Mali to ME: Debut regional solo at Efie gallery by Abdoulaye Konaté

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

Efie gallery, Dubai-based contemporary art gallery specialising in art and artists of African origin, has inaugurated an exhibition of the works of pioneering Malian artist Abdoulaye Konaté (Oct. 10 – Jan. 6). Titled ‘Sambadio’, the solo show includes a new monumental 9-metre creation. The title is inspired by the final track of Malian musician Ali Farka Touré’s iconic 1976 album, Le Jeune Chansonnier du Mali. The song Sambadio celebrates farmers with lyrics reflecting a father’s passionate plea for his son to honour the earth. Similarly, Konaté’s latest works draw upon themes of Bedouin culture of nomadic desert Arabs, integrating motifs that pay tribute to their profound relationship with the land, and drawing parallels between West African and Middle Eastern cultures. Ali Ibrahim “Ali Farka” Touré (1939 – 2006) was a Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist, and one of the African continent’s most internationally renowned musicians. His music blends traditional Malian music and its derivative, African American blues; he is considered a pioneer of African desert blues. Abdoulaye Konaté (b. 1953, Mali), fashions large-scale textile-based installations using woven and dyed cloth; they are materials native to his homeland. His abstract and figurative tableaux explore both aesthetic language and socio-political and environmental issues. Referring to the West African tradition of using textiles as a means of communication, the artist highlights global issues with an intimate reference to his own life and country. His works can be seen in many prestigious public and private collections including Centre Pompidou, Paris; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Tate Modern, London; Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; and Arken Museum for Moderne Kunst, Ishoj, Denmark, among others.

The Efie gallery exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue written by Simon Njami, Ousseynou Wade and Professor Yacouba Konaté. Njami is an independent lecturer, curator, and art critic. He has curated numerous exhibitions of African art and photography, including the first African pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007. Wade is currently advisor to the Director General of the Museum of Black Civilizations, formerly serving in the cabinet of Senegal’s Ministry of Culture as technical advisor and as General Secretary of the Biennale of Contemporary African Art, and organising six editions of the Dakar biennial. Professor Konaté is an Ivorian curator, writer and art critic. He is a professor of philosophy at the Université de Cocody in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and a member of l’Académie des Arts, des Sciences et des Cultures d’Afrique et des Diasporas in Abidjan.

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Efie gallery is also making its debut at Abu Dhabi Art fair, November 20-24. The gallery’s booth (M1) will feature a new large-scale work created in 2023 by Abdoulaye Konaté. It will be seen in the special projects section, In and Around. The booth also will showcase an expansive new woodwork by internationally recognised artist, El Anatsui (b. 1944, Gold Coast, now Ghana), free standing sculptures by pioneering Emirati artist, Dr. Mohamed Yousif (b.1953, United Arab Emirates) who makes his art fair debut and photography from the acclaimed Water Life Series by Aïda Muluneh (b. 1974, Ethiopia).

  Abdoulaye Konaté at work.

Konaté studied painting at Bamako’s Institut National des Arts and developed his art practice at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana. During his time in Cuba, he discovered multidisciplinary art, which made a stong impression on him. Konaté used acrylic to paint a multitude of work. In the 1990s, he switched from traditional painting to tapestry. His tapestries are shown in galleries all over the world today. Early in his career, he had also made works on paper, featuring Malian cosmological symbols and fabric installations influenced by traditional clothes of Malian artists, singers, and hunter societies. Recently, his work has been exhibited at the Gwangju Biennale (2023); Dakar Biennale (2022); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2020); Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town (2020); and the Venice Biennale (2017). His numerous awards include Officier de l’Ordre National du Mali (2009), France’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2002), and the Léopold Sédar Senghor Grand Prize at the Dakar Biennale (1996).

Since its inception in 2021 and the opening of its permanent space in Al Khayat Art Avenue in 2022, Efie gallery has been establishing itself as a global platform, working with some of Africa’s most significant artists like El Anatsui, Aïda Muluneh, Maggie Otieno, Abdoulaye Konaté and Yaw Owusu. Dedicated to the representation and advancement of both established and emerging artists from Africa and the diaspora, it supports cross-cultural exchange of artist work across the Middle East and beyond. It also operates a residency programme that focuses on artist promotion, protection and preservation. Part of Dubai’s Al Quoz Creative Zone, set to become a world-leading hub for creativity and entrepreneurship, the gallery aims to create a vibrant ecosystem for contemporary African art in the UAE. Its space also displays gallery founders’ collection of rare vinyl and shellac records from around the world, celebrating the intersection of art and music. ‘Efie’ is the Twi word for ‘home’, addressing the notion of belonging and how it can be determined by culture, history and identity for communities across the world. (Twi is spoken in southern and central Ghana). Founded by the Ghanaian family of Valentina, Kwame and Kobi Mintah, the larger vision of Efie gallery is to foster dialogue between African artists and the world.