Jean Servais Somian

Inspired by many years spent between Africa and Europe, Jean Servais Somian claims in his work an approach rich with influences, hybrid and fluid. He draws from an ancestral culture the forms of certain objects of African daily life which he reinterprets through refined lines and touches of colour and materials that have become characteristic of his work. Basins, totem trees, pirogues are transformed under the gaze of the designer into stools, bookcases and benches whose wood (coconut, ebony, or amazaque) completes the tribute to the richness of the African lands that saw them born. All the objects are designed and made in Côte d'Ivoire where Jean Servais Somian opened his design studios in 2018, one in Grand Bassam for the sculpture of the pieces, the other in Abidjan for cabinet-making. He favours the singular character of each of his creations and develops an aesthetic reflection at the crossroads of art and design. Each of his objects produced in very small quantities retains its original utilitarian and functional dimension, while the plastic design work of the pieces builds eloquent visual bridges with contemporary sculpture. ...

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. ...