1-54 New York Confessions : The Filafriques Experience with Carine Biley & Gavin Goodman
At 1-54 in New York, Filafriques made a notable impression with a presentation featuring the works of Gavin Goodman and Ousmane Dia, two artists who place women at the heart of their creative practice. This artistic dialogue was met with great success. We took the opportunity to meet with Carine Biley, founder of Filafriques, as well as artist Gavin Goodman, both present at the fair, to discuss their creative processes, the foundations of Filafriques’ Geneva-based space, and the ongoing transformations in the contemporary African art market.
Carine Biley and Gavin Goodman Filafriques at 1-54 New York 2025
A gentle harmony emerges between Carine Biley, founder of the Filafriques gallery, and Gavin Goodman, a photographer from South Africa, both present at the 1-54 New York fair. In this conversation with Mayi Arts, Carine Biley and Gavin Goodman share the story of their encounter while revealing the unique vision behind Filafriques.
Ngalula MAFWATA : How did your meeting and collaboration come about?
Gavin GOODMAN : Carine and I met shortly after I won the Hasselblad Master Award in the Fine Art category in 2021. At that time, my work had gained broader recognition and exposure. Although I had always had an interest in Fine Arts, I was more focused on my commercial collaborations back then, also aware of how small the art market can be in Cape Town. I wasn’t actively pursuing galleries or seeking to exhibit much beyond that.
Carine BILEY : Absolutely, I had came across his series Luhlaza and immediately wanted us to meet !
Gavin GOODMAN : When Carine approached me, I immediately liked her vision and the fact that she works exclusively with artists from Africa. So, I thought, why not? We’ve now been working together for three years, and I can say I really appreciate our dynamic and connection. I also credit her with inspiring my curiosity and desire to explore new creative fields in my artistic practice. She opened my eyes to many opportunities and influenced my perspective. I’m delighted to be part of the Filafriques journey. I believe things happen at the right time. When we first met, the timing wasn’t ideal. However, now, especially after 1-54 New York, I feel a real inner drive pushing me to keep creating more art. I derive a different satisfaction from earning money through my artistic work, especially compared to my commercial collaborations, which are often subject to many internal politics and external influences. I’m excited to see what the future holds. Our collaboration has been very organic.
Luhlaza 5, Gavin GOODMAN, 2021
“ I believe things happen at the right time. When we first met, the timing wasn’t ideal. However, now, especially after 1-54 New York, I feel a real inner drive pushing me to keep creating more art. [...] I’m excited to see what the future holds. Our collaboration has been very organic.”
Carine BILEY : Just like with Gavin, my meeting with Ousmane DIA happened in a very organic way. I had been invited to an open studio day in Geneva by an acquaintance who worked with him, but I wasn’t able to attend. Some time later, I finally had the chance to go, and I immediately fell in love with his work, which I found quite unusual! Ousmane DIA is a respected figure in the arts, well established in Senegal, Switzerland, and internationally. Our personalities clicked right away, but he was somewhat hesitant to take things further because at the time I didn’t yet have a gallery and was working with itinerant spaces. Kindly, he made it clear to me that he would only exhibit in a gallery. I was a bit offended at the time. Laughs. Years later, once the gallery finally opened, he came to visit one of the first exhibitions and told me about a new project he was working on, expressing his wish for us to collaborate on an exhibition at the gallery. That’s how our partnership began.
Yeurmandé, Ousmane DIA, 2023
Ngalula MAFWATA : This exhibition presented at 1-54 carries multiple layers. What was your approach into putting it together ?
Carine BILEY : For 1-54, we chose to present works by these two major artists from the gallery, each developing a unique universe. Their common thread lies in placing the female figure at the center of their work, though they explore it from very different perspectives. Gavin adopts a refined, aesthetic, and minimalist approach, while Ousmane DIA offers a committed vision of the strong, resilient woman, carrying many struggles and the weight of history — a theme explicitly addressed in one of his works titled The Weight of History. Ousmane DIA has articulated a very distinctive visual language around the motif of the chair, a highly symbolic element, rich in meaning: it represents hospitality in Africa but also power. This motif runs throughout his work, appearing both as three-dimensional sculptures and as background elements in his paintings. The series we presented at 1-54, Black Requiem, was created in response to the murder of George Floyd.
To date, Gavin has entrusted me with six of his photographic series, and at 1-54, we decided to present one image from each series. The idea was to showcase the existing harmony within Gavin Goodman’s body of work, complemented by an artist book presenting each series in full, thus opening further opportunities.
“Ousmane DIA is a respected figure in the arts, well established in Senegal, Switzerland, and internationally.”
Ngalula MAFWATA : How would you define your influences?
