Presentation

Born in Guiglo (Côte d'Ivoire) in 1992, Obou Gbais graduated from the Ecole nationale des Beaux-arts d'Abidjan in 2019 with a Master's degree in art (Master II, option Peinture). He lives and works between Berlin and Abidjan. The Dan mask is emblematic of the traditions of Obou's native western Côte d'Ivoire. The artist paints this mask as much as he wears it. These faces, with their elongated chins and almond-shaped eyes, which he conjures up in crowd scenes or portraits, are his trademark and his artistic identity. Obou conveys the effervescence and vitality of Ivorian cities. For all to see, his now-familiar touch is omnipresent on the facades of Abidjan buildings, along the roadsides or in the abandoned villas of Bassam. Obou Gbais sees himself as the spokesperson for a young generation trying to reconcile two worlds: connected, teeming urban life and traditional rural foundations. With his first solo exhibition, Obou reaffirms his roots in his native land and proposes a crossbreeding of the different cultural and European influences he has appropriated. He depicts his art as a bridge between two worlds, whose confrontation reveals both strong ties and mutual ignorance. Main exhibitions As of 2017, Obou is taking part in several fairs and exhibitions in Africa and Europe, including: ″Système D″, TART Gallery, Zurich (Switzerland) in 2017 - ″Abobo ê Z″, MuCAT, Abobo, Abidjan (Ivory Coast) in 2020 - ″Afrikaartfest″ in Paris and Chambéry then ″Afrik'Art″ in Montpellier and Sète (France) in 2021. In 2022, he is selected to take part in ″Identités contemporaines de la Côte d'Ivoire″ alongside big names from the Ivorian art scene, organized in Paris (France) by the BJKD Foundation. The same year, he was featured in ″Babi est doux″, organized by 193 Gallery, Paris; at Loman Art Gallery as part of Dak'Art 2022 OFF, Biennale de l'art Africain de Dakar (Senegal), at the Vytautas Kasiulis Museum of Art in Vilnius (Lithuania) and at Filafriques in Geneva (Switzerland). LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery has accompanied Obou since 2019: two group shows in Abidjan - Densité in 2019 and Carte Blanche in 2020 -, then 1-54 (Contemporary African Art Fair) New-York online in 2021. Source : https://www.louisimoneguirandou.gallery/artists/66-obou-gbais/overview/