Frédéric Bruly Bouabré Solo Exhibition 2025
Cheik Nadro:
‘The one who does not forget.’
ART NYC x Space 776
37-39 Clinton St, New York
From April 11 to 29, 2025
Tuesday to Sunday 12-6 pm
ARTNYC and Space 776 holds Frédéric Bruly Bouabré’s solo exhibition in Space 776, New York. It will be showcased from April 11 to 29, 2025.
ART NYC and Space776 collaborate to present the work of the great artist Frédéric Brouabré (1923~2014) at Space776 New York. This is his first solo exhibition in New York since his 2022 solo exhibition in MOMA. This exhibition presents works of various period trends from the 1970s to the 2000s, among his posthumous works that have not been released. In particular, it is expected that a relatively large 15X15 inch work among the alphabet Bété works, the most unique and significant achievement of his work, and we will display over 13.5x25.5 inch size works; his works are usually small, about the size of postcards will be rarely introduced. The alphabet Bété is an exceptional writing system he created by reflecting his cultural life.
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 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, during which he laid the groundwork for the development of the alphabet Bété. He adopted the "Chik Nidro" moniker, 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 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.
Please pay close attention to and visit this exhibition, which ART NYC and Space776 have ambitiously prepared.
Born in 1923 in Zéprégühé, Ivory Coast / died in 2014 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
- 2024 : Solo exhibition ‘Love Letter’, ART NYC, Venice, Italy
- 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