YEANZI
Yéanzi was born in 1988 in Katiola, Ivory Coast.
Graduated with honors from the National School of Fine Arts in Abidjan in 2012, Yéanzi worked as a portraitist for a dozen years. He lives and works today in Bingerville, Ivory Coast.
The question of identity is at the heart of Yéanzi’s work. Through the portrait, the artist implicitly reveals the personality of individuals with dual identities, regularly using assumed names. Such as the testimony of the mask they wear in society, Yéanzi gives their names to his works.
Since 2013, the artist has pursued a personal work using the plastic material that he melts, modifying his relationship to the genre: « plastic is one of the greatest scourge of our earth, it is a hot topic. Everyone can see what they feel, I wanted materials that speak to people, it refers to an environmental problem, it is part of our everyday life. I am also fascinated by fire, the flame that purifies, the light that illuminates the world. »
In residence at Jardin Rouge, Yéanzi, through the series « Colloquium » questions the concept of heritage, the form of amnesia associated with it and its importance in the construction of identity.
(Exhibition selection)
Solo shows
2018
Cap town art fair, Cap town, South Africa
2017
PROJECTIONS, Cecile Fakhoury gallery, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
2015
PERSONA, Cecile Fakhoury gallery, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
Collective exhibitions
2019
Art market, San Francisco, USA
Art on paper contemporary art fair, New York, USA
IN-DISCIPLINE, Travelling exhibition at the Espace Expressions, Fondation CDG, Rabat, Morocco
IN-DISCIPLINE, Montresso* Art Space, Montresso* Art Foundation, Marrakesh, Morocco
1-54 Marrakesh, Cécile Fakhoury gallery, Marrakesh, Morocco
2018
Art market, San Francisco, USA
Art on paper contemporary art fair, New York, USA
2017
L’Afrique en Capitale, Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain Mohammed VI, Rabat, Morocco
Pulse art fair, Miami, USA
Cape town art fair, Cape town, South Africa
2016
1.54 Contemporary African art fair, Somerset house, London, UK.
1.54 Contemporary African art fair, Pioneer Works, New York, USA.
Biennale de Dak’art Off ‘’Une collection particuliere‘’, Dakar, Senegal.
PLATFORM, Art Twenty One Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria.