Alioune Diouf
Born in 1964 in Dakar, Senegalese artist Alioune Diouf comes from a family of Serer origin. He received a traditional Koranic education while his artistic education was done in the open air, by directly observing the world around him and in contact with a large community of artists. In 1989, he met the painter, sculptor and poet Issa Samb (alias Joe Oukam), an emblematic figure of the Senegalese art world, who invited him to join the famous courtyard of 17 Jules Ferry. He became a member of Laboratoire Agit'Art, one of the first and most important artists' collectives founded in 1973 by Youssouf John, whose key members were Issa Samb, Youssoupha Dione, Djibril Diop Mambéty and El Hadji Sy. The Laboratoire Agit'Art organized artistic experiments and performances, and challenged the ideology of Négritude advocated by President Léopold Sédar Senghor, opening the way for collaborative art forms. In the 1990s, Alioune Diouf was also one of the artists behind the revitalization of the Village des Arts de Dakar, which had been founded by El Hadji Sy in the late 1970s. Alioune Diouf lived for twenty-eight years within the community of the Laboratoire Agit'Art, which allowed him to develop his personal practice while participating in happenings and improvisation workshops.
Writer and journalist Pape Samba Kane wrote of him, "The one who slept (without closing his mind's eye once) in the corner of the courtyard, (...) Alioune Diouf, alone, has absorbed everything from this heritage that speaks of the deepest mysteries buried in ancestral beliefs." His artistic practice takes the form of figurative compositions that employ painting, sculpture, drawing, sewing, embroidery, textile scraps, as well as natural pigments that he produces himself from clay, kola nuts, coffee and plants.
Alioune Diouf’s pictorial universe, both gracious and puzzling, is characterized by intertwined figures, animals, cosmic and floral motifs, as well as by spiritual and sacred symbolism. The boundlessly large dances with the most infinitesimal details of the world in a constant overflow. Each figure drawn - from the bird, to the tree, to the man, to the eye, - never ceases at its edge, but unfolds and stretches beyond its outlines to join the dance of this bustling carnival. In this uninterrupted motion of life, these figures are tied by a single sewing thread, by the same breath that animates all beings. Whether in his paintings, drawings, sculptures, or temporary assemblages of found objects, no fixed form could restrict his gesture, and this is precisely what it is about: accepting the overflow and otherness in all its forms to make humanity happen. The representations of Alioune Diouf's works are similar to totemic faces, conjuring up traditional African masks, often seen in profile and recalling the posture of the characters in the art of ancient Egypt. His work is invested with a layer of symbols whose iconographic reading touches on various cultural, religious and historical beliefs.
Works
Chacun est trône , 2020 Acrylic paint and weaving on canvas 292 x 285 cm
Alioune Diouf / L'écran des yeux 2018-2020 / Acrylic paint and embroidery on synthetic fabric
Alioune Diouf / De génération en génération 2020 / Acrylic paint and embroidery on synthetic fabric
Les Messagers (the messengers), 2022 Embroidery and acrylic paint on textile 97 x 53 CM
Alioune Diouf / Directions 2018 - 2020 / Acrylic paint and embroidery on synthetic fabric
Etre sur ses jambes (to stand on our own feet), 2018 Embroidery 110x48 CM
Life Companions, 2022 Embroidery, acrylic paint and natural pigment paint on textile mounted on canvas 75x55 CM
Liberté (Freedom), 2022 Sewing and acrylic paint on canvas 92 x 66 cm
La Mémoire des Ancêtres_2021_255x118cm
Sa tank ak sama tank (se suivre), 2024 Charcoal and natural pigments on paper 50 x 64,5 cm, 67 x 81 cm (with frame)
Transmission , 2024, Charcoal and natural pigment on paper, 50 x 64,5 cm, 67 x 81 cm (with frame)
Biography
Portait by Mamadou Ly
Alioune Diouf (b. 1964, Dakar) is a Senegalese artist, of Serer origins. As a painter and sculptor, he uses a wide variety of materials. He creates his own pigments, sews his canvases and creates sculptures from natural environmental elements. His pictorial universe is characterized by the interweaving of figures, animals, cosmic and floral motifs, as well as by spiritual and sacred symbolism.
He pursued a koranic education while his artistic education happened outdoor in direct observations of the world and in contact with a large community of artists. In 1989, he met the emblematic figure of Senegal in the arts, Issa Samb who invited him to join the famous courtyard at 17 Jules Ferry and became a member of the Laboratoire Agit’ Art, one of the first and most important artist collective founded in 1974 that organized artistic experimentations and performances. Alioune Diouf lived there for 28 years, participating in the improvisational happenings and workshops of the collective, constantly transforming the courtyard while developing his personal practice. In the efervescence of this community, he developed his artistic practice restlessly.
As a painter and a sculptor, Alioune Diouf uses a diversity of materials: he produces his own pigments from clay, kola and cofee nuts and plants, and uses in his works textile scraps and sewing. His sculptures from monumental sand pieces to carved wooden ones, are made of readily natural materials. His pictorial realm is characterized by intertwined figures, animals and cosmic and floral motifs as well as a spiritual and sacred symbolism. In 2020,
Alioune Diouf received a solo exhibition, “Ubeku“ at the Selebe Yoon gallery,Dakar, Senegal following a two-month residency, in 2019 “Pavillon of the Institut Français“, Dakar, Senegal. His work was included in several group exhibitions, such as: “Un voyage à Nantes”, Nantes, France; “Nous les vagues“ - MAT, Contemporary art Centre, Montrelais, at Board of the Loire, France (2024); “Entre Parenthèses“, Selebe Yoon, Dakar, Senegal (2024); “Sur le Fil“, at Théodore Monod Museum, Dakar, Senegal and the 19M Gallery, Paris, France (2023); “Quand les Arbres s'enracineront dans la Terre“ at the Residence of the French Ambassador Dak'Art Biennale, Dakar, Senegal, (2022); "Teg Bët Gëstu Gi" at Théodore Monod Museum (IFAN),co-organized by art historian Emmanuelle Chérel, Dakar, Senegal, (2022); “How to talk with birds, trees, fish, shells, snakes, bulls and lions“ at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, Germany in 2019, his personal work and collaborations with Issa Samb were exhibited . With Le Laboratoire Agit'Art, he has participated in exhibitions such as “Le Congrès de Minuit“, Biennale de Dakar, OFF, Dakar, Senegal (2016) and “La Cloche des Fourmis“, Biennale de Dakar, OFF, Dakar, Senegal (2018). His in the exhibition . Diouf will be in residence at La Maison Julien Gracq, collaboration with Le MAT, Contemporary art Centre, Montrelais, France, (2024); he has done residencies at Selebe Yoon, Dakar, Senegal (2020) and at the Meet Factory, a contemporary art centre in Prague, République Tchèque, (2015).
His work is in important public and private collections, including the Beaux-Arts of Nantes, France and the Maison des Esclaves, Gorée island, Senegal, as well as in numerous private collections in the United States, Europe and Africa such as the Jom Collection, Dakar, Senegal and the CBH Bank Collection, Zurich, Switzerland.
Alioune Diouf lives and works in Dakar.
Past exhibitions
Exposition collective - "Tant que les arbres s'enracineront dans la terre" à la Résidence de France, Biennale de Dakar, 2022
Entre Parenthèses, Selebe Yoon, Dakar 2024
Le musée de l'IFAN, Dakar Senegal, 2022
La galerie 19 M, au musée Theodore Monod, Dakar- Sénégal