galerie felix frachon dimitri fagbohoun recollection from september 7th to November 25th 2017 Rue Saint-Georges 26, 1050 Ixelles +32 486 14 13 30 felix@felixfrachon.com
«When, after the London museum, the Louvre museum will receive the Negro art, it will not find its complement, but its principle.» (Lucie Cousturier quoted by Félix Fénon in «Surveys of the distant arts: will they be admitted to the Louvre,Bulletin of artistic life, 1920)* Recollection is the recognition of this principle which makes it possible to apprehend both the physical processes of the works and the processes of cultural and artistic capturing which surround them. Because of their fascination with the Western world, discoveries of these «distant arts» were mainly apprehended under the prism of the influence they had on the great artistic movements of the 20th century. Dimitri Fagbohoun engages a reflection that transcends the borders previously defined to open new perspectives.it is this work of memory, this return to oneself which is at the heart of the artist s work and which testifies to his initial intention: to define a corpus of masterpieces of African Art from the traditional universe and now recognized as classical in order to reclaim. Through various medium, Dimitri Fagbohoun creates an intimate but eloquent speech affirming the power of artistic language. Between filiation and legacy, Recollection thus invites the viewer to a deep journey, but whose scope is undoubtedly universal. A journey that translates subtly the evolution of function, form, use and ultimate value of the work of art. Pierre Mollfulleda
Exhibition view at Gallery Felix Frachon Space Project
adé, 2016 Néon light 20 x 30 cm Ed de 3
spirit of picasso, 2017 Sculpture 100 x 85 x 5 cm, Crown 20 x 15 cm Unique
picasso, 2017 Sculpture 10 x 10 cm Unique
n kissi_pi, 2017 Sculpture 50 x 20 cm Unique
l art nègre, 2017 Néon light 150 x 12 cm Ed 1 + 1 Collection Didier Claes
Exhibition view at Gallery Felix Frachon Space Project
the return, 2017 Sculpture 50 cm Unique
white figure (from black figure by picasso), 2017 20 x 15 x 10 cm Ed 3 1 and 2 in private collections
Exhibition view at Gallery Felix Frachon Space Project
book of knowledge, 2016 20 x 30 x 5 cm unique
the spine, 2016 Bronze sculpture Unique
microcosmos, 2017 Bronze sculptures Unique
microcosmos, 2017 (details) Bronze sculptures 10 x 6 cm Uniques
black stone, 2017 Sculpture 20 x 30 x 5 cm Unique
Exhibition view at Gallery Felix Frachon Space Project
One Hundred and thousands nights # 2, 2017 Installation Unique
emotions, 2017 Mobile Unique
the pursuit of beauty, 2017 wood sculpture covered with gold leaves 92 x 30 cm unique
the pursuit of beauty, 2017 (detail)
negerplastik, 2017 Sculpture, 180 x 20 cm Unique
Series of 12 photographic prints 60x60cm Obtained from security scanner and security checkpoint, the pictures show the pieces contained in the suitcases Ed of 3 + EA
Series of 12 photographic prints 60x60cm Obtained from security scanner and security checkpoint, the pictures show the pieces contained in the suitcases Ed of 3 + EA
blue beji, 2017 Twins sculptures, Uniques
métamorphosis, 2017 (Detail)
métamorphosis, 2017 Installation, Wood sculptures Unique
métamorphosis, 2017 (Detail)
pika_king, 2017 Wood sculpture (representing Picasso) Photograph print of Picasso (periode nègre) Uniques
dimitri fabohoun Born in 1972 in Benin Lives and works between Paris, Brussels and Cotonou Growing up in Cameroon before moving to France, where he now lives and works, Dimitri Fagbohoun s work is imbued with issues which reflect on his background and history, straddling geographical and artistic boundaries. His work is inseparable from his own experience and his plural identity. Heterogeneous in his use of mediums (video, photography or installation) Fagbohoun s works display a disruptive tendency to question the admitted models and guidelines used to define identities and history. Considering his artistic work as an open source of