Aboubacar savane
What I explore is the space between the outer and the inner. On one side, collective realities such as migration, uprooting, and the pressure to leave. On the other, intimate psychological states such as doubt, waiting, and the solitude of a gaze turned inward. For me, these two territories are two sides of the same question, that of African identity facing the modern world.
My work does not separate grand themes from ordinary scenes. A busy street in Conakry, men gathered around attaya tea, a figure with its back to the world, these are testimonies just as much as migration or introspection. My signature lies precisely in this refusal to rank subjects by importance. Everything that is human and true deserves to be painted.
I do not paint to explain. I paint so that anyone standing before a canvas is compelled, for the length of a glance, to recognize something in themselves, and perhaps, through that, to reach a deeper knowledge of who they are.
Biography
For six years now, I have devoted myself fully to my artistic practice: oil on canvas, but also graphite and charcoal on paper. I see these not as two separate disciplines, but as two ways of approaching the same demand, that of creating work that speaks and leaves an emotional trace on those who look at it.
Beyond the studio, I step outside to make portraits of people who agree to tell me their story, documented through my videos, and I also practice a great deal of plein air painting. I give workshops and painting classes as well, notably to art students.
My work has been shown at the Villa des Arts in Conakry (2024 and 2026), at the Centre Culturel Franco Guinéen (2025), and at Africapitales in Paris (2026). My greatest ambition is to build, through my work, a lasting cultural heritage for Guinea and Africa.
Selected exhibitions
- Exhibition at la villa des arts Conakry « l’art contemporain African » (2024)
- Group Exhibition at centre franco culturel de Guinée « océan » ( 2025 )
- Group Exhibition at Paris Africapitales (2026)
- Group of 3 artists Exhibition at la villa des arts « renaissance » ( 2026 )
Press
- Date : 6 mars 2026 - 15 mars 2026
- Venue : Lavoir Moderne Parisien, 35 Rue léon, 75018, Paris
- https://africapitales.org/etn/exposition-ya-kala-ben-et-kingdom-of-mountains-namsa-leuba/
Education
- Licence in philosophy