Untitled - 2000

76 x 45 x 45 cm
Painted wood, plastic, metal and synthetic hair

Untitled - 2000

86 x 35 x 23 cm
Painted wood, plastic and metal

Untitled - 2000

93 x 30 x 28 cm
Painted wood, plastic, fabric and metal

Untitled - 2000

85 x 40 x 22 cm
Painted wood, metal, synthetic hair and feathers

Untitled - 2000

66 X 37 X 28 cm
Painted wood, metal and hair

Untitled - 2000

80 x 54 x 17 cm
Painted wood, metal and plastic

Untitled - 2000

86 x 35 x 22 cm
Painted wood sculpture

Koffi Kouakou

Born in 1962, Ahitou-Kongonou,

Ivory Coast

Died in 2008

Koffi Kouakou, a fervent believer, declares himself a Bossoniste, following the path set by his ancestors. Born in the small village of Ahitou-Kongonou in central Côte d’Ivoire, he first apprenticed with his father, a renowned gold-worker; in 1980 he moved to Grand-Bassam and with his brother embarked on a career as a sculptor, following the example of his grandparents. After five years of training, Kouakou bade a formal farewell to his instructor and began to work independently. Realizing that the products of the artists-artisans gathered along Grand-Bassam highway were identical and without personality (simple toys, masks, and copies of statues made for the tourist market), Kouakou started to produce replicas of electronic tools and devices: Walkmans, cell phones, record players, sewing machines, chain saws, etc. Such items were an immediate success among tourists and expatriates, and by the end of the 1980s he had had established an international clientele.

Over the following decade Kouakou started to produce larger sculptures, and in particular he has concentrated on a series of robots which are based on action figures and children’s toys. At the same time, he sought to express the artist’s personal touch, concentrating over a period of several months on projects to create unique and contemporary interpretations of traditional sculpture. Contrary to the general practice among the artisans of Grand-Bassam, he does not mass produce the same object over and over again, since doing so would cause sculptures to lose their individual value. He was also among the sculptors who contributed to the Clubs of Bamako project, now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

With contributions from Yaya Savané.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2015

Les Maîtres de la Sculpture de Côte d'Ivoire, Quai Branly, Paris

2014/2015

Magical Africa – Masks and Sculptures from Ivory Coast The Artists Revealed, De Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam

2014

Grand Maîtres Africains, Art and Exhibition Hall, Bonn and Musée Rietberg, Zurich

2005

African Art Now : Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection

Museum of Fine Arts Houston

Houston - USA

2001

Contemporary Art and Photography

The Museum of Fine Arts

Houston - USA

2000

Clubs of Bamako

Rice University

Houston - USA

1999

The Clubs of Bamako

Deitch Projects

New York - USA

1995

Temporarily Possessed

The Semi – Permanent Collection

New Museum of Contemporary Art

New York - USA

1994

Espace Lyonnais d’Art Contemporain

Lyon - France

1993

Trade Routes

New Museum of Contemporary Art

New York - USA

1991

Africa Explores: 20th Century African Art

1991

The Center for African Art

The New Museum for Contemporary Art

New York – USA

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

2005

Living with Art

Seventh Edition by Mark Getlein. Published by McGraw Hill.

2005

Africa Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection

Exhibition catalogue. Published by Merrell in association with the MFAH.

2000

Clubs of Bamako

Exhibition catalogue. André Magnin, Thomas McEvilley, Kim Davenport, Alison de Lima Greene and Alvia Wardlaw.

1991

Africa Explores: 20th Century African Art

Exhibition catalogue. Susan Vogel