Aboudia | Artist Overview

Aboudia is a contemporary American-Ivorian artist whose vibrant paintings reference his experiences growing up in the city of Abidjan. Works like Le Petit Chien Rouge (2018), draw on his interest in the lives of homeless youths and their graffiti. “You have to show that, despite the pain and the sadness and the suffering, these children are happy,” Aboudia has said. “That’s what I do with color, show the joy of these children.” Born Abdoulaye Diarrassouba on October 21, 1983 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, he went on to attend Centre Technique des Arts Appliqués in Bingerville. Aboudia witnessed the 2010-2011 civil war in Abidjan from his studio and created several paintings about the active fighting he saw in the streets. These moments of terror informed much of his work, which is often described as a mixture of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jean Dubuffet. The artist has been the subject of several exhibitions and his works are held in the collections of the Jean Pigozzi Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC), the Saatchi Gallery in New York, and the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno. Aboudia lives and works between Abidjan and Brooklyn, NY.