The Jean Pigozzi African Art Collection

- 2006
Plastic, metal, textile

- 2006
62.5 x 84.5 x 20 cm
Mixed media, glass, copper, iron, plastic

Aide-soignante - 2007
55 x 40 x 23.5 cm
Iron, plastic, ceramic

Amazone (Ochoukpa) - 2007
47 x 34 x 18,5 cm
Mixed media:
Metal, padlocks and shoe

Ambassadeur - 2010
40 x 35 x 12 cm
Mixed media:
Metal, plastic, paper, light bulbs and synthetic hair

Change-moi la lame - 2006
58.5 x 44 x 17 cm
Plastic, iron, copper

Dessinateur - 2008
49 x 34 x 17 cm
Mixed media:
Metal, plastic, lighters and pencils with eraser

Ferme ta gueule – Mind Your Own Business - 2002
62.5 x 69 x 23 cm
Metal, plastic, steel, rubber and other found materials

Géomètre - 2007
67 x 50 x 18 cm
Iron, copper, plastic, glasses

Heviosso - 2007
76.5 x 57 x 26.5 cm
Plastic, iron, glass, copper, wood

Hounsa - 2007
79 x 75 x 19 cm
Mixed media:
Metal, plastic, rubber, colored pencils and shoe

Kponthemin - 2008
42 x 38 x 18 cm
Mixed media:
Metal, plastic and nail clippers

La cuisine - 2007
56 x 45 x 14.5 cm
Iron, aluminium, cotton, copper

La famine - 2006
60 x 29 x 30 cm
Plastic, copper, aluminium

La mort debout - 2005
85 x 40 x 26 cm
Iron, plastic, glass

La mort debout – Resuscitated - 2002
59 x 40 x 29 cm
Steel, metal, ceramic, plastic, glass, rubber and other founStd materials

Le bonheur - 2007
60 x 52 x 26 cm
Plastic, glass, copper, iron

Le chat - 2002
108 x 108.5 x 22.6 cm
Steel, metal, glass, vinyl and mixed materials

Le repas - 2003
81 x 79.5 x 12 cm
Metal, wood and mixed materials

Médiateur - 2010
43 x 36 x 17 cm
Mixed media:
Metal, plastic (pearls) and synthetic hair

Maman Binze - 2009
44 x 35 x 22 cm
Mixed media:
Iron, copper, plastic (pearls) and synthetic hair

Mamissi - 2007
69 x 64 x 29 cm
Mixed media

Oba - 2007
64 x 63 x 12 cm
Mixed media:
Metal, plastic and pens

Ocha - 2007
44 x 39.2 x 15.4 cm
Metal, glass, plastic

Ochoukpa (Maman Tchinvié) - 2006
57 x 35 x 16 cm
Mixed media:
Metal, plastic, glass, paper, light bulbs and safety pins

Papa Sodabi - 2002
63 x 53.8 x 24 cm
Steel, metal, plastic, glass and other found materials

Pasteur - 2007
38 x 36 x 14 cm
Iron, plastic, glass

Perroquet - 2005
83 x 56 x 38 cm
Iron , plastic, copper

Proviseur - 2010
40 x 25 x 12 cm
Mixed media:
Metal, plastic, electric bulbs and synthetic hair

