for immediate press release

Soly Cissé , Sacrifice, 2011. Soly Cissé FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE
M.I.A Gallery is pleased to announce “Lost Worlds”, an exhibition dedicated to
the international painter/sculptor, Soly Cissé. There will be an opening reception
on Thursday, May 17th from 6-8pm. The exhibition runs from May 17th through
July 31 th, 2012.
Soly Cissé is a painter, draughtsman and sculptor distinguished by
his tenacious and inflexible determination; he is already an established member
of the contemporary art world. After graduating from the Fine Arts Academy of
Dakar in 1996, his rapid progress has enabled him to travel across international
borders, making his work - poetic yet wild, in search of freedom - known and
appreciated.
Lost Worlds is his first solo exhibition in the USA, featuring over 20 paintings
and drawings expressing the different levels of clashes between tradition and
modernity. By combining our modern world and the memory of immemorial times
on the canvas in stark contrast, Soly Cissé goes well beyond any facile
denunciation of the loss of values, lack of solidarity, dehumanization of
interpersonal relations, or other vindications that we are already accustomed to.
Cissé portrays these modern issues by including mythical creatures, animals and
other spiritual forces as if the humans were incapable of dealing with their own
torments.
His paintings therefore feature a superimposition of these two worlds, symbolized
by archetypes; we only think of his famous bar codes, diagrams and other
curves, disconcertingly modern due to the combination with a universe of
imprecise forms, flooded by a nebulous light from which hubris beings, animals
or personalities of vague contours emerge.
Born and raised in Dakar, a city undergoing a rapid modernization, he is also
imbued with an animist tradition deeply bound to the mysteries of hunting that he
was familiar with as a child and that has given him a very intimate relationship
with the animal kingdom
He has already achieved recognition in Europe where he has held numerous
exhibitions (in France and in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Great Britain,
Brazil…), but he has also made his presence felt on an international level,
participating in highly prestigious exhibitions, in particular "Africa Remix" at the
Center Pompidou, dedicated to the adventure of a new generation of artists who
represent Africa in its most contemporary way.
About
M.I.A Gallery debuted in January 2012 in Seattle. Its founder, Mariane Lenhardt,
created it with one simple ambition: to create an environment for Art that exposes
or confronts realities leading to social change and sustainability.
M.I.A Gallery is dedicated to selecting established as well as emerging
contemporary artists that represent or share a similar purpose.
For more information, contact Mariane Lenhardt, Owner of M.I.A Gallery at
206-467-4927or [email protected]
Soly Cissé
Born 1969, Dakar, Sénégal
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2011
Soly Cissé Maquillage, Fortezza del Girifalco, Cortona, Italy
2010
Mondes Perdus, influx Contemporary art, Lisboa
2009
Solycolor”, Musée des Arts Derniers, Paris, France
2008
IFAN Museum, Dakar, Sénégal
2007
Soly Cissé - Être pour devenir", Musée des Arts Derniers, Paris, France
2006
Soly Cissé - Oeuvres Récentes", Musée des Arts Derniers, Paris, France "Soly
Cissé, Célébration du centenaire de la naissance de Senghor’, Verson, France
2005
Soly Cissé – Le Monde perdu", Centro per l´Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci,
Prato, Italy Agence Française de Développement, Paris, France Champs Libres
Afrique, ORCCA, Marnay sur Seine, France
2004
ARCO 2004, Madrid / Spain "Animismes" Galerie DA Vinci, Nice / France
2002
Multicultural 2002", La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain) Biennale DAK'ART, Dakar
(Senegal) KuBa Kunsthalle, Wolfenbüttel (Germany)
2001
Galerie ATISS, Dakar, Sénégal
2001
Prix de la francophonie in Montreal, (Canada)
1999
Solo exhibition at the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne, Germany
1997
Centre culturel Francais, Dakar, Sénégal
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2007
TRANS CAPE – Contemporary African Art on the move", Cape Town, South
Africa!
Terre Noire – Ousmane Sow et les tendances de la sculpture africaine
d’aujourd’hui", Musée Départemental Maurice Denis, Saint-Germain-en-Laye,
France
2006
Africa Remix/Contemporary Art of a Continent", Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
Japan!"7ème Biennale de l’art africain contemporain Dak’Art
2006
Dakar, Sénégal!"Des Hommes sans Histoire?", Musée des Arts
Derniers,ParisFrance!"Artistes du Sénégal", Musée Dapper, Paris, France
Expressions africaines, Printemps", Bd Haussmann, Paris, France
2005
Foire Internationale des Arts Derniers: Les Afriques 2"
Musée des Arts Derniers, Paris, France!"Africa Urbis: Perspectives Urbaines"
Musée des Arts Derniers, Paris, France!"Création contemporaine au Sénégal"
Galerie Le Manège, Dakar, Sénégal
2004 - 2005
Africa Remix/Zeitgenössische Kunst einer Kontinents/Contemporary Art of a
Continent/Art contemporain d’un continent"
Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany
Hayward Gallery, London, UK
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
2004
L’Art dans la ville - Out in Africa", Saint-étienne, France!ARCO
2004
ARCO 2004, Madrid / Spain!"Animismes" Galerie DA Vinci, Nice / France
2003
Orangerie, Grugapark Essen (Germany)!Viterra Energy Services GmbH & Co. KG,
Münster (Germany)!
Plasticiens en mouvement, De Markten, Brussells (Belgium)!
Exhibition L'Europe fantôme, Espace Vertebra, Brussells (Belgium)
2002
Multicultural 2002", La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain)!Biennale DAK'ART, Dakar