Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, Aboudia, was born on October 21, 1983 in Abendourou, 200km from Abidjan and is a contemporary American-Ivorian artist.

He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and works between Abidjan and New York. He approached art when he was in primary school. Since the age of 15, Abdoulaye has been alone as an artist. He was kicked out of his childhood home by his father when it became known that Abdoulaye wanted to become an artist.

His mother gave him the last of his savings to complete a scholarship.

In 2003 he graduated from the School of Applied Arts  in Bingerville and in 2005 he graduated from the Institut des Arts in Abidjan.
Between 2007 and 2008 Aboudia marched around Bingerville and the center of Abidjan and their circuit of galleries, not finding success. In the same years, foreign collectors and gallerists begin to buy his works.

The political tensions of the country of those years allowed him to produce many works: he first  reached an international audience during the siege of Abidjan in 2011, when the conflict approached his studio.

He collaborates with internationally renowned artists such as Frédéric Bruly Bouabré (2012) and Christian Furr (2017) producing works in New York, London and Abidjan. In 2012 and 2014, Abdoulaye’s work was exhibited in the Ivory Coast, Aboudia is influenced by a synthesis of  American avant-garde traditions and graffiti in the communities in which he lives.

Many in the art world relate his work to that of Jean-Michel Basquiat, as both mix African-American connotations in their paintings.
In fact, Aboudia’s work uses both indirect and direct references to African and Western styles. While some artists chose to flee the civil war, Aboudia decided to stay and continue working despite the danger.

Many of his paintings are in fact the result of what the war had brought, and that left us hopeful, imagine, even if he never wanted to define himself as a “war painter”.

Some of his paintings were also inspired by footage he saw on the news or on the Internet. His body of work, which he describes as “nouchi”, is a tribute to the essence of dreams and language.

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Much of his work, which is seen as too avant-garde for local Ivorian tastes, has depopulated the rest of the world.  The disapproval of his people did not deflect his decision to represent this national crisis in his paintings.

After the outbreak of war, the themes of his painting changed. Now, he returns to his original themes which are childhood in the streets, poverty and child soldiers. Some of his works have been exhibited in Basel, Miami, New York, Singapore and Art Central in Hong Kong. He has also made various solo exhibitions with galleries in New York, London, Barcelona, Copenhagen and more.

EXHIBITIONS

Solo exhibitions

2021- “Tokyo” – Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

2018-“Djoly du Mogoba” – Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK.

2017- “Talking Faces” – Piasa, Paris, France

“Gawa Dangoro” – Jack Bell Gallery – London, UK.

2016- “I have a dream” – OOA Gallery, Barcelona, Spain

“Môgô Dynasty” – Cécile Fakhoury Gallery, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

“Bombe fantôme” – Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK

“Talking heads” – Ethan Cohen Gallery, New York, USA

“Chap Chap” – Art Twenty-One, Lagos, Nigeria

2015- “Sossoroh urbain” – Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK

2014- “Nouchi City” – Cécile Fakhoury Gallery, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

“African Dawn | ABOUDIA” – Ethan Cohen Gallery, New York, USA

“Trin Trin Ba-By” – Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK

2013-“Quitte le pouvoir: New Paintings by Aboudia” – Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK

2012- «Aujourd’hui, je travaille avec mon petit-fils Aboudia » duo show with Frederic Bruly Bouabre – Cécile Fakhoury Gallery, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

2011- “Travaux récents” – Le Lab 2.0 Gallery, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

-Goethe-Institut, Johannesburg, South Africa

-“The Battle For Abidjan” – Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK

2009- Centre Culturel Français, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

-Centre Culturel Français, Conakry, Guinea

 

Group exhibitions

2018- “Angels” – OOA Gallery, Barcelona, Spain

-Art X – OOA Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria

-“Rassemblement” – Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK

-1:54 – Cécile Fakhoury Gallery, Marrakech, Morocco

2017- “Summer Exhibition” – Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK

-“Regarding Africa: Contemporary Art and Afro-Futurism” – Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israël

-“AKAA” – OOA Gallery, Paris, France

-Salon Zürcher – OOA Gallery, Paris, France

2016- 1:54 – Cécile Fakhoury Gallery, London, UK

-“Dakar-Martigny: Hommage à la Biennale d’Art contemporain” – Martigny, Switzerland

2015- 1:54 – Cécile Fakhoury Gallery, Pioneer Works, Brooklyn, USA

-“Pangaea II: New Art from Africa And Latin America” – Saatchi Gallery, London, UK

-“Studio Lumiere” – Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK

2014- Sphères #7, Continua Gallery, Les Moulins, France

-1:54 – Cécile Fakhoury Gallery, Somerset House, London, UK

-Group Show Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

-“Pangaea: New Art From Africa And Latin America” – Saatchi Gallery, London, UK

-Dak’Art Off – Group Show Cécile Fakhoury Gallery, La Fondation Total, Dakar, Senegal

2013- “In all Cases; A Collection Selection” – Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, USA

2012- “Aujourd’hui je travaille avec mon petit fils Aboudia” (in collaboration with Frédéric Bruly Bouabré) – Cécile Fakhoury Gallery, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

-Dak’Art Off – Eiffage, Dakar, Senegal

2011- Amani – Abidjan, Ivory Coast

-Salon International des Arts Plastiques – Abidjan, Ivory Coast

-“Revue de l’Art Moderne et Contemporain” – Rotonde des Arts, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

-“Les Fantômes” – Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK

2010- “Arkadi, 13th edition” – Centre culturel français, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

-“Lion’s Art” – Abidjan, Ivory Coast

-“Amis des arts, 6th editiom” – BICICI Bank, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

-“50e Journée de célébration de l’indépendance de la Côte d’Ivoire”, Ivory Coast

2009- “Pinceaux d’Afrique” – Stockholm, Sweden

-Arkadi, 12th edition, Centre Culturel Français, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

2007- Palais de la Culture – Abidjan, Ivory Coast