Gavin GOODMAN : I was born and raised in South Africa, where I still live today. It is a country rich in diverse African cultures, we have 11 official languages, to say the least. As a professional photographer for about twenty years now, my eye naturally gravitates toward beauty. Rather than a single influence, my work is informed by a layered exposure to African traditions, contemporary design, and the cultural textures I’ve been surrounded by throughout my life - which I reinterpret through a modern, minimalist lens. My aesthetic is rooted in minimalism, shaped by these influences that have always surrounded me and interpreted through my perspective. I pay particular attention to light, colors, symmetry, and shapes. I love refined, modern, and minimalist things. For the Luhlaza series, for example, I collaborated with an origami artist to create the sculptures worn by the models. These pieces are inspired by traditional headdresses and garments, later incorporated into the styling with the help of a stylist friend, with whom I had worked several times before when I was active in advertising. A large part of creating this series involved meticulous planning: designing the origami pieces, developing the color palette, selecting the models, and considering the lighting. Ultimately, after two weeks of preparation, we were able to realize the project in a single day of shooting. This is how I approach my creative process, while leaving room for spontaneity.
Ngalula MAFWATA : Women seem to occupy a central place in your work…
Gavin GOODMAN : That’s true. I’ve tried to include men in my work in the past. However, my work is based on the harmony of compositions, shapes, and colors, and I find that the softer, more elegant curves of the female body better express my artistic vision.
Ubuntu 2, Gavin GOODMAN, 2024
Ngalula MAFWATA : Some works blend photography and digital art, integrating various techniques. Could you tell us more about that?
Gavin GOODMAN : I have always been interested in technology and innovation. By definition, photography requires strong technical knowledge and curiosity. When Artificial Intelligence emerged, I began exploring this technology and quickly realized how much it could help me interpret ideas I had in mind. For the past three or four years, I’ve been building a database based on my work, and it is from this foundation that I create my pieces. That’s why there is a certain harmony from one series to another. It is an extension of my work and has allowed me to broaden my creative scope, especially by imagining spaces that might have been more difficult to access logistically.
Carine BILEY : The subject of artificial intelligence remains delicate in the art market, particularly regarding intellectual property issues and potential controversy. However, when we talk about Gavin, he has many years of practice behind him. I know the technically skilled photographer he is and his complex process. I trusted him completely in his journey with Artificial Intelligence, which is ultimately just an extension of his work. The Thando series, for example, explores painting digitally and creates an interesting textured effect.
“I was born and raised in South Africa and still live there today. It’s a country that brings together many African cultures. We have 11 official languages, just to give you an idea. My identity was shaped at the intersection of traditional, cultural, and fashion influences I was exposed to.”
Ngalula MAFWATA : How was the reception?
Gavin GOODMAN : The 1-54 New York experience was truly eye-opening for me, far beyond what I had imagined. It’s rare for artists to attend the fair; perhaps only 20% of us were actually there. I really appreciated being able to observe and listen to visitors interacting with my work without them knowing I was the artist behind it. The fair gave me the chance to meet and talk with so many people from different backgrounds. I’m grateful to see how many people connected with my work, it’s a rewarding feeling. In fact, I realised that I learned more about my own work just by talking to the visitors. It was the first time I ever spoke so much about myself and what I do over four consecutive days. I remain humbled and full of gratitude for the reception. I can’t wait for the next experience!
Carine BILEY : I’d also like to highlight the excellent commercial success of the exhibition, with some wonderful sales achieved. The exhibition book showcasing Gavin’s complete body of work was also very well received. We’re actually planning to publish a new edition soon for the general public.
I am particularly inspired by Touria El Glaoui’s vision, one continent, fifty-four countries, which is an invitation not to limit oneself to certain borders. I’m Ivorian and could have focused solely on artists from my country. But the aim was precisely to make an impact by presenting artists from various backgrounds to highlight the richness and diversity of African expressions. This is the spirit in which the artists represented by Filafriques are so diverse: we offer a true international journey across African nations, carried by the visions of artists with distinct identities and sensibilities.
Bomvu, Gavin GOODMAN, 2020
Filafriques at 1-54 New York 2025
Ngalula MAFWATA: What upcoming work or exhibitions should we keep an eye out for?
Gavin GOODMAN: I’m currently working on a new black and white series that I started a few months ago. The truth is that this experience at 1-54 has inspired me to reconsider my approach, particularly to further explore mixed media. I’m still in the conceptual phase, and the series should come to life in a few months this year. It’s a project I feel extremely positive about and can’t wait to present.
Carine BILEY: We are preparing a duo show featuring Reggie KHUMALO and Gavin GOODMAN for the next edition of 1-54 in London. Both artists are South African but have radically different approaches. Khumalo’s work is all about bold extravagance, with generous use of fabric that contrasts with the deep black of the painted figures. It's a living, vibrant art form that we’ll put in dialogue with Gavin Goodman’s elegance and refinement. This was an idea I had in mind for a while — one we’ve explored at the gallery and are now excited to unveil in London. Both artists admire each other and will finally meet in person in London, as they’ll both be present !
To find out more about Filafriques, visit their website: www.Filafriques.gallery
