Amadou Sanogo (b.1977) was born in Ségou, Mali and graduated from Bamako’s esteemed Institut National des Arts in 2003. His academic study of fine arts paved the way for future analysis of the ethnic mores of his homeland in an aesthetically abstract and deconstructed manner. Sanogo paints on unstretched, repurposed cloth found at his local market, paying homage to his cultural roots and transposing them into both medium and subject matter. Drawing on his Malian upbringing, Sanogo delves into the tender and nuanced matters of global politics, journalism and the justice system. Sanogo is a mainstay at the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London and New York having shown there yearly since 2013 to 2018.
Solo exhibitions include Amadou Sanogo à Bamako, Atelier Badialan, Bamako, Mali (2017), Art Brussels, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Brussels (2017), Les Points de l’individu, Voice Gallery Marrakech, Morocco (2017), Fables at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2016), Amadou Sanogo, Chapelle des Dames Blanches, La Rochelle, France (2015) and L’homme du present at the Institut français de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (2014).
Group exhibitions include African Passions, Cadaval Pala, Evora, Portugal (during Evora Africa, African Art and Music Festival (2018), Find Yourself, BICIM Groupe BNP Paribas, Bamoko, Mali (2018), Des Hommes et Des Totems, Galerie Le Manège a Dakar, Institut français, Dakar, Senegal (2018), Afrique, Saint-Mengold Space, Huy, Belgium (2017), Le Havre - Dakar, Partager la Memoire, Le Havre Museum, France (2017), Afrique D’aujourd’hui, Bourg-en-Bresse, France (2017), Dakar Biennale, Senegal (2016), FIAC Officiel, with Galerie Magnin-A, Paris (2015), African Folk Art Exhibition, Bordeaux (2015) and Bi-Mali: le Mali Contemporain at the Rotonde des arts contemporains, Galeri Nour Al Hayat, Abidjan (2015). In 2019 Sanogo will take part in the group show Kubatana at Vestfossen Kunskaboratorium, Norway. Sanogo currently lives and works in Bamako, Mali.