Born 1983, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Lives and works in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Aboudia is noted for his large-scale, heavily layered, brutally energetic paintings that combine an innocence and spontaneity with the portrayal of a dark interior world. His urban landscapes are haunted by armed soldiers, ominous skulls and a populace hemmed in by violence and danger. Often claustrophobic and oppressive, his painting achieves a careful balance between pathos and agression, and the vitality of his style often recalls Basquiat.
The riots that followed the disputed Ivorian presidential election in late 2010 greatly influenced Aboudia's painting. As the violence escalated, leading Ivory Coast * into civil war, daily life, in particularly the capital Abidjan, was thrown into turmoil. During this period, the artist took refuge in a basement studio and began a body of work responding to the horrors of the country's devastating political situation.
Aboudia is also a master of multi-layered imagery as he mixes with great energy characters from his direct neighbourhood and fragments of found comic strips, advertising and the media. His unrestrained use of violent figuration is a welcome reminder of the power of paint to suggest the vitality and chaos of life.
aboudiart.com
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019
Masquerade, Galerie Cécile Fakhour, Dakar
2016
Môgô Dynasty, Galerie Cécile Fakhour, Abidjan
2015
Galerie Mikael Andersen, Copenhagen
2014
Trin Trin Ba-By, Jack Bell Gallery, London
2014
Nouchi City, Galerie Cécile Fakhour, Abidjan
2014
Pangaea: New Art from Africa and Latin America, Saatchi Gallery, London
2014
Ethan Cohen Gallery, New York
2013
Quitte le pouvoir : New Paintings by Aboudia,
Jack Bell Gallery, London
2011
The Battle for Abidjan, Jack Bell Gallery, London
2009
Centre Culturel Franco-Guinéen, Conakry, Guinea
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019
Kubatana, Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Norway
2019
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Marrakech, Morocco
2018
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK
2018
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Marrakech, Morocco
2016
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK
2015
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, New York, USA
2015
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK
2014
Aboudia & Joel Andrianomearisoa,
Galerie Mikael Andersen, Berlin
2014
Sphère #7, GALLERIA CONTINUA, Les Moulins
2014
Art Stage Singapore, Singapore
2014
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK
2014
Volta Art Fair, New York
2014
Art Basel, Basel and Miami
2013
The FNB Joburg Art Fair, Johannesburg, South Africa
2012
Painters’ Painters, Saatchi Gallery, London (dates tbc)
2012
Aujourd’hui je travaille avec mon petit fils, Aboudia,
Galerie Cecile Fakhoury, Abidjan
2011
Les Fantomes, Jack Bell Gallery, London
2010
Arkadi, Centre Culturel Français, Abidjan
Lion’s Art, Abidjan
BICICI Bank, Abidjan
2009
Arkadi, Centre Culturel Français, Abidjan
Centre Culturel Franco-Guinéen, Conakry, Guinea
Pinceaux d’Afrique, Stockholm, Sweden
2007
Ivory Coast Palais de la Culture, Abidjan
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2019
1-54 New York
Art Africa Ltd. Fair Catalogue p.13