The first museum survey of the visionary polymath from Côte d'Ivoire
The Ivorian artist Frédéric Bruly Bouabré created an unmistakable and entirely unique body of work, first as a writer and linguist, and then in a dazzling series of colorful drawings on a multitude of subjects, from his native Bété culture to the urban milieu of Abidjan to the all-encompassing themes of fraternity, equality and global understanding. All but unknown even in his home country of Côte d’Ivoire, Bouabré found international recognition in 1989 when he participated in the landmark Paris exhibition Magiciens de la terre, and his work has since been the subject of solo and group exhibitions around the world.
Published to accompany the first museum survey of Bouabré’s work in North America, this catalog offers a vivid account of the artist’s long and multifaceted career, including a detailed chronology of his life and reproductions of more than six hundred of his drawings. An essay by curator Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi introduces Bouabré to a new audience, illuminating his significance as both an important African creator and one of the most intriguing artists of the 20th century.
Frédéric Bruly Bouabré (1923–2014) started his career as a bureaucrat in the French colonial administration but reinvented himself as a self-taught ethnologist and artist in Côte d’Ivoire, his home country. After developing a written syllabary for the oral culture of his Bété people, he turned to drawing as a way to unite Bété subjects with broader themes of human experience. His work attracted global interest, leading to major exhibitions and biennials since its art-world debut in 1989.
Featured image is reproduced from 'Frédéric Bruly Bouabré: World Unbound'.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
New York Times: Arts
Jason Farago
Offers a decades-long view of an expansive, persistent artist who saw writing and drawing as congruent parts of a world-spanning system of knowledge.
Washington Post
Sebastian Smee
At once overwhelming and refreshing — a spur to laughter, fascination and philosophical reflection.
Bookforum
Albert Mobilio
An investigative path deep into the folklore, language, and religion of his people, the Bété, an undertaking that produced voluminous texts and thousands of drawings, all aimed at elucidating his cultural heritage as the foundation of a universal cosmology. […] The endeavor is Blakean—to reveal the world in a grain of Bété sand—and the artist’s unflaggingly inventive imagination is well suited to the task.
AIGA
Lovely catalogue—the design supports these very graphic pieces with empathy and engaged framing throughout. An already beloved addition to my own bookshelf.
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In 1948, an Ivorian government clerk named Frédéric Bruly Bouabré received a “blue” vision that led him to invent a writing system centered around a new alphabet of 401 characters, each of which represented an aspect of his native Bété daily life. (Three of these characters are reproduced here.) He went on to make thousands of pencil and ballpoint pen drawings on many subjects both local and universal, from his own Bété culture to larger themes of fraternity, equality and global understanding. More than 450 of these drawings are collected in Frédéric Bruly Bouabré: World Unbound, the catalog to the exhibition currently on view at MoMA—the first overview of the artist’s work in North America. continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 9 x 10.5 in. / 96 pgs / 485 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $29.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $39.95 ISBN: 9781633451308 PUBLISHER: The Museum of Modern Art, New York AVAILABLE: 5/31/2022 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA ONLY
Published by The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Edited with text by Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi.
The first museum survey of the visionary polymath from Côte d'Ivoire
The Ivorian artist Frédéric Bruly Bouabré created an unmistakable and entirely unique body of work, first as a writer and linguist, and then in a dazzling series of colorful drawings on a multitude of subjects, from his native Bété culture to the urban milieu of Abidjan to the all-encompassing themes of fraternity, equality and global understanding. All but unknown even in his home country of Côte d’Ivoire, Bouabré found international recognition in 1989 when he participated in the landmark Paris exhibition Magiciens de la terre, and his work has since been the subject of solo and group exhibitions around the world.
Published to accompany the first museum survey of Bouabré’s work in North America, this catalog offers a vivid account of the artist’s long and multifaceted career, including a detailed chronology of his life and reproductions of more than six hundred of his drawings. An essay by curator Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi introduces Bouabré to a new audience, illuminating his significance as both an important African creator and one of the most intriguing artists of the 20th century.
Frédéric Bruly Bouabré (1923–2014) started his career as a bureaucrat in the French colonial administration but reinvented himself as a self-taught ethnologist and artist in Côte d’Ivoire, his home country. After developing a written syllabary for the oral culture of his Bété people, he turned to drawing as a way to unite Bété subjects with broader themes of human experience. His work attracted global interest, leading to major exhibitions and biennials since its art-world debut in 1989.
