the vitality of modern urban black life and culture.

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