Untitled - 1995

131 x 174 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Untitled - 1993

120 x 210 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Untitled - 1993

148 x 217 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Untitled - 1993

234 x 154 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Untitled - 1994

143 x 214 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Untitled - 1995

143 x 212 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Untitled - 1995

127 x 196 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Untitled - 1995

196 x 158 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Untitled - No date

157 x 195 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Untitled - 1995

100 x 65 cm
Acrylic on paper

Untitled - 1995

100 x 65 cm
Acrylic on paper

Untitled - No date

100 x 65 cm
Acrylic on cardboard

Untitled - 1995

100 x 65 cm
Acrylic on paper

Untitled - 1995

100 X 65 cm
Acrylic on paper

Zinsou

Born 1958, Cotonou, Benin

Died in Cotonou, Benin, 2003

Born a twin into Fon culture, Zinsou was brought into the world with a particularly rich heritage. The name zinsou is traditionally given to male twins, who are considered to be geniuses and their birth and existence is heavily interwoven with myths. In the collective imagination, they are perceived as phenomenal beings, a gift from the Gods. They are said to be haunted by the spirits of creativity. They discern things that are inaccessible to ordinary mortals and are capable of communicating with extra-sensory worlds. Among the Fon and the Yoruba, they are treated with a respect that is close to worship.

His representational paintings, with their simplistic, even childish shapes and colours, are almost reminiscent of art brut or Outsider Art. They are mostly of strange creatures, created spontaneously and soberly, without any prior sketching. Both in his painting, and his lifestyle in Benin, he is a genuine outside, which is probably why Zinsou has been ostracized under the convenient alibi of madness. Zinsou works with total freedom and insouciance. His brilliant paintings are characterized by great originality and complete strangeness. They contain no message, and perhaps their only secret is their explosive beauty, which goes way beyond the boundaries of “normality.”

With contributions from Simon Agbe-Capko

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2005

Arts of Africa

Grimaldi Forum

Monaco - France

2005

African Art Now : Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection

Museum of Fine Art Houston

Houston – USA

1998

BENIN / BENIN

TUSSEN GISTEREN / MORGEN

Van Reekum Museum

Apeldoorn, Holland.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

2005

African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection

Exhibition catalogue. Published by Merrell.

1996

Contemporary Art of Africa

Territory : Zinsou p.34-36, text in English by Simon Agbe-Capko.

Edited by André Magnin & Jacques Soulillou

Publisher Harry N. Abraams.

1995

"Revue Noire" African Contemporary Art, N°18/ BENIN

Zinsou by Simon Njami, bilingual text French, English.