Through his work, Abudia he regularly returns to the subject of childhood and childhood innocence as a narrative voice for society. Deeply rooted in the artist's connection to his hometown of Abidjan on the Ivory Coast, Aboudia uses found materials from the street, including trash, corrugated iron, newspapers, magazines, school books and charcoal in his layered canvases. Aboudia's distinctive approach to figuration is inspired by that of graffiti city and a dynamic urban culture, which enters into dialogue with the imagery of traditional West African wood carving. Recognizing the coexistence of these dual influences in his work, Aboudia names his stylistic approach Nouchi, a term more commonly used to refer to the colloquial language specific to the Ivory Coast, affirming both local and traditional significance to his artistic practice. The artist looks at the world through the purest and truest reality we can interact with, a child's lens, using his dynamic depictions of children to address social and political issues such as war, poverty and homelessness.
Jean Dubuffet's work draws the viewer deep into an alternate universe
Using unorthodox found materials that she layered with paint and paper, Dubuffet's work retraces his personal evolution and its meanders while lived through the significant cultural changes and artistic developments of the last century. There was no hierarchy in his world as conventions were broken and historically underrepresented and overlooked subjects were brought to the fore, head. Proving that creativity can flourish in the most unlikely of places, Dubuffet created his own language of deliberately ugly or crude art which he called Art Brut
This new language focused on the dreary underside of cosmopolitan life and his subjects included all manner of urban landscapes and individuals whom he chose to depersonalize, exaggerating their proportions and features to create grotesque caricatures that challenged cultural standards of beauty and traditional notions of realism. Different Throws of Dreams explores the dialogue between Aboudia and Jean Dubuffet and their focus on portraying the most vulnerable and raw fractions of society. Besides the similarities in subject matter, another recurring theme in the conversation between the two artists is theirs use of found objects and everyday life waste materials which are repurposed to represent urban landscapes and the individuals who discarded them.
Different throws of dreams will be on view in London's Phillips Berkeley Square galleries from 10 to 31 August
Miety Heiden, Vice President & Head of Private Sales at Phillips, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Aboudia in exhibiting these stunning paintings to our audience in London this summer. Showing these alongside the work of Jean Dubuffet, created half a century ago, offers the opportunity to find an extraordinary dialogue between the work of these two artists”.
Cover work: Aboudia Untitled, 2022
