Tchif – Signs of Life

Tchif – Signs of Life 10/9 - 2/11/2014

Tchif – Signs of Life

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The artist Tchif (Benin) and Sorella Acosta, Director of the Out of Africa gallery at Dak’Art 2014

Tchif – Signs of Life

Tchif, the search for equilibrium among chaos His highly coloured canvases convey the impression of an aerial view of ancient landscapes, where his traces are like memories of successive steps on earth. The artist maintains a tactile almost sensual relationship with matter.

His canvases include sewn material, jute fibers ingrained with pigments, string and clay. Tchif plays with the rough surfaces of his pieces, preferring to feel and work them by hand, to better experience and live his creations.

Ocres, reds, blues and browns keep returning us back to earth, to nature, to life. Each painting is an orgy of colour; a coloured coupling that results in landscapes.

His art is an ode to the land, to thought, to life and to existentialism.

Tchif, la búsqueda del equilibrio en el caos Sus obras, muy coloreadas, dan la impresión de un sobrevuelo de paisajes rupestres, en los cuales los rastros son como recuerdos de los sucesivos pasos sobre la Tierra. El artista mantiene una relación táctil, casi sensual, con la materia. Sus telas están constituidas por tejidos cosidos, fibras integradas en los pigmentos, cuerda y arcilla. Tchif juega con las asperezas del soporte, que le gusta trabajar y acariciar con las manos para vivir así su obra.

Los ocres, los rojos, los azules y los marrones nos devuelven constantemente a la Tierra, a la naturaleza y a la vida.

Cada cuadro es una orgía de color, una mezcla cromática que crea paisajes.

Su arte es una oda a la Tierra, al pensamiento, a la vida y a la existencia.

Tchif, la quête de l’équilibre dans le chaos Ses tableaux, très colorés, donnent l’impression d’un survol de paysages rupestres, où des traces sont comme des souvenirs des passages successifs sur la terre. L’artiste entretient un rapport tactile, presque sensuel avec la matière. Ses toiles sont constituées de tissus cousus, de fibres intégrées aux pigments, de corde, d’argile. Tchif joue avec les aspérités de son support qu’il aime travailler à la main, le caresser pour mieux sentir vivre l’œuvre.

Les ocres, les rouges, les bleus et les bruns nous renvoient constamment à la terre, à la nature et à la vie. Chaque tableau est une orgie de couleurs, un mélange chromatique qui crée des paysages.

Son art est une ode à la terre, à la vie et à l’existentialisme.

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Tchif – Signs of Life

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Vague orange – 2014 – 80cm H x 80cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Élément terre – 2014 – 110cm H x 120cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Élément feu – 2014 – 110cm H x 120cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Armée rouge – 2014 – 90cm H x 100cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Chemin de feu – 2014 – 90cm H x 100cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Terre jaune Trait noir – 2014 – 80cm H x 80cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Noir-vanille – 2013 – 100cm H x 100cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Ciel noir – 2014 – 100cm H x 100cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Chemin d’eau – 2014 – 90cm H x 100cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Les larmes colorées 2 – 2014 – 120cm H x 120cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Earth life – 2013 – 150cm H x 150cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Les larmes colorées – 2014 – 120cm H x 120cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Chemin – 2014 – 110cm H x 120cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Ligne rose – 2013 – 100cm H x 100cm W – Acrylic and pigments on canvas

Tchif – Signs of Life

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Solo exhibitions

Group Exhibitions

1995: «Zemidjans» l’Atelier Gallery – Cotonou, Benin

1995: ABC Expo – CCF – Cotonou, Benin

1996: GTZ – Cotonou, Benin

1996: «Contre le G7» – Chomarat Gallery – Lyon, France

1997: MJC – Vieux Lyon, France 1998: Espace Rivage Gallery – Paris, France

1997: «Comme dirait l’autre», Off Biennal of Contemporary Art – Lyon, France

1998: «Rêve d’un marabout» – French Embassy – Cotonou, Benin

1997: «Zeitgenossische kunst aus Africa» – Frankfurt, Germany

1999: «Visages d’Afrique» – ABC Gallery – Dijon, France

1997: «Mémoire d’esclave» – Geneva, Switzerland

1999: «Autocritique» French Cultural Centre – Cotonou, Benin

1999: Pierre Gallery – Paris, France

2001: Elf Village – Port Harcourt, Nigeria

1999: Exhibition Boulev’art – Cotonou, Benin

2002: Regards Croisés Gallery – Paris, France

1999: Alliance Française – Lagos, Nigeria

2002: Contemporary Art Gallery – Isle-sur-Sorgue, France

2000: «L’harmattan 2000», 1st Benin Art Fair – Cotonou, Benin

2003: IESA – Paris, France 2004: Alizé Gallery – Brussels, Belgium

2001: «Tchif, Quenum, Zinkpé, 3 young artists from Benin», Travelling exhibition to Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast

