Frédéric Bruly Bouabré Solo exhibition <Love letter>

Venice biennale special
Exhibition by ART NYC

This exhibition, titled "Love Letter," presents 100 previously unreleased works by Frédéric Bruly Bouabré in Venice 2024. His art has garnered recent acclaim, having been showcased at the 2022 MoMA and featured in the 2022, 2013 and 1998 Venice Biennale.

Frédéric Bruly Bouabré (1923-2014), born in Côte d'Ivoire, left an indelible mark on the artistic landscape of the 20th and 21st centuries. He pioneered the creation of the Alphabet Bété, a written language system of the oral language spoken by the Bété community. The Alphabet Bété stands as Bouabré's magnum opus, comprising of 449 meticulously crafted pieces that intricately blend imagery with monosyllabic Bété words, offering profound insights into everyday Bété life. As a young man, Bouabré served as a civil servant in the French colonial government, a period during which he laid the groundwork for the development of the alphabet Bété. He adopted the moniker "Chik Nidro," symbolizing his prophetic persona, driven by a deep-seated desire for communication. Troubled by the limitations of the Bété language spoken by his people, Bouabré recognized the transformative power of visual language as a means to express and preserve cultural identity amidst societal evolution. He meticulously observed and documented primitive lifestyles, cultures, and facial expressions, paving the way for the creation of the Alphabet Bété. His legacy endures through thousands of love letters in the form of his art, serving as a timeless testament to his commitment to bridging communication barriers between the French and Bété communities.

Questa mostra, intitolata "Lettera d'amore", presenta 100 opere precedentemente inedite di Frédéric Bruly Bouabré alla Venezia 2024. La sua arte è stata recentemente apprezzata, essendo stata mostrata al MoMA del 2022 e presentata nella Biennale di Venezia del 2022 e del 2013.

Frédéric Bruly Bouabré (1923-2014), nato in Costa d'Avorio, ha lasciato un segno indelebile sul paesaggio artistico dei secoli XX e XXI. Egli è stato pioniero nella creazione dell'Alfabeto Bété, un sistema linguistico scritto della lingua orale parlata dalla comunità Bété. L'Alfabeto Bété è il magnum opus di Bouabré, composto da 449 pezzi meticolosamente realizzati che mescolano in modo intricato immagini con parole monosilabiche Bété, offrendo profonde intuizioni nella vita quotidiana del Bété. Da giovane, Bouabré ha lavorato come funzionario pubblico nel governo coloniale francese, periodo durante il quale ha posto le basi per lo sviluppo dell'alfabeto Bété. Ha adottato il soprannome "Chik Nidro", simboleggiando la sua personalità profetica, guidata da un profondo desiderio di comunicazione. Convolto dalle limitazioni della lingua Bété parlata dal suo popolo, Bouabré riconosce il potere trasformativo del linguaggio visivo come mezzo per esprimere e preservare l'identità culturale in mezzo all'evoluzione sociale. Ha osservato meticolosamente e documentato stili di vita primitivi, culture e espressioni facciali, spianando la strada per la creazione dell'Alfabeto Bété. La sua eredità persiste attraverso migliaia di lettere d'amore nella forma della sua arte, testimoniando il suo impegno a superare le barriere di comunicazione tra le comunità francesi e Bété.

Born in 1923 in Zéprégühé, Ivory Coast / died in 2014 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

• 2022: Frédéric Bruly Bouabré: World Unbound, Museum of Modern Art, NewYork^[3]

• ^{2022: Venice Biennale, Italy} 

• 2013: Venice Biennale, Italy

• 2012: Inventing the world: the artist as citizen, Biennale Bénin, Cotonou, Bénin
• 2010–2011: Tate Modern, London, UK
• 2010: African Stories, Marrakech Art Fair, Marrakech
• 2007: Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK
• 2007: Why Africa?, Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Turin, Italy
• 2006: 100% Africa, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
• 2005: Arts of Africa, Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, France
• 2004–2007: Africa Remix, the touring show started on 24 July 2004 at the Museum Kunst Palast in Düsseldorf (Germany), and travelled to the Hayward Gallery in London, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo.
• 2003: Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, Musée Champollion, Figeac, France
• 2002: Documenta 11, Kassel, Germany
• 2001–2002: The Short Century was an exhibition held in Munich, Berlin, Chicago and New York, organised by a team headed by Nigerian curator Okwui Enwezor
• 1996: Neue Kunst aus Africa, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germania
• 1995: Galerie des Cinq Continents, Musée des arts d’Afrique et d'Océanie, Paris, France
• 1995: Dialogues de Paix, Palais des Nations, Geneve, Switzerland
• 1994: Rencontres Africaines, the touring exhibition was shown at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, Cidade do Cabo in Sud Africa, Museum Africa in Johannesburg and in Lisbon, Portugal
• 1994: World Envisioned, together with Alighiero Boetti, the exhibition hwas shown in DIA Center for the Arts in New York and American Center, Paris, France
• 1993: Trésor de Voyage, Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy
• 1993: Azur, Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain in Jouy-en-Josas, France
• 1993: La Grande Vérité: les Astres Africains, Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nantes, France
• 1993: Grafolies, Biennale d’Abidjan in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
• 1992: A Visage Découvert, Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain in Jouy-en-Josas, France
• 1992: Oh Cet Echo!, Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris, France
• 1992: Out of Africa, Saatchi Collection, London
• 1992: L'Art dans la Cuisine, St. Gallen, Sweden
• 1992: Resistances, Watari-Um for Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
• 1991: Africa Hoy/Africa Now, the touring exhibition has shown in Centro de Arte Moderno in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain), Gröninger Museum in Groningen (Netherlands), Centro de arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City
• 1989: Magiciens de la Terre, Centre Georges Pompidou and Grande halle de la Villette, Paris, France
• 1989: Waaah! Far African Art, Courtrai, Belgium
• 1986: L'Afrique e la Lettre, Centre Culturel Français, Lagos, Nigeria

More information 

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