ABOUDIA

ABOUDIA

NOVEMBER 5 -

DECEMBER 23, 2022

in collaboration with Ethan Cohen Gallery

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

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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Ivorian, b. 1983 ABOUDIA

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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1983 ABOUDIA

SOLO EXHIBITIONS Ivorian, b.

Enjaillement à Babi, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Paris, France

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

Tete de bit, Jack Bell Gallery, London

Anges Déchus, Jack Bell Gallery, London

Portraits des Nouchis, Jack Bell Gallery, London

Djoly Du Mogoba, Jack Bell Gallery, London

Aboudia, Gawa Dangoro, Jack Bell Gallery, London

Where Are You Diana Fardon?, Ethan Cohen Gallery, New York Light &

Talking Faces, Piasa, Paris

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

Nouchi Dream, Ethan Cohen New York

Sossoroh Urbain, Jack Bell Gallery, London

African Dawn, Ethan Cohen New York

Trin Trin Ba-By, Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK

Quitte Le Pouvoir, Jack Bell Gallery, London

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

The Battle for Abidjan, Jack Bell Gallery, London

Solo exposition at Goethe-Institute, Johannesburg

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Solo exhibition at Centre Culturel Franco-Guinéen, Conakry, Guinea 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2009

Dark, Thompson Gallery, Ethan Cohen

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2022 2021

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

2015

Art Formula, Whatever Artspace, Hong Kong

Art Miami, Ethan Cohen Gallery

The Armory Show, Helwaser Gallery

Winter Group Show, Out of African Gallery, Barcelona

1-54 Marrakech, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Morocco

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

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 post-

Vencie election 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

2019 2018 2017

2014 6

Aboudia

Trois Soeurs Et Moi (Three Sisters And Me), 2022