Dozie Kanu’s On Elbows is an ensemble of surreal objects that explores the tension between public and private selves. A vessel of black liquid pulsing at the rate of a human heartbeat and a concrete chaise longue—typically associated with psychoanalysis—evoke both self-reflection and the murky depths of the individual and collective unconscious. The sofa’s “Texan Wire Wheels” rims, also known as “elbows” or “swangas,” reference the vibrant automobile “SLAB culture” of Kanu’s native city, Houston. He describes this tradition of car customization as a “free and playful fashioning of one’s own material property - gestures that I find deeply complex and layered given the relationship that Black Americans continue to navigate between ownership and agency.”

Originally commissioned by the Public Art Fund for the exhibition Black Atlantic, On Elbows was first presented on the Brooklyn waterfront, a former shipping port. Its placement underscored the work’s inspiration in the diasporic histories that link Africa, the Americas, and Europe across the Atlantic Ocean.

Through meticulous fabrication and inventive refashioning of found objects, Kanu creates works that resist categorization — remaining communicative, performative, and inherently disobedient. His practice examines the limits of form, function, materiality, and utility, often through a deeply personal lens shaped by lived experience. By repurposing objects considered obsolete, Kanu honors the labor embedded in them and extends their lives as vessels of memory. These gestures become acts of collective mourning and recognition, acknowledging how the legacies of oppressive systems continue to shape the present.

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ABOUT THE ARTIST

Dozie Kanu (b. 1993, Houston, TX) is an American artist who lives and works in Santarém, Portugal. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in 2016 and participated in the Maumas Independent Study Program in Lisbon in 2022.

Selected exhibitions include solo and group presentations at Luma, Arles (2025); Galleria Federico Vavassor, Milan (2025); anonymous gallery, New York (2025); Fondation Beyeler, Basel (2024); Drei, Cologne (2024); Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin (2023); Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne (2023); Quinn Harrelson Gallery, Los Angeles (2023); C-Mine, Genk (2023); Oregon Center for Contemporary Art, Portland (2023); Galerie Francesca Pia, Zurich (2022); SFMOMA, San Francisco (2022); Project Native Informant, London (2022); Neuer Essener Kunstverein, Essen (2022); Galeria Madragoa, Lisbon (2021); Performance Space New York (2021); The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2019).

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anonymous gallery Debut at Art Basel Miami Beach with Dozie Kanu

anonymous gallery is pleased to announce its first participation at Art Basel Miami Beach, presenting a solo installation in the Meridians section with artist Dozie Kanu.

Since its founding, anonymous has operated outside the conventional gallery model, functioning as a project platform, advocating for artists, and staging exhibitions and public art events between Mexico City and New York. While many galleries today search for “new models,” anonymous has long embodied this approach, emphasizing experimentation, collaboration, and fluidity. Its entry into Art Basel Miami Beach marks both a milestone and a natural extension of its trajectory: a gallery that has thrived in the in-between now enters one of the most visible stages of the international art market, while embracing a more formal model.

For Miami, anonymous presents a large-scale installation by Dozie Kanu, whose practice resists categorization, spanning design, sculpture, installation, and social commentary. Kanu’s objects probe the tension between public and private selves, the politics of visibility, and the cultural codes embedded in materials and forms. His presence at the fair highlights anonymous’s commitment to artists who expand the very definition of what a gallery can support and present.

“anonymous has always been less about a fixed model and more about creating space for ideas and artists who move across disciplines,” says Joseph Ian Henrikson, founder of anonymous gallery. “Our participation in Miami feels like an opportunity to bring that ethos into dialogue with a broader audience, while still holding on to the flexibility that has defined us from the beginning.”

The presentation also speaks to anonymous gallery’s own transitional moment. Remaining deeply project-oriented, the gallery has in recent years formalized its relationships with a select group of artists, representing Kanu among them. This hybrid model - at once nimble and committed - positions anonymous uniquely within today’s art landscape, where adaptability and vision are increasingly necessary. anonymous gallery’s debut at Art Basel Miami Beach underscores its continued belief in alternative ways of working, while marking a new chapter in its evolution.

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anonymous gallery operates across New York and Mexico City, with a practice rooted in experimentation and collaboration. The gallery has developed a reputation for alternative exhibition formats, interdisciplinary projects, and a hybrid approach to artist representation. anonymous continues to foster dialogue across borders, disciplines, and communities, supporting artists who expand the boundaries of contemporary practice.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:  

Dozie Kanu .