Major exhibition in Lucca on Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, one of Africa's leading artists

A major anthological exhibition dedicated to Frédéric Bruly Bouabré (Idibouo-Zépréguhé, 1923 - Abidjan, 2014), a great Ivorian artist, among the most significant international authors of the post-World War II cultural scene and one of the greatest African artists ever, kicks off at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Lucca until June 13, 2021. The exhibition, entitled Frédéric Bruly Bouabrè. Art Universal Alphabet and curated by Alessandro Romanini, focuses attention on the importance of dialogue between peoples and the possibility of cultural cohesion based on the universal language of art.

The exhibition’s itinerary presents more than 350 works from private collections and from the artist’s family, highlighting the various stages of his more than 50-year career and illustrating the various thematic, poetic and biographical aspects thanks to a rich set of documents and historical evidence.

Frédéric Bruly Bouabrè has exhibited in prestigious international public and private spaces, starting with the famous exhibition Magiciens de la terre, held in 1989 at the Centre George Pompidou in Paris, which brought contemporary African art to light for the first time, and the subsequent Africa Remix, passing through the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Tate Modern in London and the Portikus in Frankfurt. He has also been featured in major events such as the Venice Biennale, Documenta in Kassel and the São Paulo Biennale.

The exhibition features the collaboration of the Alighiero and Boetti Foundation, which is lending important archival documents and works, evidence of the elective bond between the two artists. In fact, Boaubrè has maintained a relationship of friendship and exchange with Boetti, which is explored in the exhibition through a special section featuring paintings that the two artists have dedicated to each other, photos and texts.

The works on display, small-scale cartoons on which the artist jotted down careful observations of the existing, hidden beneath the surface, document the artist’s various thematic phases, from that dedicated to the visual alphabet Bété to The Joy of Birth and Humanity, which celebrates kinship, through that of The Tree of Life and The Legend Zakolo and the Stones of Bekora, to Africa Presents Its Culture, Vision of the Sun and the celebrated one of The Knowledge of the World. The exhibition also features some previously unpublished works, including a very rare oil painting on canvas by the Ivorian artist.

Nourished is the volume of autograph documents and the historical photographs, many of them unpublished and lent by the family for the first time. Among the documents on display are numerous poetic texts and essays written by the artist, epistles and curiosities, such as the original sketch of the watch designed by Bouabrè for Swatch.

The exhibition is organized by the Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lucca and the Fondazione Lucca Sviluppo, with the patronage of the Region of Tuscany and theEmbassy of the Ivory Coast in Italy and the collaboration of the Alighiero and Boetti Foundation. Throughout April, the exhibition will be enjoyed virtually by the public through online guided tours, virtual tours, video pills and digital activities that will be promptly communicated on the website and social channels of the Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lucca and Palazzo delle Esposizioni(www.facebook.com/FondazioneBML - www.facebook.com/palazzoesposizionilucca - www.instagram.com/palazzoesposizionilucca). For all information you can visit the official website of Palazzo delle Esposizioni.

Pictured: Frédéric Bruly Bouabrè, Ici, une mère momant avec son enfant, from the series La mère - nourricière l’amour de son enfant (2010; mixed media on cardboard, 19 x 15 cm)

Major exhibition in Lucca on Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, one of Africa's leading artists

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