African art in Toronto: Earthsong Village has motherlode from Mother Africa

I'm looking at a panel of Kuba cloth from Congo and wondering again whether it's at all possible to understand 20th century art without knowing something about African art.

Ilse Lichtenberger, owner of Earthsong Village on Kingston Road in Toronto, gives up trying to hoist the heavy Nimba (or "old woman") mask onto her head and comes over to ask, "Did you know Matisse's Parisian apartment was practically papered with the stuff?  That's why it's sometimes called Matisse cloth."   With its organic appliqued shapes, the connection between Kuba cloth and Matisse's collages of leafy cutouts is immediately apparent.

Ilse's shop is a motherlode of fine African art, both antique and modern, from Ivory Coast, Congo, Mali, Benin, Guinea.  "African art is more defined by clan than country," Ilse explains as she hefts an elegant Benin bronze back on a shelf and picks up a beautifully-patinated Chokwe mask.  Her enthusiasm, knowledge and reputation have recently brought her several consignments of antique pieces, like a gazelle-shaped Bambara mask from Mali that she is happy to show and talk about.

Situated in Toronto's east end at 2436 Kingston Road (if you don't have a car, take the #12 bus from Victoria Park Station and get off at Sandown), Earthsong Village also sells traditional black soap--made from roasted cocoa pods and ash of plantain skins mixed with palm oil and perfect for sensitive skin--bulk shea butter, finely-worked metal boxes, drums, jewellery, tree ornaments made from recycled materials and other interesting items suitable for holiday giving.  It's a long time before I'm able to tear myself away, and only then with a promise to myself to learn more about Africa's powerful, and influential, art.