“The hardest part is finding a harmony in the painting that will let the public understand what I am trying to say. Transmitting a truth is all that matters, the rest is just conventions"
MAGNIN-A Gallery is pleased to present Amadou Sanogo's second solo exhibition. Yebali Lakali [Telling the invisible], will unveil from September 7 his latest works and will be accompanied by a catalog.
Born in 1977 in Segou, Mali, Amadou Sanogo is Senoufo but grew up with Bambara culture and philosophy. He draws on this tradition and integrates it into his paintings. Often consisting of a central character standing out against a monochrome background, his singular work explores universal questions. According to Simon Njami: “Each work corresponds to a kind of story through which the artist metaphorically comments on the state of the world. And it is perhaps in this form of narration that what could be termed his Africanity, for want of a better word, is revealed. Always with plain backgrounds on which characters are superimposed. In this mise en abyme there is always a frame within the frame, like the decors that studio photographers once used. The framing specifies the action, points it out to our gaze. The canvas is a screen and the action a film projected onto it. The colors are never harsh, they all contain the softness of pastels. The characters are interchangeable silhouettes. It is a figuration that leaves the figures in intentional anonymity. They could be anyone: Africans, Europeans, Asians. And even if the proverbs—real or made up for the occasion—have identifiable accents, their meaning is echoed throughout humankind”. (In Une parole, un engagement, exhibition catalog Amadou Sanogo, Yebali Lakali, Galerie MAGNIN-A, septembre 2023)
Political, social and philosophical, Amadou Sanogo's work conveys contemporary realities. “The hardest part is finding a harmony in the painting that will let the public understand what I am trying to say. Transmitting a truth is all that matters, the rest is just conventions. I don’t seek to make my works beautiful, that’s not my aim. Beauty fades fast, I’m not interested in that, I don’t think all works are made to be appreciated. I even think that some should disturb”.
A unifying force, he created in 2014 the Atelier Badalian, a collaborative organization designed to offer young Malian artists a place for expression and creation. Today, Amadou Sanogo is focusing on the construction of the Makoro center in Bamako, a multi-purpose space, residency, workshop and art center, to support the local art scene and to welcome artists from the continent.