Woli - 2007
50.5 x 48 x 16.5 cm
Metal, glass, plastic
Calixte Dakpogan

Born 1958, Pahou, Benin
Lives and works in Porto Novo, Benin
Calixte Dakpogan’s Vodun heritage is intrinsic to his work. Born to a family of blacksmiths, he grew up in the Goukoumé district of Porto Novo, Benin, a district dedicated to Ogun, the god of iron. Ogun is the principal deity worshiped by the Dakpogan family, and the tradition of metalworking has been carried from father to son since their ancestor Sabgo Ayato worked as a blacksmith in the royal court of King Toffa.
The abundance of car wreckages in Porto Novo has provided Calixte Dakpogan with an inexhaustible source of materials. (A symbol of power, the automobile is rightly placed under the protection of god Ogun.) Together with his brother Théodore, he began to use scavenged car parts to create standing figures, following directly in the tradition of Fon statues made from scrap iron in the early nineteenth century. In 1992 the two brothers were commissioned to create a series 100 of these works for Ouidah 92: The First International Festival of Vodun Arts and Cultures, and their contribution remains on permanent display. Today, after an interval of one and a half centuries, the relationship between Fon sculptures and the work of Calixte Dakpogan transcends purely visual or technical aspects, being intimately related with the creative process.
Since 1990, Calixte has worked independently, using salvaged metallic and plastic elements to create anthropomorphic figures and masks. A gas tank becomes a body or headlights become teeth. Two formless segments become a recognizable personage. His creations, full of talent, humour, and stories, are imbued with a contemporary imagination and an astounding inventiveness. The artist has commented: “I love children. They are very important in my work as they talk to me about what they see and make comments that inspire me profoundly. All of my sculptures speak of my country, my culture, my surroundings and my beliefs, as well as of the entirety of my worldview. I work with recovered materials since they are burdened with time and transformed by usage, conferring a degree of vitality upon my sculptures that I would be able to attain if I used new materials.”
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017
Art/Afrique, le nouvel atelier. Les Initiés, un choix d’œuvres (1989 – 2009) dans la collection d’art africain contemporain de Jean Pigozzi. Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France (04/26/17 to 09/04/17)
2016
Essentiel Paysage, Al Maaden Art Gallery, Contemporary African Art Center, Marrakech, Morocco
2015
1:54 Contemporary African Art fair, New York, USA
2014
Luminós/C/ity.Ordinary Joy: From the Pigozzi Contemporary African Art Collection, Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Post-Picasso: Contemporary Reactions, Museu Picasso, Barcelona
2013/2014
Raw Vision : 25 ans d’Art Brut, Halle Saint Pierre, Paris
2011
Riad Al Maaden, Marrakech, Morocco
Reconfiguring an African Icon : Odes to the Mask by Modern and Contemporary Artists from Three
Continents, Metropolitan Museum, NY, USA
2010
African Stories
Marrakech Art Fair, Marrakech
2009 - 2010
Africa? Una nuova storia, Complesso del Vittoriano, Rome, Italy
2007/2008
Why Africa?
Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli
Turin, Italy
2007
Masques rituels et contemporains, Fondation Jean Paul Blachère, Apt - France
2006/2007
100% Africa, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
2005
Arts of Africa, Grimaldi Forum, Monaco - France
African Art Now : Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection, Museum of Fine Art Houston, USA
2000
Fait Maison, Permanent sculpture inaugurated on November 10, 2000, Musée International des Arts Modestes Sête, France
Partage d’Exotismes, 5ème Biennale de Lyon, France
2000
Rendering Visable : Contemporary Art from the Republic of Benin
The October Gallery
1998 – 1999 (travelling exhibition
Forjar el Espacio : La Escultura Forjada en el siglo XX
* Nov - Feb 1998
Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
* April 1999
IVAM Centre Julio González
Valencia - Spain
* 26/06/99 – 30/09/99
Musée des Beaux Arts et de la Dentelle
Calais – France
1998
Bénin-/Bénin, Gisteren-Tussen-Morgen
Van Reekum Museum, Apeldoorn Galerie 20x2
Arnhem – Hollande
Triennale der Kleinplastik (7): Afrika-Europa, Les Écoles philosophiques.
Stuttgart Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen
SüdwestLB Forum
Stuttgart - Germany
1997
8+1, Centre Culturel Français, Cotonou - Benin
1997
Lumière Noire, Centre d'Art de Tanlay-Yonne
Yonne - France
1995
Johannesburg Biennale (1), Africus.
Johannesburg, South Africa,
February 28-April 30, 1995 (Catalogue: Allen Bowyer et al.)
1994 (travelling exhibition)
Otro país: escalas africanas.
* November 15, 1994-January 15, 1995
Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno
Las Palmas, Spain:
* February 15-April 16, 1995
Fundacion La Caixa
Palma de Mallorca. Spain
* May-September, 1995
Palau de la Virreina
Barcelona, Spain
* (Catalogue: Simon Njami and Joëlle Busca)
1993
Ouidah 92. The First International Festival of Vodun Arts and Cultures.
Ouidah, Benin
1992
Dakar Biennale (1) Dak’Art 92
Dakar, Senegal:
(Catalogue: Moustapha Ka and Amadou Lamine Sall)
1991
Calixte Dakpogan, Centre Culturel Français
Cotonou, Benin.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2021
Ex Africa - Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac - Sous la direction de Philippe Dagen - Gallimard, Paris
2017
Les Initiés, un choix d’œuvres (1989 – 2009) dans la collection d’art africain contemporain de Jean Pigozzi. Editions Dilecta, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France. Exhibition catlaogue
2014
Post-Picasso: Contemporary Reactions, Exhibition catalogue, Museu Picasso, Barcelona, pgs 74-77.
2007
Why Africa?
Exhibition catalogue. Published by Electa & Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli.
2006
100% Africa
Exhibition catalogue. Published by TF Editores & FMGB Guggenheim Bilbao Museum.
2005
African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection
Exhibition catalogue. Published by Merrell.
2001
Rendering Visible : Contemporary Art from the Republic of Benin
Exhibition catalogue. Published by The October Gallery.
2000
Lyon Biennale d’Art Contemporain (5) Partage d’Exotismes
Exhibition catalogue. Thierry Prat, Thierry Raspail, and Jean-Hubert Martin.
2000
Forjar el Espacio : La Escultura Forjada en el siglo XX
Exhibition catalogue.
1998
Bénin-Bénin, Gisteren-Tussen-Morgen.
Exhibition catalogue. Fritz Bless et al.
1997
Lumière Noire : Art Contemporain
Exhibition catalogue. Underwitten by the French Connection.
1996
Contemporary Art of Africa
André Magnin and Jacques Soulillou eds.,
1995
Africus : Johannesburg Biennale 1995
Exhibition catalogue. Contributors include Rasheed Araeen; Ery Camara; Arthur C. Danto; Bongi Dhlomo; Rashid Diab; Amareswar ...
1994
Otro pais: escalas africanas
Exhibition catalogue. Simon Njami and Joelle Busca. Published by Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Fundacion La Caixa in Palma de Mallorca.
1992
Dakar Biennale (1). Dak’Art 92
Exhibition catalogue : Moustapha Ka and Amadou Lamine Sall).