FRAGMENTS OF THE INVISIBLE Cleveland—Two years ago in our autumn 2011 edition, we wrote about the acquisition in Belgium of a significant group of Congo sculptures by the Cleveland Museum of Art. The time has come for them to be revealed to the public in the context of the exhibition Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture, which will be on view from October 27, 2013, to February 9, 2014. This installation will highlight thirty-four works of various cultural attributions while also addressing the fragmentary nature of African works of art in Western collections, where they are divorced from their original context in which many were connected with the invisible world of deities or spirits. Fragments of the Invisible also discusses the history of the Delenne Collection against the background of collecting African art in Belgium and reflects on issues of provenance, cultural heritage, and patrimony. KONGO ACROSS THE WATERS Gainesville—On October 22, 2013, the Samuel P. Harn Museum at the University of Florida will open Kongo across the Waters, an exhibition that celebrates the historic Kongo culture and Kongo-influenced cultural traditions, primarily in the southeastern United States. It also marks 500 years since the first African conquistador, Juan Garrido (Handsome John), came to the Americas. Kongo across the Waters will address cultural and artistic themes of Kongo peoples, beginning with the ancient Kongo kingdom that encompassed parts of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Republic of the Congo, and Gabon. Themes will include the arts of leadership, religion, and daily life interpreted within historical, archaeological, linguistic, musicological, anthropological, and art historical contexts. On view until March 13, 2014, the exhibition is a collaborative project by the Samuel P. Harn Museum and the Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale in Tervuren, Belgium. ABOVE: Crucifix. Kongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo or Cabinda. Early 1800s–early 1900s. Bronze, wood. The Cleveland Museum of Art. René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund, 2010.444. LEFT: Male figure. Songye, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Early 1800s–early 1900s. Wood, leather, glass beads, coarsely woven brown fabric, brass or copper sheet, iron sheet, an iron thimble(?), twine, teeth, tusk. The Cleveland Museum of Art. René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund, 2010.451. ABOVE: Helmet mask. Suku, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Early 1800s–early 1900s. Wood, basketry, reed. The Cleveland Museum of Art. René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund, 2010.450. BELOW: Male figure. Beembe, Republic of the Congo. Early 1800s–early 1900s. Wood. The Cleveland Museum of Art. René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund, 2010.428.
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