OBOU GBAIS (Ivory Coast) | Morgen Téré, 2021 | Acrylic on paper, 100x70 (105x76)

Sign.: OBOU 21 (front lower left)

Obou Gbais (Peintre Obou) (b. 1992) is a contemporary artist from the Ivory Coast.

Under the guidance of artist Pascali Konan, O. Gbais completed art school in Abidjan in 2019. His works were first exhibited in 2017 at the TART Gallery in Zurich, followed by exhibitions at Rotonde des Arts and Art-Time galleries in Abidjan. Since 2020, he has participated in various art projects across France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany.

Having experienced the brutality of war in Africa in 2002, O. Gbais continues to explore the fates of war victims in his artwork. The central motif of his paintings is crowds of people—those who navigate life amid the chaos of 21st-century Africa. His compositions partially obscure the darker aspects of his subjects: disorder, violence, conflict, and suffering. Yet, for observant viewers, these elements remain present beneath the surface of his works.