Presentation

Aboudramane Doumbouya was born in 1961 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. At the age of fifteen, he began working with wood and was trained by a local cabinetmaker. He emigrated to Italy in 1984, feeling nostalgic for the country and family environment he had left behind. On his arrival in Paris in 1988, he met a Swedish painter, Gösta Claesson. This meeting was to prove decisive for him, as it introduced him to Tinguely, Cornell and Caler, and led to his first model. He built a village from wood, creepers, earth and other natural materials. This was the start of a long series of works, entitled "memory sculptures", in which he inserted small personal objects, tiny mementos of childhood memories, "treasures" nourished by his affection for those whose presence the object recalls. The imaginary places he recreates, the miniature worlds he reconstructs with his hands, become temples in miniature, full of poetry, where he infiltrates the very heart of Africa, in lands where magic, rites, everyday life and the soul of objects come into play. In 1990, Aboudramane began exhibiting in a number of galleries in Paris, and his work soon attracted the attention of art lovers and the press. In 1992, he was spotted by renowned designer Andrée Putman, who allowed him to exhibit a monumental "Roulotte du Diabl" in the garden of the Hôtel de Sully in Paris. In 1990, Aboudramane began exhibiting in numerous galleries in Paris, and his work soon attracted the attention of art lovers and the press alike. In 1992, he was spotted by the renowned designer Andrée Putman, who allowed him to exhibit a monumental "Roulotte du diable" in the garden of the Hôtel de Sully in Paris, loaded with symbols and fetishes. Numerous other exhibitions followed in Brussels, Amsterdam, Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart and at the Museum of African Art in New York. In 1998, Aboudramane was invited to take up a residency at the Vallon du Villaret in Lozère, where he exhibited his work and created a giant outdoor sculpture, "Je sème à tout vent", whose freedom and humor leave a strong mark on the landscape. The evolution of his work has led him to create totems ranging from wood to glass, from cork to rope, from iron to earth, some of which are like wizards' staffs, others a cathedral vibrating with exemplary purity. "Merci Fanta", created in 2007, is one of Aboudramane's flagship works: a sculpture, all gilded, two large curved blades and a circle suggest a woman's breasts and belly, while a small empty pot evokes both the possibility of giving life and the drama of passing time. It's a direct tribute to the memory of her mother, but also a testament to her maturity of expression. For the past ten years, Aboudramane has been pursuing his creative path. He has created a number of more abstract pieces in imposing or more slender forms, always with a touch of humor, as well as small-format sculptures, touching mystery houses or transformed objects wrapped in rope, beads or fabric. Here he leaves his mark, that of a "magician of dreams", as art critic Jean-Louis Pinte calls him. Group exhibitions 2022 May ARTCURIAL Maison de vente aux enchères - Paris 8ème - "African Contemporary Art 2021 november PIASA Auction House - Paris 8ème - "Afrique + Art moderne & contemporain - Collection Maine Durieu" (Africa + Modern & Contemporary Art - Maine Durieu Collection) 2020 jan-feb La Galerie Africaine - Paris 9 ème "Interception 2009 Jan-Feb (Re)-connaître l'Afrique - Art Actuel - L'Escale - 92 Levallois-Perret 2008 March Curated Show - Johannesburg - South Africa. 2007 June-Sept. "Terre Noire" - Ousmane Sow and trends in African sculpture today - Musée départemental Maurice Denis à Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines) France 2006-2007 Oct.-Jan. 2nd Seville International Biennial of Contemporary Art "Lo de Acoge dor" Andalusian Center for Contemporary Art - Spain 2005 June-July 1st International Biennial of Contemporary Sculpture Bourgogne - Nolay (Côte d'Or) - France 2003- 2004 Oct-Jan "Totems" - Musée des arts derniers - Paris - France 2003 Sept-Nov "Weltkunstreihe VII" - Galerie Klinger - Görlitz (Germany). 2003 Sept.-Oct. Chéri Samba" - Galerie Peter Herrmann - Berlin (Germany). 2003 April-July Contemporary African art - "Le fil rouge: de 1989 à nos jours" - Galerie Cankarjev - Ljubljana (Slovenia) 2002 January "Création noire" - Château de Villers, Draveil (France) 2001 May "Works by artists from Black Africa" - Diaspora - Hôtel Drouot (France) 2001 March-May "Uberblick" - Galerie Peter Herrmann - Berlin (Germany) 2000 Nov.-Dec. Le train de l'art contemporain roule en francophonie - 2ème étape". Institut Supérieur pour l'Etude du Langage Plastique - Brussels (Belgium). 2000 Sept.-Oct. L'Afrique à jour" - "10 ans de création contemporaine à la Biennale de Dakar" - Afrique en Créations and the Dakar Biennale - Lille. 