Famakan Magassa
Famakan Magassa (b. 1997, Mali) received his BFA in 2018 from Conservatoire Arts et Metiers Multimedia Balla Fasséke Kouyaté in Bamako, Mali. His paintings entwine the quotidian with social and socio-economic commentary, contending with themes ranging from displacement and corruption to intimacy and the hope for a better and brighter life. Magassa is invested in the full spectrum of human experience and human nature; his ability to blend humor and irony into his works allows him to effectively highlight the complexities and contradictions within society.
Magassa breathes life into his provocative social commentaries through sardonic depictions of anthropomorphic subjects both experiencing and perpetuating injustices. With an idiosyncratic approach, his paintings humorously delve into themes of gluttony and greed, exploring the unsettling reality of how the value of money often overshadows the value of human connections. Magassa’s work ultimately underscores the vital role of art as a means of critiquing and engaging with the world's social and economic challenges, making it a poignant and relevant contribution to contemporary discourse.
Magassa exhibited for the first time in 2019 with several institutional shows, including presentations at L’Institute Français du Mali, Bamako; La Fondation La Maison de l’Artiste in Assinie, Côte d’Ivoire; and Les Magasins Généraux, BETC, Paris. In 2020, he was included in ‘L’exposition collective Jeunes Talents’ at the residence of the Ambassador to the European Union in Bamako, Mali and was one of the 2020 Laureates of the Cité Internationale des Arts Residency in Paris, France. He presented his first United States solo presentation in New York at albertz benda in 2022 which was followed by a second solo presentation in Los Angeles with the gallery in 2023. Magassa was awarded the Norval Sovereign African Art Prize in 2023 and presented his first solo institutional exhibition at the foundation in Cape Town. In addition to these exhibitions, Magassa has shown internationally in Paris, London, Miami, Ghana, and Vienna. His work has been featured by Artsy, Hyperallergic, Artnet, The Observer, L’Oeuil and ArtsMagazine.
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L'amour maternel, 2025 -
L'introspection, 2025
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La tendresse, 2025
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Chaque jours suffit sa peine, 2024
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The Slave of Technology, 2025
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Le poids de l'immigration, 2024
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Responsibility, 2024
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La fleur en l'air, 2023
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Le pillage, 2021
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The Norval Sovereign Art Prize 2023 winner has been announced
Art Africa, January 27, 2023 -
Prix Souverain d’Art Africain Norval: Famakan Magassa, lauréat de l’édition 2023
Youssouf Koné, Kone'xion Culture, January 26, 2023 -
Three Exhibitions in New York City of Seven Western African Artists
Farah Abdessamad, OBSERVER, February 23, 2022 -
Frieze Los Angeles / Snapshot
Natalie Kovacs, The Design Edit, February 21, 2022 -
Searching For New Modes of Figuration - An Interview with Famakan Magassa
Balasz Takac, Widewalls, February 19, 2022 -
Opening This Week in LA
Artsy, February 17, 2022 -
Famakan Magassa’s Virtuous Vice
Billy Anania, Hyperallergic, February 15, 2022 -
Editors’ Picks: 13 Events for Your Art Calendar This Week, From an Erotic Art Show to a Creative Match-Making Project
Sarah Cascone, Artnet news, February 15, 2022 -
États-Unis : « SOIFS » de Naré Famakan Magassa exposée à la galerie Albertz Benda de New-York
Youssouf Koné, Joliba, February 9, 2022 -
Albertz Benda Presents the US Debut Exhibition of Malian Artist Famakan Magassa
Art Daily News, January 28, 2022 -
Die Gier ist überall dieselbe
Jonathan Fischer, Süddeutsche Zeitung, September 6, 2021 -
From Bamako to New York: The Rise of the Painter Famakan Magassa – Culture
WNT Staff, World News Today, September 6, 2021
![Famakan Magassa [b. 1997], Soif d'immigration, 2021. Acrylic on canvas. 55 5/8 x 80 inches, 141.5 x 203 cm. Courtesy of the artist and albertz benda, New York.](https://static-assets.artlogic.net/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto/ws-albertzbenda/usr/images/press/main_image/items/3a/3a2092dfe3b44843938443c5d227ca20/ab13383_magassa_soif-d-immigration_lg.jpg)
FAMAKAN MAGASSA
Born in 1997 in Kita, Mali
Currently lives and works in Mali
EDUCATION
2018 BFA, Conservatoire Des Arts Et Métiers Multimédia Du
Mali, Bamako
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
The Norval Foundation, Cape Town, SA
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 La Vie Est Un Compte, Galerie Sabine Bayasli, Paris, FR
2024 Riez et faites rire car trop sérieux n'est pas très,
Kunsthaus Graz, Graz, Austria
Your Endless Summer, Sabine Bayasali Gallery, Paris, France
Dreaming With Open Eyes, WhiteSpaceBlackBox
Foundation, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Famakan Magassa: Witness of My Time, Norval
Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa
2023 Money Money Money, Gallery 1957, Accra, GH
Striving for Freedom, AG18 Gallery, Orangerie Schönbrunn, Vienna, AT
Famakan Magassa: Witness of My Time, The Norval
Foundation, Cape Town, SA
Insatiable Animal, albertz benda, Los Angeles, CA
2022 Famakan Magassa: SOIFS, albertz benda, New York, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Endless summer, Galerie Sabine Bayasli Paris, FR
Young and Restless, Galerie AG18 Vienne
2024 Dream with open eyes, Fondation WhiteSpaceBlackBox, Neuchâtel, CH
2023 Kontemporary Collection: Young Artists at Hanok, Baeryeom’s House, Seoul, KR
Unlimited II, Gallery 1957, Accra, GH
The Bioelectric Self, The Pit, Los Angeles, CA
2022 Collective Exhibition, Studio Orta Les Moulins, Boissy-le- Châtel, FR
Men who Paint Flowers, Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, FL
The Endless Summer, albertz benda | Friedman Benda,
Los Angeles, CA
2021 Fragmented Bodies II: Fluidity in Form, albertz benda,
New York, NY
Hotel Sahara, Les Magasins généraux, BETC, Paris,
France
Scène-Symphonique, Maurice Renoma, Paris, France
2020 Branlette intellectuelle, Espace Siif’Arts, Bamako, Mali
Festival Ségou Arts, Ségou, Mali
Exposition collective Jeunes Talents, Résidence de
l’Ambassadeur de l’Union Européenne au Mali, Mali
Métamorphoses nocturnes, Bolo L’Espace Art et Culture,
Douala, Cameroun
2019 La Danse des chaises vides, Exposition à l’Institut Français
du Mali, Bamako, Mali
Festival des Arts de la Rue d’Assainie, Résidence & Exposition collective (FARA), Côte d’Ivoire
Festival Ségou Arts, Ségou, Mali
Festival Africain d’Images Virtuelles (FAIVA),
Bamako, Mali
Residencies and Awards
2024 Artist in Residence 2024 @ Fondation
WhiteSpaceBlackBox, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
2023 Grand Prize, Norval Sovereign African Art Prize
2022 Grand Prize, Norval Sovereign African Art Prize