Abdoulaye Konaté

Abdoulaye Konaté (born 1 February 1953) is a Malian artist. He was born in Diré and lives and works in Bamako.

Konaté studied painting at the Institut National des Arts de Bamako and then at the Instituto Superior de Arte, Havana, Cuba.

Early life Konaté was born 1 February 1953 in the northern town of Diré in Mali. He studied and graduated at the Institut National des Arts de Bamako between the times of 1972 to 1976 with a degree in painting. He then moved to Havana, Cuba from 1978 - 1985 to further his art education at the Superior de Arte, Havana, Cuba (Higher Institute of Plastic Arts). He now works as the principal of the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers Multimédia Balla Fasseké Kouyaté in Bamako, Mali.

Exhibitions Solo shows 2013- Abdoulaye Konaté - Primo Marella Gallery Milan, Milan 2011- Abdoulaye Konaté: Window Commission 2011 - Institute of International Visual Arts - iniva, London 2009- Textiles - Heidelberger Forum für Kunst, Heidelberg 1999- Abdoulaye Konaté - Tuchbilder + Installation - Dany Keller Galerie - Munich, Munich

Group shows 2014 Destination...1:54: Contemporary African Art - Primo Marella Gallery Milan, Milan The Divine Comedy. Heaven, Purgatory and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists -Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt/Main2013 Decorum - Musée d´Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris - MAM/ARC, Paris Hollandaise - Raw Material Company, Dakar

2012 Hollandaise - Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam - SMBA, Amsterdam Moving Into Space: Football and Art in West Africa - National Football Museum, Manchester We Face Forward: Art from West Africa Today - Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester

2010 Africa, Assume Art Position! - Primo Marella Gallery Milan, Milan Textiles - Fondation Jean Paul Blachere, Apt Dak’Art 2010 - Dak’Art 1990 > 2010 : rétrospective et perspectives - Dak'Art Biennale de l’art africain contemporain, Dakar

2009 10. Bienal de La Habana - La Bienal de La Habana, Havana

2008 INPUT - Colecção Sindika Dokolo - Museu Nacional de História Natural, Luanda Travesía - Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 7th Gwangju Biennale - Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju Angaza Afrika - African Art Now - October Gallery, London Artes Mundi 3 - National Museum Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales

2007 Brocken Memory - Ghana National Art Museum, Accra Contact Zone - Musée National du Mali, Bamako Africa Remix - Contemporary art of a continent - Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG), Johannesburg Documenta 12 - Documenta, Kassel

2006 Trienal de Luanda 2007 - Trienal de Luanda, Luanda 2° Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla - BIACS - Fundación Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla, Sevilla Africa Remix - Moderna Museet, Stockholm SD Observatorio - IVAM - Institut Valencià d'Art Modern, Valencia Africa Remix - Contemporary Art of a Continent - Mori Art Museum, Tokyo 7ème Biennale de l´Art Africain contemporain - Dak'Art Biennale de l’art africain contemporain, Dakar

2005 African Remix - l'art contemporain d'un continent - Centre Pompidou - Musée National d´Art Moderne, Paris Africa Remix – Contemporary Art of a Continent - Hayward Gallery, London

2004 Afrika Remix - Zeitgenössische Kunst eines Kontinents - Museum Kunstpalast, Dusseldorf

1998 24° Bienal de São Paulo - Bienal de Sao Paulo, São Paulo

1997 Die Anderen Modernen : Zeitgenössische Kunst aus Afrika, Asien und Lateinamerika - Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin

Influences Combining his painting skills with installation work, he comments on political and environmental affairs. The encroachment of the Sahel and the impact of AIDS on society and on individuals have been two major themes in his work.

His questioning of the political, social, and economic scenes in contemporary Mali is evident in how AIDS, wars, ecological issues, human rights, and globalization affects all aspects of life and individuals within society. Much of his large-scale work is textile-based, a medium that is more readily available than paints.

Artes Mundi In 2008 Konaté was nominated for the Artes Mundi prize. His exhibition included pieces such as Les Marcheurs and Tafo ou la force du verbe.

Literature La toile d'Abdoulaye Konaté / Joëlle Busca. - Bamako, Mali, Ministère de la culture et Dakar, Senegal, Galerie nationale d'art, 2011.

Abdoulaya Konaté / edited by Camilla Jalving ... [et al.]. - London, BlainSouthern and Ishøj, Arken, 2016.