Gopal dagnogo press release uk

PRESS RELEASE

“(NOT SO) STILL LIVES” GOPAL DAGNOGO (Ivory Coast – Painting) 19th April - 31st May 2015

March 2015 Galería Out of Africa Carrer Major 7 – Carrer Nou 08870 Sitges (Barcelona) www.galeria-out-of-africa.com – sorella@galeria-out-of-africa.com - +34 618 356 351

(NOT SO) STILL LIVES Opening April 19th and showing until the 31st May 2015, Out of Africa gallery of Sitges (Barcelona) hosts “(Not so) Still Lives”, an exhibition of recent work by Ivory Coast painter Gopal Dagnogo.

Gopal Dagnogo, Abidjan 1973, was born into an artistic family.

With an Ivorian father and a French mother who was a teacher at the Abidjan School of Fine Arts, to which all three brothers were sent, it was only natural that Gopal should paint.

Moving to Bordeaux in 1991 to obtain his BA in Fine Art and following posterior studies of Japanese, he feels an even stronger urge to continue to paint and sculpt. In 1997 Dagnogo Gopal Dagnogo - Ivory Coast, 1973 - Painter

returns to Africa and lives in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Here he learns the skills of the traditional bronze artists and exhibits his work in the French Cultural Centre of the capital.

He returns to France in 2000 and moves to Paris in 2001 where for the lack of a studio he must stop painting temporarily. In 2007 he is invited to the “Festival Les Afrikales » in Normandy where the association Art Plume de Saint-Lô, offers him a studio and residency which continues until 2009.

In September 2011 Dagnogo sets up studio in Vincennes in the outskirts of Paris, where he works and showcases his art. He is represented by various European galleries, among them Eric Dumont of Troyes, No Smoking of Strasbourg, Reg’artconfrontations of Rouen and Galerie Le Sud of Zürich.

Spotted at Dak’Art 2014 Biennial of Contemporary Art, by the

Gopal Dagnogo – Still life with undulating elements, 2013 Acrylic and pastels on canvas 100 x 100 cm

Out of Africa gallery, Gopal Dagnogo is currently preparing his first exhibition for the Spanish public.

Gopal invents his own vision of the world

Following various creative stays in Burkina Faso, the artist finds his roots and synthetizes his Occidental and African cultures, integrating the dimension of the sacred as an inner need to question its relationship with the world.

Dagnogo uses his unique palette of vibrant yet soft colours to create his own vision of the world using an invented lyrical imagery that challenges a conscience critical of reality.

Memory, conscience, recollections; the confused images are layered, superimposed; they clash and are sometimes isolated.

Gopal Dagnogo – End of reign 3, 2013 - Acrylic and pastels on canvas – 150 x 150 cm

The artist revisits a form of still life where objects and improbable ideas are in confrontation, little daily scenes in which a pair of Converse sneakers dialogue with a Louis XV chair, red mullet are stretched out beside soda cans, wallpaper is invited to the table.

Dagnogo creates an overlay of contemporary mythology (a projection of imaginary values about a social phenomenon or on consumer goods) to underline in an increasingly policed, more violent and less tolerant world, the internal contradictions and paradoxes that hammer his conscience into action.

By means of his choice of colours and materials, the artist conveys his contemporary vision of Africa. Gopal's sensual painting rich in colour and emotion invites the viewer to caress textures and the incrusted objects.

Gopal Dagnogo – Animal farm nº3, 2013 - Acrylic and pastels on canvas – 120 x 100 cm

Figuration and abstraction Dagnogo's paintings are often large-scale works and full of colour.

Figuration and abstraction wrestle for predominance. The canvases are painted in layers with a high degree of transparency. Sometimes the figurative elements are painted on lower layers, but then sometimes these are on top. The bottom layers always remain visible. This not only enables him to bring depth into his work, but also confers mystery.

Partially hidden behind or above the carefree brushstrokes objects or animals can be seen, the presence of which is not always immediately evident. Sneakers, sandals, Louis XV furniture, chickens, liquor bottles, glasses, beer cans, ketchup and Tabasco bottles... sometimes the object is just outlined, other times it is fully coloured in. Cryptic texts may be distinguished on occasion, dimly filtering through.

