Exhibition details
The first survey of Bouabré’s work, and the first exhibition at MoMA devoted to an Ivorian artist, Frédéric Bruly Bouabré: World Unbound spans the artist’s immense production from the 1970s until his death in 2014. A highlight of the exhibition is the Alphabet Bété—Bouabré’s invention of the first writing system for the Bété people, an ethnic group in present-day Côte d’Ivoire to which the artist belonged.
More details
Also on view are hundreds of postcard-size illustrations that he drew on cardboard packages of hair products he salvaged from his neighborhood in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire’s economic capital. Tracing the arc of Bouabré’s inventiveness—from the creation of his first writings and drawings focused on the the culture of the Bété, to scenes from everyday life exploring broader themes of democracy, women’s rights, and current affairs—the exhibition celebrates his commitment to collecting, preserving, and sharing knowledge as a way of understanding the world around us.
Location
The Museum of Modern Art
11 W 53rd St
New York, NY
Image: Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, « GBRÉ=GBLÉ » N° 118 from Alphabet Bété (1991) / The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art. © 2022 Family of Frédéric Bruly Bouabré