Born in 1935 in Dakar, Ousmane Sow has spent his life living between France and Senegal. He is known for larger-than-life statues of Nuba, Zulu, Nok, Maasai and other indigenous people of Africa. The works have been described as “an exaggerated vision of a long forgotten history” (OusmaneSow.com) and have been exhibited throughout the world.
Though she is Italian, Maïmouna Guerresi is considered one of the leading Senegalese artists today. She made a trip to Senegal in the 1990s, which inspired her to convert to Islam and join the Murid community there. Influenced by conceptual body art of the 1970s, Guerresi’s works explore the relationship between women and society. Her work has earned her the nickname “Sufi Frida Kahlo.”
Viye Diba was born in Senegal in 1954, where he still lives and works. He began as a painter but his work evolved into collages and elaborate installation pieces. He often uses trash and other found objects in his works to raise questions about economic and social conditions. Diba is a professor at the Senegalese National School of Fine Arts and is president of the National Association of Plastic Artists of Senegal.
Ibrahima Niang, also known as Piniang, was born in 1976 in Dakar. He has a diverse background, having studied fine arts, multimedia, and video animation. The influence of animation can be seen in his work, such as in his installation where rows of bugs are comically positioned in a gallery so they look like they are marching. Niang has exhibited throughout Africa, Europe, New York, and has won several prestigious awards for his work.
Born in 1980, Omar Victor Diop has long had an interest for photography. His work combines elements of fashion, advertising, and costuming. Though Diop does some purely commercial photography, he also uses the medium to make social commentary. His work, Onomollywood, which was created with performing arts expert Tempé, received international recognition for recreating scenes from classic Hollywood movies as though they’d been shot in Senegal.
Mamady Seydi is known for his stunning large sculptures based on Senegalese folk tales. The sculptures, often positioned in groups, have a dramatic narrative quality to them. The artist considers his works to be alive rather than statues because, as he says on his website, they have stories to tell. He has exhibited around Senegal and France and participated in many artist residencies.
Born in 1970 in Senegal, Cheikhou Ba works as an artist and teaches at an art school in Dakar. He uses a wide range of materials, media, and colors in his works. One common thread found throughout most of his work is recurrence of an image that has been slightly altered with each repetition.
Born in a small village in Senegal, Cissé Mamadou moved to Paris when he was 18. It was there that he discovered his passion for the arts. Living in a big city had a major impact on his artwork, as can be seen by the futuristic urban worlds he creates in his paintings.
Delphine Diallo is a French-Senegalese photographer who was named by the Smithsonian Institution as one of photography’s emerging stars in 2012. She has many other awards and titles under her belt. Her photographs explore issues of cultural heritage and racism, such as in the collection “The Highness,” in which she adorned models with intricate masks and headdresses made from braided hair.
Henri Sagna was born in 1973 in Dakar, where he currently lives and works. Like many other Senegalese artists, Sagna works with found objects, recycling them into pieces of art. Sagna transforms the objects into something completely new and often very beautiful – like his large sculptures made from flowing white dresses with metal bugs crawling over them, or his gigantic barcode with a village scene made from scrap metal. The mosquitoes that often appear in Sagna’s work represent the problem of malaria in Africa. Sagna has exhibited in Berlin, Paris, Algiers, and in Senegal.
