Efie Gallery is proud to host Sambadio, a solo exhibition by established African artist Abdoulaye Konaté, who is famous for his impressive textile-based installations. Marking his first major solo show in the Middle East,the exhibition is complemented by a comprehensive catalogue including essays by lecturer, curator, and art critic Simon Njami; Ousseynou Wade, Advisor to the Director General of the Museum of Black Civilizations (Dakar, Senegal); and Professor Yacouba Konaté, an Ivorian curator, writer, and art critic. The exhibition will welcome all visitors until 6 January 2025.
The show draws from the final song of Malian musician Ali Farka Touré’s album Le Jeune Chansonnier du Mali (1976). The track pays tribute to farmers and highlights a father’s call for his son to honour the earth. Through his art pieces on display Konaté underscores the agricultural themes evoked in the song. The artist’s recent creations explore Bedouin culture, creating a compelling dialogue between West African and Middle Eastern traditions. By focusing on the nomadic desert Arabs and their connection to the land, the exhibition emphasises shared cultural narratives and traditions.
A centerpiece of the show is Konaté’s new work, Source de lumière (Soleil/Sun) Motif d’Arabie sur Fond Ocre, 2024 (Arabian Motif on an Ochre Background, 2024). This stunning nine-meter-wide, three-meter-tall installation, commissioned specifically for the exhibition, features a warm gradient reminiscent of a desert landscape at sunset. The piece captures the interplay of natural beauty and cultural symbolism, offering a powerful visual experience.
About the artist
Abdoulaye Konaté (b. 1953, Dire, Mali) studied painting at the National Institute of Arts (Bamako, Mali), graduating in 1976. From 1978 to 1985, he furthered his studies at the Higher Institute of Plastic Arts in Havana (Cuba), where he adopted a multidisciplinary approach to art. Konaté has held significant roles: Head of the Division of the Exhibitions at the Musee National du Mali (1895-1997), Director of the Palais de la Culture de Bamako (1998-2002), and Director of the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers Multimédia de Bamako (2003-2016).
Konaté’s practice involves the use of woven and dyed textiles native to Mali and other countries, producing abstract and figurative pieces that delve into socio-political and environmental themes. With West African traditions at its core, his art incorporates textiles as a medium of communication, merging global issues with personal and cultural references. His early works featured Malian cosmological symbols and traditional garments associated with Malian artists, singers, and hunter societies, blending political critique with traditional craftsmanship. Konaté’s art often examines the impacts of war, power, religion, globalisation, and ecological changes on societies and individuals.
Konaté has exhibited widely, including Soft and Weak Like Water, 14th Gwangju Biennale (South Korea, 2023); Textile in Art (solo) (The Red Door Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria, 2018); Viva Arte Viva, Venice Biennale (Italy, 2017); Abdoulaye Konaté (solo) (Arken Museum for Moderne Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2016); and 19th Contemporary Art Festival Sesc_Videobrasil | Southern Panoramas (São Paulo, Brazil, 2015), and many others.
Konaté’s art pieces have been added to prestigious public collections such as Centre Pompidou (Paris, France), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, USA), Tate Modern (London, UK), and Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), to name a few. Among his many accolades, the artist has been honored with the Officier de l’Ordre National du Mali (2009), the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de France (2002), and the Léopold Sédar Senghor Prize at the Dak’Art Biennale in Dakar (1996).
To get more information about Sambadio, please go to the official web page of the show.
In addition, you might be interested in viewing LOBI LOBI by Cameroonian artist Pascale Marthine Tayou, one of the online exhibitions at the Cultural Foundation.
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