The artwork features a bold, vibrant color palette of blue and yellow. The composition is dominated by a large, stylized figure in the center, possibly a caricature or cartoon-like representation. The figure appears to be holding some kind of object or tool. The background is a deep blue, creating a sense of depth and contrast with the central figure. The overall style is expressive and gestural, with visible brushstrokes and a playful, almost childlike quality. The artist's intention seems to be a whimsical, imaginative exploration of symbolism or cultural references, though the specific meaning or context is not entirely clear. ...
Aboudia's work depicts the vitality and the unvarnished energy of a youth that gets by and manages; the smiles are a little nightmarish at times, but these broad smiles exalt their experience. This generation on the fringes of society is growing and taking on a new form. Its strength is becoming clearer as it is restructured. In each work swarms a multitude of lives, a breath of fresh air and noise, silhouettes seek their place in endlessly narrow spaces.
In Aboudia's canvases the presence of yesterday's Ziguéhis can be felt to the emergence and assertion of Nouchi. The friction of words, remixed sounds and dreams of someplace else brandished in signs of identity, resistant to the test of precarious everyday conditions.
His lines continually encapsulate the effervescence of a blossoming country, the subject of endless debates and demands. Abidjan is at the height of its ascension, a city of transformations. Now that it is beyond the crisis, it is attractive; a city of possibilities. Aboudia is lying in wait, he observes and buries himself in his metropolis. He closely follows any movement or changes.
The living dead, zombies that are more awake than ever are illuminated in his tableaux. Between the concrete and the sand Aboudia creates a fantasy, a spontaneous festival, a thriller straight out of coastal West Africa. ...
Galerie Cecile Fakhoury opened its doors in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in September 2012. In May 2018, the gallery inaugurated its second space in Dakar, Senegal and a showroom in Paris, France. Shortly after, in March 2020, a new project space dedicated to emerging artists from Africa opened in Abidjan. In October 2021, Galerie Cecile Fakhoury inaugurated another gallery, opening in the 8th arrondissement of Paris on Avenue Matignon. The gallery promotes contemporary art from Africa and the Diaspora by providing visibility to the artistic diversity and creative spirit from the continent. Through its programming of solo and group exhibitions, participation in international art fairs, biennales, and collaboration with international galleries, Cecile Fakhoury is a leading force putting contemporary African art on the global map. The artists represented by the gallery are distinguished by their cultural identities and stories, they create a new language that crosses geographical boundaries and familiarities. They are observers of the world they live in, critics of society, and committed to their positions living within complex histories. In turn, they ask us to reconsider our own relation to the world. ...