Gopal Dagnogo – Appetizer 'vache qui rit', 2013 Acrylic and pastels on canvas - 41 x 33 cm

For Dagnogo, these everyday objects have a meaning; they are symbols of a society and make reference to his country of origin, Ivory Coast. The history of his country since independence has seen the enormous gap between rich and poor grow, the violence that has ravaged the country, the almost permanent war between the people in power and those who have nothing. Gopal paints a consumer society that benefits a privileged few, a society that places possessions above true human values, violence over civilisation, intolerance before respect. This social context gives a very personal relevance to the objects featured in his paintings.

Gopal 's work carries a charge of personal history, however by also embracing abstraction, his canvases have a universal appeal.

For more information, kindly contact:

Gopal Dagnogo – Still life and soluble coffee, 2013 Acrylic and pastels on canvas

Sorella Acosta Galería Out of Africa www.galeria-out-of-africa.com sorella@galeria-out-of-africa.com Tel.: +34 618 356 351

Solo Exhibitions 2014 • Galerie Manufacture 45, Rouen • Galerie Eric Dumont, Troyes 2012 • Council of the European Parliament, Strasbourg • Galerie Diversity, Abidjan • Galerie No Smoking, Strasbourg • Galerie Reg’Arts Confrontations, Rouen 2011 • Galerie Reg’art Confrontations, Rouen • Galerie Le Sud, Zürich • Galerie Cyème, Paris 2010 • Galerie No Smoking, Strasbourg • Galerie Kunstwerkraum, Winterthur, Suisse 2009 • Moulin du Roc, National Stage of Niort 2006 • Espace Gondwana, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso • Carrefour des Arts, Brecey 2002 • Galerie Escalier Rouge, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso 1998 • Galerie Zaka, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Group Exhibitions

2013 • Cotroceni National Museum, Bucharest, Romania • International Biennial of Painting of Chisinau, Moldavia • UNESCO headquarters, Paris, France • UNESCO regional office, Venice, Italy • Arkadi, 17th edition, French Institute of Abidjan 2012 • Andorra Art Camp 2012, sponsored by UNESCO, Andorra • Sheraton Hotel Kuwait City, sponsored by the Ministry of Information of Kuwait • artÄf la frontiera artelor, Romanian Cultural Institute, Budapest, Hungary • International Painting Symposium, Herczeg Foundation, Garana 2012, Romania • 7th Edition Totem International Exhibition, Târgu Mures, Romania 2011 • International Symposium Ostraka Art Festival, Sharm elSheikh, Egypt • Timisoara Art Museum, Romania, organized by the Rubin Foundation • Timisoara Art Museum, International Painting Symposium, Garana 2011 • Arts event in « Les passerelles », organized by the town of Pontault-Combault (Awarded 1st Prize in the category of Professional Artists & Students of Fine Art), France 2010 • « 7 capital sins » Galerie No Smoking, Strasbourg • Symposium « Taches-Tâches », Saint-Lô, France 2009 • Galerie Le Sud, Zurich, Switzerland • Triptyque, Angers Town Hall, France • Galerie Pierre-Michel D., Paris, France

2014 • Dak’art, 11th Biennial of Contemporary Art, Dakar, Senegal 2008 • Art OMI Residency, Ghent, Nueva York, USA • Les Essentiels, Saint-Lô Cultural Centre, France • 1st Biennial of Kampala, Finalists Exhibition, Kampala, Uganda • 5th International Maiden Tour Festival, Baku, 2007 Azerbaijan • Maif Exhibition Hall, Niort, France • Autumn show, Town Hall, 11th Arrondissement, Paris, France

• Les Nouvelles Métamorphoses, La Mothe StHéray & St-Marc-La-Lande, France 2005 • Church of St Sauveur, Caen, invited to “Les Afrikales” Festival, France • Musée des arts derniers, Paris, France • Galerie Pierre-Michel D., Paris, France 2000 • Lucie Faure Hall, National Assembly, Paris, France 1999 • Exhibition « der Brücke », Mannheim, Germany 1998 • French Cultural Institute, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso • Symposium « Translacje », Art Collection of the end of the century, Piotrkow Tribunalsky, Poland 1995 • Sifcom Comafrique Award, Exhibition in the French Cultural Institute of Abidjan, Ivory Coast