Abu Traore

Abou Traoré was born on January 1, 1960 in Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina-Faso, then Haute-Volta. He comes from a line of blacksmiths - a symbolic and social burden that goes beyond the technical dimension of the work.

He inherited the traditional technique of lost wax casting from his father Assane Traoré and began his training in the family workshop at the age of 10.

He has been casting and carving under his name since 1983. That year, he forced a break with the productivism that reigned in the family workshop and turned to artistic creation. He also made improvements in the bronze technique in the Koko district of Bobo-Dioulasso (Quartier des bronziers). His sculptural originality highlights a creative artist and draws the attention of the Centre Culturel Français de Bobo-Dioulasso, which will exhibit him many times.

In 1984, he met Swiss and French sculptors from the Fuzion group, such as Pierre Jaggi, which marked a turning point in his work. He was a member of the group from 1984 to 1991 and exhibited with them in France and Switzerland.

In 1990 he won the first prize of the National Culture Week (SNC Bobo-Dioulasso).

In 1991, Pierre Gaudibert, then director of the Musée des arts africains et océaniens in Paris, became aware of him and quoted him in his book "Art africain contemporain" (Contemporary African Art).

From 1994 onwards he took part in numerous artistic encounters in France and in Togo in Lomé (Asso. Ewolé).

In March 2001, he took part in a symposium with artists from the CCA Terre Blanc (France) in Bobo-Dioulasso. This encounter reorientated his work towards greater abstraction.

In 2003 he took part in the Off-Biennale in Dakar at the Terangart Gallery.