Out of Africa Gallery
ART X Lagos 2018

ABOUDIA
Born in 1983 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Lives and works in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Graduated from the CTAA (Technological Centre of Applied Arts) in Abidjan, ABOUDIA acquired his style in the school of life on the streets. This life of ups and downs, laughter and tears, remains his driving force, although he was acclaimed by the international community of art critics and journalists for his work narrating the confrontations during the Abidjan civil war. ABOUDIA is distinguished for his large canvases, upon which he portrays strenght, innocence and spontaneity by the youth. These large format paintings display a Basquiat-like vitality, with an inside world where he fights for his dreams. A kid from Abidjan who wandered its streets, but who also roamed those of New York and London, passing through Johannesburg, Paris and Barcelona in order to stimulate his vision. ABOUDIA likes to define himself as a cosmopolitan artist, jetting non-stop between different places and cultures. His canvases in acrylics, oil pastels and collage, are found in major international private and public collections and in particular in the Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC) of Jean Pigozzi, in Geneva, the Frank Cohen Collection in London, the François Pinault Colletion and in the permanent collection of the Saatchi Gallery of New York. the François Pinault Collection.

Sadikou OUKPEDJO
Born in 1975 in Kétao, Togo
Lives and works in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
In 1998, Sadikou Oukpedjo joined the workshop of the artist Paul Ahyi in Lomé, where he worked essentially in sculpture with wood and ceramics. Apart from his work as a sculptor, Sadikou began to paint and experiment with other subjects and mediums: drawings in old books, portraits on old mirrors… In 2010, Sadikou settled in Bamako, where he attended the workshop of the Beninese artist Ludovic Fadaïro. The war in Mali motivated him in 2013 to move to Abidjan, where he devoted himself entirely to painting.
Sadikou’s artwork is the fruit of personal questioning, in particular the question of human’s origin. Since the emotional experiment during the Tabasqui, the sacrificial rite of sheeps, the artist directed his plastic research towards animal and human. By anatomical and behavioral observations, Sadikou searches and expresses artistically the fusion point between animal and human, reaching the conclusion that, like man, animals possess a consience and experience fear, joy and suffering.
His artwork was presented at the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London, at the Art Paris Art Fair and at the 12nd Biennial Dak’Art. He was selected to take part in the Institut Français Residency program at the Cité Internationale des Arts of Paris. His works are part of the Blachère Foundation Collection, the Tiroche Deleon Collection and the Mohammed VI Museum.

Evans MBUGUA
Born in 1979 in Nairobi, Jenya
Lives and works in Paris, France
Mbugua comes from a graphic design background, having majored in Print Design. This training is visibly demonstrated in his artistic technique. His work is a creative medley of colour and print detail captured in portraiture. For Mbugua, design and art form the perfect symbiosis. He does not merely utilise prints to enhance his portraits; he also reinterprets prints - through a fresh depiction of a modern sign or symbol - to create an unusual dazzling design. Creating a layered effect, the print forms a backdrop and a portrait is positioned in the foreground. Each portrait is composed of a unique series of small-dot effects on the plexiglass, his mediums of choice.
For Evans, in whichever of his artistic pursuits, the human is at the center of his practice, the tool by which he chooses to express himself. The artist paints, takes photos and records hope, the joy of living, love, pleasure, exchange, pride, emotions ... staging his life, that of his friends or strangers. The diversity and cultural crossbreeding of different people nourishes his curiosity.
Evans directs his gaze at identity and hidden faces. Favoring the portrait to celebrate his contemporaries, he uses plexiglass to elevate his characters with brightness and reflections, emphasizing human fragility at the same time. The background with the pictograms present in his works represent the urban environment that shapes and gives rhythm to our daily lives.
Mbugua's works are held in institutions and private collections in France, the UK, Italy, the United States, Denmark, Nigeria, Morocco, and Kenya. He has featured in exhibitions in Paris, London, Barcelona and New York.