Aboudia: Le Ganganba

Jack Bell Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings by Aboudia. The artist draws inspiration from local street culture in his hometown Abidjan, Ivory Coast. This will be his twelfth solo show at the gallery.

This new series continues to address social inequalities and grapple with the hardships of daily life. In his imagery, Aboudia references characters from his direct neighbourhood, contemporary ‘Nouchi’ iconography and homage to more traditional forms of Vodou. Enigmatic details come in and out of focus, often only revealing themselves after several viewings.

Aboudia is noted for his heavily layered, brutally energetic paintings that combine an innocence and spontaneity with the portrayal of a dark interior world. Since the Ivorian civil war in 2011, his urban landscapes have been haunted by trauma; armed soldiers, ominous skulls and a populace hemmed in by danger. Often claustrophobic and oppressive, his painting achieves a careful balance between pathos and aggression. 

Aboudia's unrestrained use of violent figuration is a welcome reminder of the power of paint to suggest the chaos of life. His expression of revolt in his everyday urban environment brings to mind artists from the great American tradition - Twombly perhaps in his casual-looking execution, and Dubuffet.