Abou Traore b. 1960

Born in 1960 in Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina-Faso, then Upper Volta, Abou Traoré comes from a line of forgers - a symbolic and social charge that goes beyond the technical dimension of the work.

The artist inherited the ancestral lost-wax technique from his father, Assane Traoré, and began his training at the age of 10 in the family workshop. Traore has been casting and sculpting in his own name since 1983, the year he broke away from the productivism that reigned in the family workshop to focus on artistic creation. He has also made improvements to the bronze-making technique in the Koko district of Bobo-Dioulasso (Quartier des bronziers).

His originality as an artist and his creativity brought him to the attention of the French Cultural Centre in Bobo-Dioulasso, which exhibited his work on numerous occasions.

His work is based on research into the Bobo tradition of the spirit of masks made from animals and a modern and contemporary syncretism. Through his work, he seeks to ease tensions and remind us of the values of living together, tradition and respect for the environment.

 

Awards

1990 - 1st prize, Semaine nationale de la culture (SNC Bobo-Dioulasso) - Burkina Faso

Selected Exhibitions 

2024 - “Au pays des Hommes intègres” - Galerie CHRISTOPHE PERSON, Dakar

2024 - 'Echoes of the Unseen' Galerie Revel - Bordeaux

2023 - Biennale Internationale de Sculpture BISO - Ouagadougou

2023 - Moogoo Fine Art - Francfort

2023  - “Ombres et Lumières”, Institut Français - Ouagadougou

2022 - Art Salon - Annecy

2022  -  “Feel the Spirit”, Brussels African Art Center - Brussels

2022  - Salon ArtExpo - Chambery

2021 - Biennale Internationale de Sculpture BISO (OFF), Ateliers

2021 -  Maaneere - Ouagadougou

2021 -  “Akili-Ko”, Institut Français - Ouagadougou

2020 - Galerie Art-Z - Paris

2019 - Biennale Internationale de Sculpture BISO (OFF), Agence

2019 - Deneulin - Ouagadougou

2018 - “Grafic Africa”, Le CUBE-Piasa - Paris

2018  - Salon ArtExpo - Chambery

2017 - Duo show with Leslie Amine, INSA - Lyon

2014 - “Bobo ville ouverte”, Institut français - Bobo-Dioulasso

2012 - Atlanta AKWABA Arts Festival - Ghana

2008 - OFF Dakar Biennale, Galerie Terang’art - Dakar

2004 - International Salon of Arts and Crafts – Ouagadougou

2003 - OFF Dakar Biennale, Galerie Terang’art - Dakar

1994  - Ouag’Art - Ouagadougou

1993 - Biennale de Marseille – France

1991 - Château de Rolle, with Groupe Fuzion – Switzerland

1990 - Musée Provincial du HOUET – Bobo-Dioulasso

1988 - Centre Culturel Henri MATISSE – Bobo-Dioulasso

1987 - Saison artistique des Grands Marais, with Groupe Fuzion

- Sandillon, France

1984  - La Roche-Vineuse – France