The Jean Pigozzi African Art Collection

3ème République - 1991
160 x 188.8 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Absence de morale (Moral Absence) - 1990
143 x 135 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Arrosage (Watering) - 1995
144 x 194 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Cinqs mois de BLOCAGE de la conférence nationale souveraine du Zaïre/Congo Belge - 1991
163 x 187 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Démocratie en Afrique (Democracy in Africa) - 1992
131.8 x 201 cm
Acrylic on canvas

En’ Otage - 1993
89.5 x 127 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Kin Derrière - 1996
145 x 194 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Le garant/The Guarantee - 1993
132 x 196.5 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Lutte Contre les Moustiques - 1990
148 x 169 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Mauvais payeur (Poor Payer) - 1993
142 x 175 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Nelson Mandela - 1990
90 x 145 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Non comprendre - 1995
142.5 x 194 cm
Acrylic on canvas
Cheik Ledy

Born in 1962 in Kinto-MVuila, Republic of the Congo.
Died in 1997 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Cheik Ledy was trained in art by his elder brother Chéri Samba. Unlike the young popular artists of his generation, who were self-made and for many years lived a precarious existence, Cheik Ledy benefited greatly from the beginning of his career from his brothers experience and his access to fine art materials. Like Samba, Ledy builds his compositions with care, interspersing bilingual text (French and Lingala) and image with sophisticated ease.
Ledys narratives are imbued with spontaneity, matched by the frankness with which he tackles his frequently controversial themes. He depicted everyday incidents, street-topics (sidewalk radio as the grapevine is called), urban myths, harsh realities. Committed to the art of communication, Ledy expressed the political history and social life of his community; he also documented with rare wit his own status as a painter. But his work is not merely an illustrated chronicle or a diary of his emotional life. He casts a critical eye on his surroundings, with a caustic humor that makes his characters almost seem like caricatures. He treated without complacency not only the biting questions of his day, but also those of world history, challenging his viewers to do the same.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1996
29/09 22/12
Cheik Ledy
MAMCO Musée dart moderne et contemporain
Geneva - Switzerland
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2015
Beauté Congo 1926-2015 Congo Kitoko, Fondation Cartier, Paris, France
2011
Feb 6 - Apr 24 2011
JapanCongo
Magasin Grenoble, France
2005
29 Jan 8 May
African Art Now : Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection
Museum of Fine Arts Houston
Houston - USA
2003 2004
19/10 25/01
Sexuality & Death. Aids in Contemporary African Art
Rautenstraucht Joest Museum
Köln - Germany
2001
Un art populaire
Fondation Cartier pour lart contemporain
Paris France
1997
Lumière Noire
Centre dart de Tanlay
Yonne - France
1996
Bomoi Mobimba Toute la Vie
Palais des Beaux-Arts
Charleroi - Belgium
1993
Bonne Année
Galerie Lucien Bilinelli
Brussels Belgium
1993
La Grande Vérité, les Astres Africains
Musée des Beaux Arts
Nantes - France
1992
Out of Africa
Saatchi Gallery
London Great Britain
1991
Ny afrikansk Billedkunst
Rundetårn
Copenhagen - Denmark
1990
WAAAAW, A far African Art
Courtrai, Belgique
1991/92
Africa Hoy
Africa Now
Centro de Arte Moderno,
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Espagne
Groninger Museum,
Gröningen, Pays-Bas
Centro Cultural Arte Contemporaneo,
Mexico City, Mexique
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2015
Beauté Congo 1926-2015 Congo Kitoko, Fondation Cartier, Exhibition catalogue
2014
Post Picasso: Contemporary Reactions, Exhibition catalogue, Museu Picasso, pg 75.
2005
African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection
Exhibition catalogue. Published by Merrell in association with the MFAH.
2001
« Un art populaire » Cheik Ledy
Exhibition catalogue by André Magnin. Fondation Cartier pour lArt Contemporain, ACTE SUD. Texte en français.
1996
Bomoi Mobimba, Toute la vie
Exhibition Catalogue. 7 artistes Zaïrois. Palais des Beaux Arts. Ville de Charleroi, France.
1996
Contemporary Art of Africa
P. 162-163. Text by J. Soulillou. Edited by André Magnin & Jacques Soulillou.
Published by Harry N. Abraams, New York and Thames & Hudson, London.
1993
Kunstforum Africa Iwalewa International (122)
Afrikanische Kunst heute book
Text by A.Magnin p.165 Cheik Ledy-Cheri Samba p.306 p.308.
1993
La Grande Vérité, Les Astres Africains
Exhibition catalogue. André Magnin. Edition Musée des Beaux-Art de Nantes. Texte en français.
1993
Afrika
Kunstforum N°122, Ruppichteroth, Suisse
1992
100 % MAKE UP
Projet Mendini. Produit par Alessi.
1991
Africa Hoy
Exhibition catalogue. Text by André Magnin.Ediciones El Viso.