IN THE MOOD OF TIME

When the name of Abdoulaye Ndoye is mentioned, most people respond that it is reserved for a very specific audience... Indeed he is present in several prestigious collections such as the Smithsonian in Washington and many others.

In its new exhibition “In the air of the times” in addition to its usual style, you will discover sacred paintings, floating on the walls, with a refined shine which bring a breath of freshness, a timeless chic! Works, with lifted symbols, rejuvenated with henna, “a land from paradise” according to an Arab proverb, which will amaze a very wide audience.

Between surrealism and symbolism, he weaves the close link between shadow and light. He superimposes rolls on strips of fabric made by weavers, sewn together to evoke a piece of haute couture... But his main tool is writing.

On closer inspection, they are neither Arabic, nor Hebrew nor Sanskrit… they are symbols whose meaning is only known by the artist, written in the style of a weaving from left to right then from right to left without ever returning to the line.

We become attached to his works which have the art of arousing our curiosity.

But the meaning of each of the symbols does not matter, because the whole envelops us in a web of tenderness, blossoming our heart and our body, offering us pendants and loincloths to sublimate ourselves and express love.

ABDOULAYE NDOYE

Born February 26, 1951 in Dakar, Abdoulaye Ndoye is a Senegalese artist from the last generation of the Dakar school, that of Ibou Diouf (1953-2017), Mor Faye (1947-1984), Souleyman Keita (1947- 2014). He benefited from foreign training scholarship programs initiated by Léopold Sédar Senghor.

After his training at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels (1976-1980), he returned to Dakar, became a professor at the School of Arts and participated in the training of several generations of artists. For thirty years, he saw young talents such as the sculptor Ndary Lô, the painters Soly Cissé and Camara Gueye. Subsequently, he held another teaching position at the cutting, sewing and fashion institute in Dakar.

During all these years, his reflection mainly focused on the creation of a personal plastic writing, emptied of all meaning and staged on pages of parchment, entire books, on wood or even on canvas. It draws inspiration from endogenous knowledge in the field of supports and dyes.

Abdoulaye Ndoye proclaims his love of work. He paints every day, because creating gives him immeasurable moral satisfaction, inner well-being, the feeling of leaving something good behind.

Present in several prestigious collections, including the Smithsonian museum in Washington, Abdoulaye Ndoye has exhibited in Senegal, Mali, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, England and the United States.

In 2021, in order to contribute to the improvement of cultural activities and training infrastructures in Senegal, he created his own art gallery “Reg'Arts sur Mbao”.