Descripción de la Exposición
Africa's contemporary art scene is characterized by a dynamic list of exceptional artists whose aesthetic innovation and conceptual profundity has paved the way for the next generation. Using their creations to interpret and portray Africa's socio-economic realities, political challenges, rich traditions and diverse beauty, these leading and emerging artists continue to influence the evolution of contemporary art in Africa.
For our Summer Group Show OOA Gallery will profile nine contemporary African artists: ANJEL - BODO FILS - Ilídio CANDJA CANDJA - MÉNÉ - Wycliffe MUNDOPA - Sadikou OUKPEDJO - SAADIO - Rémy SAMUZ - Médéric TURAY
Each week we will present one artist selected for this eclectic show, starting with Senegalese artist SAADIO.
In Senegal, the walls inspire me”- Saadio
Through a colorful pop-art style, Saadio presents his conception of society in Senegal: a country full of life, bubbling and warm. He paints in his studio in the Ouakam area of Dakar and doesn't need to go far to find inspiration. Everything is at his fingertips, a walk around the corner. "The first thing I do when I'm in a city is to look at the walls. In Senegal, they are full of inscriptions, posters, billboards, scenes of life: The war between the mobile companies, sheep on the sidewalks, children on bicycles and playing football, hair salons, coffees shops..." said Saadio. It's in this city, made of resourcefulness and consumer goods that the inspiration of the street artist takes its source.
To look at SAADIO's paintings, is like reading hieroglyphics. Magnificent, yet reserved for the initiated. Introduced by his family to the Peulh signs and the cosmogenic mysteries of the Dogon people, this guardian of mysteries uses symbols to express the evolution of African society, the confrontation of traditional rituals in the heart of contemporary African society. These sacred elements are to be found in the mysterious presence of animals lost in an urban maze: hens, crocodiles, snakes, fish, a truly traditional symbolism at the core of a city that is alive, colourful, redolent, where thousands of people are on the move, whether by car, motorbike or on foot, as planes fly overhead.
Saadio participated in numerous OFF editions of Dak'Art, the Bienal of Contemporary African Art and in the Art Festival "Regards sur Cour" on the Gorée Island in front of the Sengalese capital. The Ministry of Culture selected him to represent Senegal in the French Pavilion at the Universal Exhibition in Zaragoza (Spain). From 2011 the artistic world began to discover his style and the art critics recognized his artistic value.
Since 2015, OOA Gallery has been representing him in Europe and abroad.
Exposición. 19 nov de 2024 - 02 mar de 2025 / Museo Nacional del Prado / Madrid, España
Formación. 23 nov de 2024 - 29 nov de 2024 / Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS) / Madrid, España
