ABOUDIA

ABOUDIA in collaboration with Ethan Cohen Gallery

NOVEMBER 5 - DECEMBER 23, 2022

West Chelsea Contemporary is a world-class gallery offering museum-quality art in Austin, Texas, and New York City, focusing on 20th century and contemporary art predominantly in American, Asian, and European post-war movements. West Chelsea Contemporary opened in October of 2020 under the direction of Lisa Russell, who has operated this gallery since founding Russell Collection in 2002. With this gallery rebrand, her vision is for West Chelsea Contemporary to satisfy the evolving demographic and style of Austin’s culture by showcasing everything from mid-career and emerging artists to legends like KAWS, Yayoi Kusama, Keith Haring, Shepard Fairey, Andy Warhol, Blek Le Rat, Mr. Brainwash, Fiona Rae, Roy Lichtenstein, Takashi Murakami and more. West Chelsea Contemporary clients are assisted by an expert staff dedicated to providing the highest level of service

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INDEX FOREWORD.......................................................................................................................................... 1 - 2 BIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................................................... 3 - 4 CV............................................................................................................................................................... 5 - 6 AVAILABLE WORKS........................................................................................................................ 7 - 24

FOREWORD West Chelsea Contemporary is proud to present Aboudia, in collaboration with Ethan Cohen Gallery. Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, known as Aboudia, chronicles the street scene in his city of Abidjan, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire, through expressive, large-scale canvases. In recent years, Aboudia has become one of the most prominent figures in African Contemporary Art with his works garnering international acclaim. This solo exhibition features six new works created by the artist over the last year.

Aboudia's distinctive style, which has drawn comparisons with the iconic work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, finds inspiration in the collision of the graffiti culture of Abidjan and the traditional wood carvings of West Africa. Aboudia calls this style 'nouchi', a reference to the slang spoken in the streets of Abidjan, which is a hybrid of Ivorian and French vocabulary. Since the 2011 Ivorian civil war, the artist’s urban landscapes have been haunted by trauma; armed soldiers, ominous skulls, and a populace hemmed in by danger. Recent work continues to grapple with the hardships of daily life, and the social inequalities of the downtown environment. Through his work, Aboudia regularly returns to the subject of childhood and childlike innocence as a narrative voice for society.

Often claustrophobic and oppressive, his paintings achieve a careful balance between pathos and aggression. While much of his recurring imagery speaks to unthinkable brutality, Aboudia’s bright color palettes reinforce the enduring innocence of the children who live amid the chaos. Aboudia is particularly interested in the link between these marginalized children and graffiti as a mode of communication, which allows them to “express what [is] deep within them.”

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Much like the murals created by the street kids he portrays, Aboudia’s own works often incorporate found materials such as newspapers and magazine cutouts to create his heavily layered canvases mixing collage, acrylic paint, and oil stick. “I pick them up from the street,” he says. “Out of rubbish bins, off the pavement. I use cardboard, charcoal and pencil, to reflect the reality of these children. They draw their dreams using chalk and charcoal and anything else they can find.”

Today, Aboudia is one of the biggest names in contemporary African art; in 2021 he was listed as one of the top ten most sold living artists and this past year the artist represented the Ivory Coast at the Venice Biennale. Aboudia has exhibited widely across Côte d’Ivoire and in London, Paris, New York, and Marrakesh, among other international cities. His works have been bought by some of the world’s most established collectors, including Jean Pigozzi, Frank Cohen, and Charles Saatchi, who featured Aboudia’s works in the Pangea exhibition in 2014 at his namesake gallery in London.

The vivid colors, dynamism, and raw authenticity of Aboudia’s work create palpable energy and a distinct visual universe of phantasmagorical visions. West Chelsea Contemporary is honored to present, in collaboration with Ethan Cohen Gallery, these six new paintings by one of the most exciting contemporary artists who has proved himself as the voice for his generation.

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ABOUDIA Ivorian, b. 1983

Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, known as Aboudia, chronicles the street scene in his city of Abidjan, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire. In his vibrant, large-scale mixed-media paintings and drawings, which recall those of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Aboudia takes inspiration from the aesthetics of graffiti and traditional African carvings.

He has depicted youths in his city’s toughest neighborhoods and the violent postelection conflict that ravaged Abidjan in 2011. While his recurring skull, soldier, and bullet motifs speak to unthinkable trauma and brutality, Aboudia’s bright color palettes reinforce the enduring innocence of the children who live amid the chaos. Aboudia has exhibited widely across Côte d’Ivoire and in London, Paris, New York, and Marrakesh, among other cities. His work has been acquired by Saatchi Gallery, the Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art, and the Nevada Museum of Art, and on the secondary market, it has sold for six figures.

