Patrice Balma

Patrice Balma was born in 1979 and comes from Ouagadougou. He first worked as a street vendor and in 1998 began his apprenticeship as a bronze caster with Ali Nikiéma, a well-respected artist in Burkina Faso. Since 2001, he has been in charge of a workshop with twelve employees at the National Center for Crafts and Art in Ouagadougou (Centre National d'Artisanat et d'Art de Ouagadougou (VAO). In 2012, he set up his own workshop and in early 2013 he opened his own gallery: BURKIN'ART.

The bronze arts and crafts, a virtuoso combination of the softness and malleability of wax with the hardness and simplicity of bronze, has a long tradition in Burkina Faso and, in his constant search for perfection, Balma refines and concentrates on the element of movement. His works of art are both classic and contemporary and captivate with their search for the form of the highest expressiveness.