Aboudia (Ivory Coast) Untitled (Four Figures), 2018

Signed:

Front lower right: ABOUDIA 18.

Not framed. Unstretched canvas (not mounted on a stretcher).

ABOUDIA (b. 1983, Ivory Coast)

Four towering, mask-like figures stand shoulder to shoulder against grounds of burning orange, turquoise and deep ultramarine. Their spiralling goggle eyes, barred mouths and crown-like heads are drawn in thick oil stick and black spray paint over layers of acrylic and collage: comic strips, French magazine pages and photographs show through the painted bodies. The collision of children's cartoons and press cuttings with raw street-art gestures is typical of his nouchi style, echoing the noise and energy of Abidjan's streets.

Aboudia, also known as Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, is a contemporary African artist working in his studios in New York and Abidjan. Inspired by his native Abidjan, the capital of the Ivory Coast, street art, and traditional sculptures, Aboudia coined his style "nouchi." The West African youth slang word "nouchi" (lit. "nose") symbolizes power; a person whom everyone fears, but who fears nothing. "Nouchi" is also the term used for local street youth and the slang itself—a mixture of local and French languages with its unique writing system.

Aboudia's paintings reflect the civil war that took place in Ivory Coast in 2011. His works often depict trauma, human cruelty experienced; motifs of skulls and soldiers, African fetishes, and reflections of street life are common in his work. Through his art, Aboudia raises the question - if people can choose to fight, why can't they choose to live in peace and help those who need it most?

In 2022, Aboudia became an auction record holder - this year, a total of 75 of his works were sold, one of them for $607,361. His works have been exhibited in various exhibitions in major art cities around the world, including Basel, New York, Miami, Singapore, Hong Kong, Barcelona, and Copenhagen. Today, his works are in the most important international art collections - in Jean Pigozzi's contemporary African art collection in Geneva (CAAC), Frank Cohen's collection in London, the Saatchi collection in New York, and others.