2000 July-Sept. Around & Around" - Galerie Peter Herrmann - Stuttgart (Germany). 1999-2000 nov.jan. Galerie Peter Herrmann - Thalhaus - Wiesbaden (Germany) 1999 June "Couleurs Vodou : peinture et sculptures" - Grand hall de l'Hôtel de Ville de Lille (France). 1999 May Galerie Peter Herrmann - Stuttgart (Germany) 1999 April-May Galerie Maine DURIEU -Paris 6ème (France) 1999 Jan.-March "AROUND & AROUND" - Galerie Achim Kubinski - Berlin (Germany). 1998-1999 Oct-Jan "TRIENNALE DER KLEINPLASTIK 1998" - Stuttgart (Germany) 1998 Sept-Oct "...DER NEUE GEIST AFRIKAS" - Galerie Petter Herrmann - LANDSHUT (Germany) 1998 April-May Centre d'Etudes Africaines - Maison des Sciences de l'Homme - Paris (France) 1998 Apr.-June "ZEITGENOSSISCHE KUNST SWISCHEN DEN KULTUREN" - Galerie Peter Herrmann - Stuttgart (Germany). 1998 - April DAKAR Biennale (Senegal). 1996 June-October Völkerkundemuseum der Universität ZURICH (Switzerland) - "Neue Kunst aus Afrika". 1996 March-May "Maison des Cultures du Monde" - BERLIN (Germany) 1996 Jan.-March Stads Galery - HEERLEN (Netherlands) 1995 Nov Galerie Dany KELLER "Art Cologne" - COLOGNE (Germany) 1995 nov-dec Galerie Petter Herrmann - Stutgart - "Around and around" - "La Pagode" Ancien Palais du Roi Manga-Bell - DOUALA (Cameroon). 1995 sept-oct. 1996 Setakaya Museum - Tokyo - Japan 1995 May Gallery 20 x 2 - AMSTERDAM (Netherlands) 1994 october "Carte blanche à J.L. Pinte, art critic" - Galerie Piltzer - Paris 8ème. 1994 sept.oct. "Afrikaanse Kunst Afrikaanse Kunst" Gallery 20 x 20 -Arnhem - Netherlands. 1994 sept.oct. "Itinéraire 94" - Mouvement Artistique de Levallois-Perret (92) Contemporary Art. 1994 June-Sept. Contemporary Art Center - Vassivière en Limousin. Ile de Vassivière (87). 1994 June-July "7 kunstenaars uit Afrika" Gallery 20 x 20 - Amsterdam - In Espace - Kerkstraat 276 - Netherlands. 1994 March-April "Home and the World" - The Contemporary, Baltimore - USA. 1993 Sept. Afrika : Skulptur Heute " Dany Keller Galerie - Münich - Germany. 1993 June Museum for African Art - New York - USA Exhibition on the theme of architecture. 1993 February "Découvertes" - Galerie Praz-Delavallade Grand Palais - Paris 8ème. 1992 Dec. exhibition "Miroirs, Miroirs" Galerie Les Alizés - Brussels - Belgium. 1992 Sept.-Oct. Parcours privés 92" - Garden of the Hôtel de Sully. Cultural Affairs of the City of Paris. 1992 Apr.-May Galerie Gloria Cohen - Paris 6ème - "Paysages". 1992 Jan-Feb Cavin-Morris Gallery - New York - "Other Drums, Visionary Works". 1991 Sept. Art Session 91" - Contemporary art exhibition - "40 artists and the fight against AIDS" Espace Glauser - Paris 19th. 1991 april "60 peintres black" - Binoche et Godeau - Vente Drouot Richelieu - Paris. 1990 June "Trois Génies à la Bastille" - Paris 11th district. Solo exhibitions 2022 april PIASA Auction House - "Aboudramane : chambre à part". 2019 sept-oct Galerie Athena & Antichambre - Mairie du 13 ème Paris - "Entre deux terres" ("Between two lands") 2018 March "La Galerie" Paris 13ème - Intimate lands 2011 May-July Galerie Peter Herrmann - Berlin - "Aboudramane Solo 2007 May-June Galerie Jean-Marc PATRAS - Paris 4ème (France) 2003 May Atelier "portes ouvertes" - Paris 13th. 2001 Sept.-Oct. Galerie Peter Herrmann - Berlin (Germany). 1996 May-July Galerie Peter Herrmann - Stuttgart (Germany) 1995 Sept-Nov "Journey to Africa" - Le Vallon du Villaret - 48190 Bagnols-les-Bains (France). 1995 january Galerie Maine Durieu - Paris 6ème. 1994 january "Biilden uit herinneringen"- Galerie 20 x 2 - Haarlem - Netherlands. 1993 June Galerie Praz-Delavallade - Paris 11th. 1991 oct. Galerie Maine Durieu - Paris 6ème. Events 1998 February: Outdoor sculpture "Je sème à tout vent" (4.60 m X 1.30 m). Vallon du Villaret (Lozère) BIBLIOGRAPHY Personal catalogs : 1991 - Aboudramane - "Murs-Murs de Terre" - Galerie Maine Durieu - Paris. 1992 - Aboudramane - Galerie Praz-Dellavallade. Collective catalogs: 1991 - "60 peintres black" - Binoche et Godeau - Vente Drouot Richelieu - Paris. 1993 - "Home and the world: Architectural Sculpture by two contemporary African Artists" - The Museum For African Art - New York. 1994 - "Iténéraire 94" - Contemporary Art Exhibition - Levallois Perret. 1995 - An inside story: African Art of our Time - Tokyo (Japon) 1996 - Er bestaat geen kunst - In Afrika - Stadsgalerij Heerlen - (Netherlands) 1996 - Neue Kunst Aus Afrika - Maison des Cultures du Monde - Berlin (Germany). 1998 - Zeitgennössische kunst zwischen den Kulturen - Vielfaches Echo - Stuttgart (Germany). 1998 - Triennale der Kleinplastik 1998 - Zeitgenössische Skulptur Europa Afrika - Stuttgart (Germany). 2004 - L'art contemporain africain - "Le fil rouge: de 1989 à nos jours". 2007 - TERRE NOIRE - Ousmane SOW and trends in African sculpture today. 2008 - L'Afrique et l'art - Regards dans les collections privées allemandes by Dorina Hecht, Günter Kawik. Source : https://aboudramane.wordpress.com/parcours/ Source : https://aboudramane.wordpress.com/parcours/