MANEL NDOYE

Born in 1986, Yelli, known as Manel, Ndoye trained in drawing and painting at the School of Fine Arts in Dakar. His vocation as a painter grew under the caring gaze of “big brother” Douts Ndoye with whom he shared his first attempts at painting. His pictorial work was rewarded in 2009 by the Gorgan International Festival of Visual Arts in Iran. Graduating from his class in 2010, Manel Ndoye began to exhibit regularly on the local scene (Manège gallery, Eiffage Senegal headquarters, Arte gallery) where he received encouragement from his elders, including the Senegalese artist and philosopher Joe Ouakam (1945-2017).

He pursues research between figuration and abstraction and finds ways to express his sensitivity. Manel's paintings were noticed by the international public at the 10th edition of the Dak'art Biennale in 2012. On this occasion, he won the Blachère Foundation Prize with, as a result, a creative residency which led to an exhibition individuality of his paintings: he addresses the question of pressure on ecosystems, the daily life of the Lébous established on the coast and the Ndawrabine dance, an element of intangible heritage which mimics the gestures of fishermen.

Manel is attached to this dance expression which manifests a rare relationship of intimacy between man and the sea and which offers to the eye the brilliance of clothing which sublimates women. The painter matches the sounds of his palette to the shimmer and frantic movement of the dancers. He now makes it his favorite subject, which resonates with events honoring women (Dakar Women Group Art Show, Féminités, etc.). Like a choreographer, Manel Ndoye juxtaposes figures, backgrounds and written traces.

Manel Ndoye is therefore in demand for large-scale projects outside Senegal – in 2019 Lifting the Veil curated by Carole Kvasnevski at the Théâtre Royal de Marrakech, exhibited alongside Bruce Clarke, Jean-David Nkot, and Marc Padeau; from Saint-Louis to Saint-Louis curated by Modou Dieng, exhibited alongside Serigne Mbaye, Camara, Malick Welli, Layla Amatullah Barrayn etc…; Geej solo exhibition at the Carole Kvasnevski gallery in Paris at the end of 2019 – beginning of 2020.

At the same time, his place as an artist is consolidated locally. His individual exhibition, “Traits and contrasts” (April - May 2021) at the Hoop Gallery in Dakar, takes us on an irresistible dive to the seabed. It is also a dizzying penetration of matter observed under the microscope through beams of changing light. In December 2021, his solo exhibition “Trait d’union avec l’univers” was a great success. Following his exhibition “Traces of History” at the Place du Souvenir in May 2022 on the occasion of the Dakar Biennale off, he is participating in the contemporary African art fair, 1-54 in London represented by Jack Bell Gallery. In February 2023, he participates in the exhibition “Sur le fil” with the 19M gallery in Dakar.