propositions, he experiments with video and sits at the frontier between cinema and fine arts, voluntarily blurring existing boundaries between art practices. He documents the notions he explores, producing representations of the visual territories created. Many of his videos are sound pieces, and address issues such as identity, memory, religion and politics. Fagbohoun s work has been shown internationally and he was featured as part of the African Photography encouters in Bamako, Mali, in 2007 and 2011, at the Pan-African Festival in Algiers, in 2009, at the Picha Biennale in Congo, in 2010 and at the DAKART biennial OFF 2012 and 2016. In 2014, his work was included in Simon Njami's The Divine Comedy Project which toured to MMK, Museum für moderne Kunst in Frankfurt, Germany, SCAD Museum, Savannah, Georgia, U.S. and at the Smithsonian National Museum Of African Art in Washington D.C., U.S. In 2015, he was featured in the collective exhibition A l'ombre d'eros at the Royal Monastery of Brou, Bourg-en-Bresse, France and in Infecting the City, public arts festival, Cape Town, South Africa. In 2014, Fagbohoun inaugurated his ongoing series titled Recollection, in which he questions the African artworks currently included in internationally acclaimed museums and how they have influenced Western art practices and understanding in a postcolonial approach for wich he was awarded in 2017 by the smithsonian fellowship award
2017 Recollection, Galerie Felix frachon, Brussels, Belgium solo exhibitions 2015 Papa was a Rolling stone, Centre culturel Max Juclier, Villeneuve la garenne, France 2013 State of the Empire Building, Galerie la Corderie, Marcq en Baroeul, France Papa was a Rolling stone, Carte Blanche Maire du 4e, Paris. France Collective exhibitions 2017 11 Rencontres internationales, Regards Hybrides, curated by Priscillia Guy, Montréal, Canada 10 My Collection: MoCADA Art Auction, MoCADA Museum, New York 06 Le Havre Dakar, Partager la mémoire, Museum of Natural History, Le Havre, France 05 iyeye, Venice Bienale, Venice, Italy 05/1.54 Art Fair, New York, USA 05 Utocorpis, International vidéo art festivalof casablanca, Institut Français Casablanca, Morrocco 02/04 We call it «AFRICA», curated by Silvia Cirelli, Galeria Officine dell Immagine, Milan, Italy 2016 12 time Is love 9, vidéo art program TEA Museum TENERIFE ESPACIO DE LAS ARTES 11 DIGITAL MARRAKECH 5 International Cinéma Festival MOROCCO 11 AKAA Fair Paris, vidéo screening : le contour des jours à venir Paris, France 10 DELIRIUM vidéo Program I Galerie le manège, Institut Français Dakar, Sénégal 09 UTOCORPIS vidéo Screening I Galerie le manège, Institut Français Dakar, Sénégal 07 Spectrum FESTIVAL, Villach, Austria 06 time Is love9, vidéo screening Mur Nomade Gallery, Honk Kong. 05 Subabiennale, dakartoff, biennale de Dakar 05 Delirium, Waru studio, dakartoff, biennale de Dakar 03 TIL, vidéo screening curated By Kisito Asangni, Galerie la voute, Paris, France 02 List I LJOSI Light festival, Seydisfjordur, ICELAND 02 time is love, vidéo screening curated By kisito Asangni, plateau Gallery,Berlin, Germany 01 incarnations, Maison des cultures de Molembeek, bruxelles, BE 01 A l ombre d Eros Monastère royal de Brou, Bourg-en-Bresse, France 2015 Incarnations, Maison des cultures de Molembeek, Brussels, Belgium Lointain/proche, L orangerie, Cachan, France Lointain/proche, Espace d art de la terrasse, Nanterre, France Cinema Extension, RomAfrica Film Fest, Villa Borghese, Rome, Italy A l ombre d Eros Monastère royal de Brou, Bourg-en-Bresse, France Video Art Africa, Wiener Westwochen, Vienna, Austria Infecting the City, Public arts festival, Cape Town, South Africa The Divine Comedy, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, U.S.A
