Aboudia

Larkin Durey is delighted to celebrate the publication of the first monograph on the internationally acclaimed Ivorian-American contemporary artist, Aboudia.

Published in collaboration with Galerie Cécile Fakhoury (Abidjan, Dakar, Paris) and Rizzoli Publishers, the book features over 200 works, with texts by Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi and Gauz, the pen name of Patrick Armand-Gbaka Brede.

Aboudia (b. 1983) draws inspiration from local street culture in his hometown of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, referring to characters from his neighbourhood and contemporary "Nouchi" culture and language. With an immense variety of details, often only revealing themselves after several viewings, his paintings are a melting pot of references, paying homage to traditional arts and spirituality but also including images from contemporary West African culture. His recent work continues to grapple with the hardships of daily life and the social inequalities within Ivorian society, with a particular focus on street children, the faces of whom are ever present in the artist’s paintings.

About the Authors:

Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi is a Nigerian artist, art historian, and curator, currently curator in the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Gauz is a photographer, writer, editor of a satirical Ivorian economic newspaper, and the author of the novel Debout-Payé, published in Paris in 2014 by "Le Nouvel Attila."