MAGNIN-A Gallery is pleased to present Amadou Sanogo’s second solo exhibi- tion. Yebali Lakali [Telling the invisible], will unveil from September 7 his latest works and will be accompanied by a catalog.
Born in 1977 in Segou, Mali, Amadou Sanogo is Senoufo but grew up with Bam- bara culture and philosophy. He draws on this tradition and integrates it into his paintings. Often consisting of a central character standing out against a mono- chrome background, his singular work explores universal questions. According to Simon Njami: “Each work corresponds to a kind of story through which the artist metaphorically comments on the state of the world. And it is perhaps in this form of narration that what could be termed his Africanity, for want of a better word, is revealed. Always with plain backgrounds on which characters are superimposed. In this mise en abyme there is always a frame within the frame, like the decors that studio photographers once used. The framing spe- cifies the action, points it out to our gaze. The canvas is a screen and the action a film projected onto it. The colors are never harsh, they all contain the softness of pastels. The characters are interchangeable silhouettes. It is a figuration that leaves the figures in intentional anonymity. They could be anyone: Africans, Eu- ropeans, Asians. And even if the proverbs—real or made up for the occasion— have identifiable accents, their meaning is echoed throughout humankind”. (In Une parole, un engagement, exhibition catalog Amadou Sanogo, Yebali Lakali, Galerie MAGNIN-A, septembre 2023)
Political, social and philosophical, Amadou Sanogo’s work conveys contempo- rary realities. “The hardest part is finding a harmony in the painting that will let the public understand what I am trying to say. Transmitting a truth is all that matters, the rest is just conventions. I don’t seek to make my works beautiful, that’s not my aim. Beauty fades fast, I’m not interested in that, I don’t think all works are made to be appreciated. I even think that some should disturb”.
A unifying force, he created in 2014 the Atelier Badalian, a collaborative organi- zation designed to offer young Malian artists a place for expression and crea- tion. Today, Amadou Sanogo is focusing on the construction of the Makoro cen- ter in Bamako, a multi-purpose space, residency, workshop and art center, to support the local art scene and to welcome artists from the continent.
Solo shows
| 2023 | Amadou Sanogo, Yebali Lakali, Galerie MAGNIN-A, Paris, France |
| 2020 | De Paroles en paraboles, on se sert, La Criée, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Rennes, France |
| 2019 | Amadou Sanogo, Galerie MAGNIN-A, Paris, France |
| 2017 | Amadou Sanogo, Les points de l’individu, Voice Gallery, Marrakech, Maroc |
| 2016 | Amadou Sanogo, Galerie Kristin Hjellegjerde, Londres, United Kingdom |
| 2015 | Amadou Sanogo, Chapelle des Dames Blanches, La Rochelle, France |
| 2014 | L’homme du présent, Institut Français de Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso |
| 2013 | Le Reflet, Amadou Sanogo, Institut Français de Bamako, Bamako, Mali |
| 2011 | Le trait, Centre Culturel Français de Bamako, Bamako, Mali |
| Amadou Sanogo, Centre culturel Le Cercles des voyageurs, Bruxelles, Belgium | |
| Amadou Sanogo, Alliance franco-malienne de Mopti, Mopti, Mali | |
| 2010 | Amadou Sanogo : un artiste en résidence, dans le cadre du projet « Africa Light », Migrations |
| Culturelles, Aquitaine Afrique (MC2a), Bordeaux, France |
Collective shows
2023 Constellation, Galerie MAGNIN-A, Paris, France
2021 Vive l’Afrique! Les découvertes d’André Magnin, La Fab., Paris, France 2020 Alpha Crucis, Musée Astrup Fearnley, Oslo, Norway
2018 Des hommes et des totems, Galerie du manège, Institut français de Dakar, Sénégal African Passions, Palais Cadaval, Evora, Portugal
2017 Afrique, Espace Saint-Mengold, Huy, Belgium
Le Havre – Dakar, partager la mémoire, Musée du Havre, France
On aime l’art…!! Un choix d’Éric Mézil parmi les œuvres de la Collection agnès b., Collection Lambert en Avignon, France
Seydou Camara – Amadou Sanogo; The manuscripts, Galerie Flach, Stockholm, Sweden Afrique d’aujourd’hui, H2M – Espace d’art contemporain, Bourg-en-Bresse, France South Africa, BHV Marais, Paris, France
2015 Folk Art Africain ?, FRAC Aquitaine, Bordeaux, France
Bi-Mali (le Mali contemporain), Rotonde des arts contemporains, Galerie Nour Al Hayat, Abidjan, Ivorian Coast
2013 Peintres, exposition dans le cadre d’Africajarc, festival des cultures africaines, Cajarc, France 2012 Un monde l’autre, artistes chinois et européens, Grands Salons d’Exposition. Mairie du 13ème,
We Face Forward, Art from west Africa Today, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester Museos y Modernidad en Tránsito, Museo de America, Madrid, Spain
2010 Africa light, dans le cadre de la Biennale de Danse « Danse l’Afrique danse », Musée National du Mali, Bamako, Mali
Au-delà du cadre, résidence d’artiste, Bamako, Mali 2009 Terrains vagues, Quartier Orange, Bamako, Mali
Fiches d’identification, exposition itinérante, Bamako, Mali
2008 4ème édition du Marché National des Arts Plastiques du Mali, Musée National de Bamako, Bamako, Mali
2007 Quartiers libres, dans le cadre d’une résidence au Quartier Orange, Bamako, Mali Exposition d’Art Contemporain, Bla Bla Bar, Bamako, Mali
2006 Wuisko-Kulé, Bla Bla Bar, Bamako, Mali
Les dépôts de Bamako, dans le cadre d’une résidence au Musée National de Bamako, Mali 2005 Musée du district de Bamako, Mali
2002 Marché National des Arts Plastiques de Bamako, Palais de la Culture, Bamako, Mali 2001 Salon des jeunes artistes, Centre Culturel Français de Bamako, Bamako, Mali
Itinéraires et Imaginaires du Mali, dans le cadre d’une résidence au Palais de la Culture de Bamako, Bamako, Mali
Wuisko-Kulé, Bla Bla Bar, Bamako, Mali
Les dépôts de Bamako, dans le cadre d’une résidence au Musée National de Bamako, Mali
Magnin-A
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