2014 Analogue Eye, Fingo Film Festival, Grahamstown, South Africa F I V E, screening, Photon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Ljubljana, Slovenia Divine Comedy, SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, U.S. (curated by Simon Njami) ANALOGUE EYE, National Arts Festival, Grahamstown, South Africa (curated by Brent Meistre) F I V E, videoart project screening, Richland College, Dallas, U.S. (curated by Colette Copeland) Now&After Video Art Festival, Moscow, Russia (curated by Marina Fomenko) F I V E, videoart project, Now and after, Beijing, China (curated by David Cheung) The Divine Comedy, MMK Museum, Frankfurt, Germany (curated by Simon Njami) Talking Art, Ben Uri Museum, London, U.K. Still Fighting Ignorance & Intellectual Perfidy, Biennale de Marrakech, Morocco 2013 A nos pères, Galerie 2.13 pm, Paris (curated by Marie Deparis-Yafil and Brankica Zilovic) Intimités, Savvy Contemporary, Berlin, Germany (curated by Yves Chatap) L'Afrique en mouvement, screening, Centre d art Daïmon, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada International Videoart, Camagüey Festival, Cuba Still Fighting Ignorance & Intellectual Perfidy, Motorenhalle, Dresden, Germany Still Fighting Ignorance & Intellectual Perfidy, Kunsthalle Sao Paulo, Brazil Vidéoformes, Clermont-Ferrand, France (curated by Kisito Assangni) Still Fighting Ignorance & Intellectual Perfidy, Malmo Konsthall, Malmo, Sweden 2012 INexactly THIS, Kunstvlaai Festival of Independents, Amsterdam, Netherlands L'Afrique en mouvement, Cinémathèque de Montréal, Canada (curated by Pierre Beaudoin) Summer of photography, Bozar, Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium City Screen, Off Loop, Barcelona, Spain (curated by Carolina Ariza) Parallèles //, Dakar Off Bienniale, Dakar, Senegal Festival Artso, Rennes, France 2011 Croyance et superstition dans l art vidéo, Heart galerie, Paris To Africanize is to civilize, Paris Photo, On the roof project, Silencio, Paris Un monde durable, African Photography Bienniale, Bamako, Mali (curated by Michket Krifah and Laura Serani) Vic-art, Centre d Art du Château de Cols, Vic-sur-Cère, France (curated by Jean-Louis Barthélemy) Itinérances, la Bellevilloise, Paris (curated by Cynthia Phibel) Intimités, Galerie Treignac Projet, Treignac, France (curated by Yves Chatap) 2010 Made by Africa, Festival Matières Sensibles, Lille, France (curated by Eric Dohou) International Film Festival, Rotterdam, Netherlands Biennale PICHA, Rencontres de l image, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo (curated by Simon Njami) Haïti Action Artistes, auction sponsored by Hervé Télémaque, Paris 9/11, art-process.com (curated by Grâce Teshima) Passés Composés, regards croisés Dimitri Fagbohoun/Yo-Yo Gonthier, Galerie 59, Paris (curated by Dagara Dakin)
2009 8èmes Rencontres de Bamako, video screening of In_Secure, Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers Multimédia de Bamako within the context of Of boundaries and of men workshop (curated by Dagara Dakin) Dans la ville et au delà, Pamplona, Spain Reflets d Afrique, Musée d art moderne d Alger, Algiers, Algeria (curated by Nourreddine Ferrouhki) 2008 NRPA, Galerie IFA, Berlin, Germany (curated by Akinbode Akinbiyi) Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie, Fès, Marocco (curated by Faouad Maazouz) NRPA, Gallery IFA, Stuttgart, Germany (curated by Akinbode Akinbiyi) 2007 Nouvelles Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie, Bamako Bienniale, Mali La Cinquième Galerie, Paris (curated by Pascale Rozenfeld) Historia, Chez Grâce Teshima, art-process.com Biennale Duta, Douala, Cameroon 2006 M.A.C 2006, Manifestation d art Contemporain, Espace Champerret, Paris Novembre à Vitry, Galerie municipale d art de Vitry, Vitry, France PhotoCircuit, Photo España Off, Madrid, Spain catalogs, texts & publications 2017 We call it «AFRICA», Catalogue of the exhibition by vanillaedizioni edition http://www.exibart.com/notizia.asp?idnotizia=52826&idcategoria=204 http://www.bitculturali.it/2017/02/mostre-eventi/artisti-africa-mostra-milano http://www.espoarte.net/arte/tu-chiamala-se-vuoi-africa 2016 Person, Christophe. Piasa, Catalogue Origines & Trajectoires. Chik Magazine, Abidjan IVORY COAST Michel, Nicolas. Jeune Afrique Magazine. Dimitri Fagbohoun, le fa et le chat http://www.jeuneafrique.com/mag/296294/culture/dimitri-fagbohoun-fa-chat/ 2015 Incarnations catalogue Lointain/proche edition espace d art de la terrasse, Nanterre, France A l ombre d eros, l'amour, la mort, la vie!, Silvana Editions Divine Comedy, Heaven, Purgatory & Hell by Contemporary African Artists, Kerber Verlag Editions
