Election Poison - 2011

119.2 x 236.8 cm
Collage, arcylic and mixed media on canvas

HIMP - 2012

400 x 200 cm
Collage, acrylic and crayon on canvas

Hold Up - 2011

480 x 120 cm
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas

Street Art / Kuck ma - 2012

400 x 190 cm
Collage, acrylic, mixed media and crayon on canvas

Untitled - 2012

200 x 400 cm
Collage, acrylic and crayon on canvas

Untitled - 2013

125.3 x 200.5 cm
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas

Untitled - 2013

125.2 x 200.4 cm
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas

Untitled - 2015

125 x 200 cm
Acrylic and oilstick on canvas

Aboudia

Born 1983, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Lives and works in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Aboudia is noted for his large-scale, heavily layered, brutally energetic paintings that combine an innocence and spontaneity with the portrayal of a dark interior world. His urban landscapes are haunted by armed soldiers, ominous skulls and a populace hemmed in by violence and danger. Often claustrophobic and oppressive, his painting achieves a careful balance between pathos and agression, and the vitality of his style often recalls Basquiat.

The riots that followed the disputed Ivorian presidential election in late 2010 greatly influenced Aboudia's painting. As the violence escalated, leading Ivory Coast * into civil war, daily life, in particularly the capital Abidjan, was thrown into turmoil. During this period, the artist took refuge in a basement studio and began a body of work responding to the horrors of the country's devastating political situation.

Aboudia is also a master of multi-layered imagery as he mixes with great energy characters from his direct neighbourhood and fragments of found comic strips, advertising and the media. His unrestrained use of violent figuration is a welcome reminder of the power of paint to suggest the vitality and chaos of life.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2019
Masquerade, Galerie Cécile Fakhour, Dakar

2016
Môgô Dynasty, Galerie Cécile Fakhour, Abidjan

2015
Galerie Mikael Andersen, Copenhagen

2014
Trin Trin Ba-By, Jack Bell Gallery, London
Nouchi City, Galerie Cécile Fakhour, Abidjan
Pangaea: New Art from Africa and Latin America, Saatchi Gallery, LondonEthan Cohen Gallery, New York

2013

Quitte le pouvoir : New Paintings by Aboudia,
Jack Bell Gallery, London

2011
The Battle for Abidjan, Jack Bell Gallery, London

2009
Centre Culturel Franco-Guinéen, Conakry, Guinea

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2022
Bande-Annonce – La Collection Pigozzi à Cannes, Gare Maritime de Cannes, France

2019
Kubatana, Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Norway
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Marrakech, Morocco

2018
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Marrakech, Morocco

2016
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK

2015
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, New York, USA
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK

2014
Aboudia & Joel Andrianomearisoa, Galerie Mikael Andersen, Berlin
Sphère #7, GALLERIA CONTINUA, Les Moulins, Art Stage Singapore, Singapore
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK
Volta Art Fair, New York
Art Basel, Basel and Miami

2013
The FNB Joburg Art Fair, Johannesburg, South Africa

2012
Painters’ Painters, Saatchi Gallery, London - UK
Aujourd’hui je travaille avec mon petit fils, Aboudia - Galerie Cecile Fakhoury, Abidjan

2011
Les Fantomes, Jack Bell Gallery, London

2010
Arkadi, Centre Culturel Français, Abidjan
Lion’s Art, Abidjan
BICICI Bank, Abidjan

2009
Arkadi, Centre Culturel Français, Abidjan
Centre Culturel Franco-Guinéen, Conakry, Guinea
Pinceaux d’Afrique, Stockholm, Sweden

2007
Ivory Coast Palais de la Culture, Abidjan

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2019
1-54 New York
Art Africa Ltd. Fair Catalogue p.13