Art Twenty One is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Swiss-Guinean photographer Namsa Leuba, entitled Ethnomodern. As the first large-scale solo exhibition of Leuba’s work, this exhibition brings together the artist’s diverse photographic practice that spans documentary, fashion and performance.

Namsa Leuba was born in 1982 from a Guinean mother and a Swiss father. During the past 4 years, her research focused on African identity through Western eyes. She graduated with a Master in Art direction at the University of Art and Design in Lausanne. Her work has been published in numerous magazines, including I-D, Numéro, KALEIDOSCOPE, Foam, Interview, Vice Magazine, New York Magazine, Wallpaper*, Libération, British Journal of Photography, European Photography.

Namsa Leuba has also received notable international recognitions. In 2010, the jury of the photography festival Planche(s) Contact of Deauville (CH), chaired by Bettina Rheims, awarded her the first prize. She then had the opportunity to do an exhibition in Deauville. In 2011, I’ECAL (University of Art and Design Lausanne (CH) awarded her a degree with excellent distinction for her project carried out in Conakry, Guinea. This production, called “Ya Kala Ben”, also received the BCV award. Most significantly, during the 2012 Fashion and Photography Festival in Hyères, she was awarded the PhotoGlobal Prize, which allows her to spend one year in NY. In 2013, Namsa Leuba was one of winners of the Magenta Foundation Flash Forward festival – Emerging Photographers in United States.

Recent exhibitions include That Art Fair Cape Town (2015), the Lagos Photo Festival, Nigeria (2014), Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Canada (2014), Daegu Photo Biennale, South Korea (2014), and Fotofestival’s main exhibition Haute Africa, alongside Martin Parr, Viviane Sassen, Wangechi Mutu, and others, Belgium (2014), Art 21, Lagos, (2015), Saatchi Gallery, London (2015), Photo Quai - Quai Branly Museum, Paris (2015), Making Africa. A Continent of Contemporary Design - Vitra, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain (2015).