Cécile Fakhoury: About African Contemporary art

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It’s been two and a half years since Cécile Fakhoury’s leap to the Ivory Coast. “When I decided to open a contemporary art gallery in Abidjan, lots of people said it wouldn’t work”, she remembers. And yet today, the day before the opening of sculptor Jems Robert Koko Bi’s exhibition, the young gallerist is proud of her accomplishments and full of hope for the new challenges on the horizon.
As the daughter of Parisian gallery owners, Fakhoury ate art for breakfast as a child. She studied economy and history of art and embarked on a journey through galleries David Zwirner in New York, Chantal Crousel in Paris and even Sotheby’s. She settled on the Ivory Coast, a country she knows well having married the son of a Lebanese-Ivorian architect, Pierre Fakhoury. There she established her gallery, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury in September 2012, shortly after the political crisis. Here we meet with the child prodigy, who is still married to the job.

 

You are currently exhibiting works by Ivorian sculptor, Jems Robert Koko Bi who lives in Germany and rarely shows his work in Africa. How’s it been with his return?

Cécile Fakhoury: Jems Robert Koko Bi has been living in Essen, Germany for a long time. Even if he comes back to his native country regularly, his work is very rarely exhibited in the Ivory Coast or even in Africa outside of the Dakar Biennale. For him coming back is important, especially as he creates his pieces on site. It was complicated to bring his work here, so he spent a month and a half in his workshop in Abidjan, creating his work for his exhibition “No man’s land”. He uses a chainsaw for his most challenging pieces in wood, meaning that a large space had to be found for this noisy and demanding work.
 

 

HAPPENING
© Jems Robert Koko Bi - Exhibition ''No man's land'' at Cécile Fakhoury Gallery - Abidjan

 

How do you explain the large numbers of African artists exhibiting work in foreign countries?

A whole generation went elsewhere, just like Jems Robert Koko Bi. Artists couldn’t be financially sound living off their art, and lack of exposure in galleries meant lack of recognition. Those who find recognition abroad often want to return home afterwards, providing they are given the chance to create and exhibit in good conditions.

We’ve heard it said again and again: traditional African art is no longer found in Africa. But that’s also true for contemporary African art. Artists leave to go abroad and works are bought by collections outside of the African continent.

 

HAPPENING
© Jems Robert Koko Bi - Exhibition ''No man's land'' at Cécile Fakhoury Gallery - Abidjan
 

 

There’s a certain craze for contemporary African art. How do you position yourself as a gallery based in Africa?

At the beginning, I only wanted to be a contemporary art gallerist. I didn’t want to only exist as an African art gallery and I still believe that galleries should mix together, and not always be so geographically divided.  But I recognize that art fairs such as 1:54 can bring a visibility to African galleries, who may need more visibility than others. At present, my program is mainly in Africa, but that’s just by chance due to whom I meet. I spend a lot of time looking for new talent from all over.

I want to contribute to increasing interest in contemporary art in the Ivory Coast, and to participate in the creation of the contemporary art market in Africa. I am certain that the international art market only has meaning if it is upheld locally. That’s why I am happy when local buyers purchase artist’s works that I exhibit.
 
 

Is the local market starting to emerge?

I’m noticing that a younger generation are buying and even collecting contemporary art. They’re usually young professionals who have studied abroad and return to the Ivory Coast for work, they travel a lot and have much more interest for the local contemporary scene. New gallery openings are certainly reinforcing this enthusiasm. Things are starting to move, little by little. The more opportunities and exhibition spaces, the more this interest for contemporary art will grow.

 

What’s your conclusion, two and a half years after the opening of the gallery?

There are many encouraging signs, notably our last exhibition launch that attracted between 400 and 600 people, with very varied profiles. But I am in the process of creating a project that will be very time-consuming.

 

Which African artists do you bet on for 2015?

Aboudia – A 31 year old painter from the Ivory Coast, whose paintings sell between €7,500 and €25,000 on the international market. François-Xavier Gbré – A 36-year-old photographer from the Ivory Coast, he made his debut at Galleria Continua, Les Moulins in 2014. Yéanzi, 26-year-old painter and photographer from the Ivory Coast. They are a part of this young generation who are starting to be recognized internationally.

 

What’s H A P P E N I N G next?

Yéanzi’s exhibition at the gallery. After two years, I’m looking to reshow some artists like the Senegalese artist Cheikh N’Diaye and the photographer Paul Sika from the Ivory Coast, but the dates are still not fixed. This year I will be at three fairs; 1:54 in London and New York and at Art Dubai. In Dubai, it’s not necessarily obvious to find a place as a gallerist based in the Ivory Coast, but it’s important that African galleries are present on the growing international market.