2004: Huijs Basten Gallery – Asbeck-Groenlo, The Netherlands

2001: International Art Fair – Abidjan, Ivory Coast

2007: Exhibition «Musée des Arts Derniers» – Paris, France

2002: Official Selection «Dak’Art 2002», Biennal of Contemporary Art - Dakar, Senegal

2008: Cardinal Gallery – Ajaccio, Corsica 2010: Foot Culture, Photographic Art Installation – Espace Tchif – Cotonou, Benin

2002: ULB Museum of Modern Art – Brussels, Belgium

2012: Exhibition/Artist in residence – Kurú, Guayana

2004: FIAD, Les Afriques – Musée des Arts Derniers – Paris, France

2013: MODE is ART – Cotonou, Benin

2004: Biennal of Contemporary Art – Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

2014: Dak’Art 2014 – Arte Gallery – Dakar – Senegal

2004: «Africas» – Raquel Arnaud Gallery – Sao Paulo, Brazil

2014: Signs of Life – Out of Africa Gallery – Sitges (Barcelona), Spain

2005: Chiefs and Spirits Gallery – Den Haag, The Netherlands

2002: Group Exhibition 8 artists – Pontigny, France

2007: Institute for African Studies – Leiden, The Netherlands 2007: Afriques – Espaces Humanités – Paris, France 2008: «O Bénin está ainda là» – Museu Afro-Brasil – Sao Paulo, Brazil 2008: Créafrique 3 Méjannes – Le Clap, France 2008: Expresiones Africanas – Fundación Daniel Suarez – Caracas, Venezuela

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Tchif – Signs of Life

Collections 2008: Espace d’Art – Centre Culturel Jacques Brel – Thionville, France

France

- Jean-Paul Blachère Foundation – Apt

2008: 2nd Contemporary Art Fair – Brussels, Belgium

- Société Générale

2008: Bénin Corps et Âme – Multimedia library – Melun, France

- Total

2008: Fondation Zinsou – Cotonou, Benin

- AAD Foundation – Léridon

2008: Un mundo «Toucouleur» – Espace Landowski – Boulogne Billancourt, France

The Netherlands - Afrika Museum

2009: Africa ancestral e contemporanea – Centro municipal del arte helio oitica – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

- Wageningen University (Top Institute Food and Nutrition)

2010: Regards Bénin – Cotonou, Benin 2012: Bienal Benin – Cotonou, Benin

2013: «Earth Matters» – National Museum of African Art / Smithsonian Institution – Washington, USA

Brazil

2013-2014: Blank Canvas Art Twenty one – Lagos, Nigeria

- Alpha Accounts – Arnhem

- Museo Afro-Brasil de Sao-Paulo

2014: Art Fair DUBAI 2014, United Arab Emirates

USA

2014: Monumental Africa – Maestri d’Africa in terra d’Umbria – Centro Espositivo Rocca Paolina Perugia, Italy

2014: Earth day Flower Museum – Los Angeles, USA

Republic of Benin

- National Museum of African Art/Smithsonian Institution – Washington DC

2014: Koton’oo Dak’Art OFF – Arte Gallery – Dakar, Senegal

- Edil-group BOA

2014: «Fleuve en couleurs» – Saint-Louis, Senegal

- Sobebra Fundation Zinsou

2014: «Vivres» – Domaine de Chamarande – Essonne, France 2014: «Africa-Africans» – Museo Afro-Brésil – Sao Paolo, Brazil

Purchases 2007: Hotel Drouot Richelieu 2013: Auction Room London

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contemporary art – tribal art - recycled art – ethnic pieces

Out of Africa Gallery Carrer Major 7, corner with Carrer Nou 08870 Sitges (Barcelona) – Spain www.galeria-out-of-africa.com Galeria Out of Africa

Sorella Acosta, Director sorella@galeria-out-of-africa.com +34 618 356 351