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ABOUDIA Ivorian, b. 1983

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2022

Enjaillement à Babi, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Paris, France

2021

Nouchi Graffiti, Ethan Cohen Gallery, New York, NY Aboudia, the Dinka, and the Gogo, Ethan Cohen Gallery, New York, NY Diable Rouge, Jack Bell Gallery

2020

Tete de bit, Jack Bell Gallery, London

2019

Anges Déchus, Jack Bell Gallery, London Portraits des Nouchis, Jack Bell Gallery, London

2018

Djoly Du Mogoba, Jack Bell Gallery, London

2017

Aboudia, Gawa Dangoro, Jack Bell Gallery, London Where Are You Diana Fardon?, Ethan Cohen Gallery, New York Light & Dark, Thompson Gallery, Ethan Cohen Talking Faces, Piasa, Paris

2016

Talking Heads, Ethan Cohen, New York, NY I HAVE A DREAM at Out of Africa Gallery, Barcelona Aboudia, Bombe Fantome, Jack Bell Gallery, London Môgô Dynasty, Galerie Cecile Fakhoury, Abidjan

2015

Nouchi Dream, Ethan Cohen New York Sossoroh Urbain, Jack Bell Gallery, London

2014

African Dawn, Ethan Cohen New York Trin Trin Ba-By, Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK

2013

Quitte Le Pouvoir, Jack Bell Gallery, London

2012

Les Derniers Travaux d’Aboudia, Galerie Cecile Fakhoury, Abidjan

2011

The Battle for Abidjan, Jack Bell Gallery, London Solo exposition at Goethe-Institute, Johannesburg

2009

Solo exhibition at Centre Culturel Franco-Guinéen, Conakry, Guinea

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SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2022

La Biennale Di Venezia, Ivory Coast Pavilion, The Dreams of A Story, Vencie

2021

Art Formula, Whatever Artspace, Hong Kong Art Miami, Ethan Cohen Gallery The Armory Show, Helwaser Gallery

2019

Winter Group Show, Out of African Gallery, Barcelona 1-54 Marrakech, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Morocco

2018 2017

VOLTA Basel 14, Ethan Cohen Gallery, Basel, Switzerland Devil in Disguise, Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK Regarding Africa: Contemporary Art & Afro-Futurism, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London

2015 2014

PANGEA II, Saatchi Gallery, London PANGEA, Saatchi Gallery, London

ACTIVITY 2018 2011

Opened the Aboudia Foundation, Bingerville, Côte d'Ivoire Honorary mention in German TV ZDF documentary about the postelection crisis in Ivory Coast (ZDF Infokanal)

MUSEUM / PRIVATE COLLECTIONS Saatchi Gallery collection, UK Jean Pigozzi collection François Pinault collection Olympic Games 2012 Palais de la Culture, Abidjan Centre Culturel Franco-Guinéen, Conakry, Guinea Embassy of Ivory Coast, Conakry, Guinea Governor of Abidjan City Hall of Bingerville, Abidjan The BICICI bank Simon de Pury collection The Royal Collection of the King of Morocco Nevada Museum New York Tel Aviv Museum of Art 6

Aboudia Trois Soeurs Et Moi (Three Sisters And Me), 2022 Acrylic, spray paint, collage, and oil stick on canvas 59 x 59 in

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Aboudia La Fête Du Samedi Soir (Saturday Night Party), 2022 Acrylic, spray paint, collage, and oil stick on canvas 59 x 48 in

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Aboudia Orange Is The New Black (Orange Est Le Nouveau Noir), 2022 Acrylic, spray paint, collage, and oil stick on canvas 48 x 48 in

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Aboudia Quand perdons-nous notre innocence (When do we lose our innocence), 2022 Acrylic, spray paint, collage, and oil stick on canvas 48 x 48 in

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Aboudia Prends Cinq (Take Five), 2022 Acrylic, spray paint, collage, and oil stick on canvas 48 x 59 in

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Aboudia Finest Hour (La Plus Belle Heure), 2022 Acrylic, spray paint, collage, and oil stick on canvas 59 x 59 in

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Aboudia Untitled, 2016 Mixed media on canvas 45 x 77 in

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Aboudia Les Enfants d'Abidjan Rouge-Orange, 2021 Acrylic and oil stick on canvas 59 x 118 in

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Aboudia Untitled, 2013 Acrylic and mixed media on canvas 37 x 59 in

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