2014 Divine Comedy, Heaven, Purgatory & Hell by Contemporary African Artists, Kerber Verlag Editions Lecaille, Estelle. Facettes, revue d art contemporain (50 nord) F I V E, videoart Project, by Magnart project Still Fighting Ignorance & Intellectual Perfidy, Ben Uri Museum, London, U.K. Blin, Myriam-Odile. L Art sorcier,arts et Cultures d Afrique " PURH Editions Njami, Simon. Diptyk n 22 2013 Odufunade, Bomi. contemporaryand.com http://www.contemporaryand.com/blog/magazines/ith-intra-continental-interaction-the-scene-is-more-fluid-morevibrant-than-ever-before/ Saavy-journal.com, art contemporary african http://savvy-contemporary.com/index.php/exhibitions/intimites20135/ Odufunade, Bomi. New african magazine Marsaud, Olivia. Ménage à six à Berlin, Afrique in Visu. http://www.afriqueinvisu.org/menage-a-six-a-berlin,866.html 2012 Saavy #3, SAVVY Journal art contemporary, Berlin, Germany http://art-agenda.com/shows/3rd-edition-of-savvy-journal-for-critical-texts-on-contemporary-african-art/ (p. 85) 2011 Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie 9th catalogue, Bamako, Mali, Actes Sud Editions http://afriqueinvisu.org/rencontres-de-bamako-2011-edition,679.html 2010 Catalogue Biennale Picha Doucet, Louis. Subjectiles II, Le Manuscrit Editions http://afriqueinvisu.org/rencontre-picha-biennale-de,495.html http://www.africultures.com/php/index.php?nav=article&no=9425 2009 Regards sur la Biennale de Bamako 2009, Hommes & Migrations, n 1282 http://www.creativeafricanetwork.com/page/11543/en Chatap, Yves. La mise en image des frontières http://www.africultures.com/php/?nav=article&no=9023 Reflets d Afrique, catalogue d exposition musée d art moderne d Alger, Algeria http://afriqueinvisu.org/les-histoires-de-dimitri-fagbohoun,248.html Ferroukki, Noureddine. La Photographie Africaine : de la mémoire au Regard
2008 Catalogue from the 2nd Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie, Fès, Marocco 2007 Catalogue from the 7th Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie, Bamako, Mali, Marval Editions Politi, Giancarlo. Art Diary international 2007/2008, Flash Art Editions 2006 Catalogue Mac 2006 Catalogue exposition Novembre à Vitry Catalogue biennale de Villeneuve la Garenne grants 2017 Smithsonian Fellowship Award for the project Recollection 2012 Maroc Premium 2011 Institut Français, Paris, France for the project Papa was a rolling stone residencies 2017 Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, U.S. 2012 CAC Ifitry, Contemporary Art center, Essaouira, Morocco 2011 French cultural center, Cotonou, Benin talks and Encounters 2017 Meeting the artists, 1.54 Art Fair, New York, USA 2016 AKAA Fair Paris, vidéo screening : le contour des jours à venir Paris, France auctions 2017 My Collection: A MoCADA Art Auction, MoCADA Museum, New York 2017 ArtBall 2017 Amref Auction, New York, USA 2016 PIasa, Origines & Trajectoires Lots 35, 4142 43 & 52 http://www.piasa.fr/pdf/catalogue/catalogue_art_africain.pdf
arts fairs 2017 1.54 Art Fair, New York, USA 2016 AKAA Art Fair, VIP Studio Visit on Collector s Choice, Paris, France collections Collection Didier Claes, Brussels, Belgium Collection Ellen Taubman, New York, USA Collection Rosario Bifulco, Milan, Italy Collection Roberto SPADA, Milan, Italy Collection Céline Melon, Artylamo, Lyon, France Collection Soglo, Cotonou Benin private Collections Belgium, France, Italy, Ivory coast Fondations Collections Sindika Dokolo Foundation, Luanda, Angola Frances Foundation, Compiègne, France Contact I dimitri@arts-works.com +33(0)6 88 20 30 10 arts-works.com