Guernica converses with Dumeli Feni's African Guernica 

The Museo Reina Sofía sets in motion a programme of exhibitions which, entitled History Doesn’t Repeat Itself, but it Does Rhyme, seeks to initiate a dialogue with Pablo Picasso’s Guernica (1937) and other major works which reveal parallels in their modes of representation or thematic concerns, despite hailing from different historical and cultural contexts. The series title refers to a phrase which, although traditionally attributed to the writer Mark Twain, is apocryphal and never actually appears in work by the American author.   

In this opening show, curated by Tamar Garb, Picasso’s emblematic work is juxtaposed with African Guernica, a work by artist Dumile Feni (Worcester, South Africa, 1942 – New York, 1991), who was a key figure in African modernity. Alongside Feni’s monumental drawing are five other works by this artist which arrive from major South African institutions, including the University of Fort Hare, the Norval Foundation and the Wits Art Museum, in addition to private collections. Furthermore, they are displayed with four of Picasso’s preparatory drawings from Guernica, works which are part of the Museo Reina Sofía Collections. 

The Museo Reina Sofía would like to express its appreciation to all lending institutions, particularly the University of Fort Hare, South Africa, for making this loan possible. It would also like to thank the National Heritage and Cultural Studies Centre (NAHECS), South Africa, for its collaboration and support in this project. 

As Museo Reina Sofía director, Manuel Segade, explained: “African Guernica represents a significant time in the crisis of modernity, the time of Apartheid in South Africa, one of the limits of the modern project”. Meanwhile, the show’s curator, Tamar Garb, was keen to stress how Dumile Feni “is a modern artist who used drawing materials on an almost unprecedented scale worldwide at that time”. “If we observe drawing practices globally in the 1960s, very few artists worked on such an epic, monumental scale as Dumile in that period”, she added.