Sadikou Oukpedjo lives and works in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
He is one of the most compelling artists of his generation, known for asserting a unique voice on the contemporary art scene.
Born in Togo, he discovered woodwork at an early age and developed a deep passion for sculpture. In 1998, he joined the studio of master Paul Ahyi in Lomé, where he laid the foundations for a free, instinctive, and deeply committed artistic practice.
His journey soon led him to explore new mediums, particularly drawing and painting, which he approaches with remarkable visual strength. In 2010, he moved to Mali and assisted Beninese artist Ludovic Fadairo during the Festival on the Niger. This decisive encounter made Fadairo a mentor and fostered a more introspective and symbolic approach to his work.
The 2013 armed conflict in Mali forced him to seek refuge in Côte d'Ivoire, where he has since settled permanently. From then on, he devoted himself fully to painting while continuing his work as a sculptor. His work, at the crossroads of history, memory, and spirituality, examines the deepest contradictions of contemporary humanity. It explores tensions between man and animal, the individual and the collective, the visible and the invisible.
A multidisciplinary artist with rare versatility, Sadikou Oukpedjo has developed a powerful aesthetic that is both raw and meditative, transcending mediums to reach a universal form of expression. He has participated in numerous projects and exhibitions around the world.
In 2024, his solo exhibition Les Oubliés in Paris reflected on the historical tragedy of Malagasy slaves abandoned in the 18th century on Tromelin Atoll. More broadly, this body of work pays tribute to all those who have been rendered invisible by history. Oukpedjo's striking sculptures embody the fragile yet enduring presence of the forgotten.
That same year, at the Venice Biennale, he presented a series of engraved mirrors titled Here I Stand with my Difference, confronting viewers with their own role in the acceptance of otherness.
In 2025, with DAYÊGUÊ, a dual exhibition presented at Fondation Donwahi and Galerie Cécile Fakhoury in Abidjan, Oukpedjo takes a new step forward. This deeply personal exhibition explores buried wounds, family memory, and the power of creation as resilience.
In the words of writer Gauz', "when what is said gives voice to the unsaid."
Solo Exhibitions
2025
DAYEGUE, Fondation Donwahi & Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
2024
Les Oubliés, Galerie Dagoma Harty, Paris, France
Méditations solitaires, Showroom, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Paris, France
2023
3ème edition de la Biennale de la sculpture, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
2022
Mémoires contemporaines d'un continent, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Paris, France
2020
Stasis, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Dakar, Sénégal
Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain FIAC, Paris, France
Biennale d e Dakar O f f , Galerie Cecile Fakhoury, Dakar, Senegal
Combat de coqs, Villa Soudan, Bamako, Mali
2019
Silentium, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
The Council of Elders, Palais de Lomé, To g o
Transcendental, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2018
Mutation, Nuit Blanche 2018, Cité internationale des arts de Paris, France
2016
Anima, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
2014
Paintings, Blabla Bar Hippodrome, Bamako, Mali
Dans les rues d'Abidjan, Galerie Guirandou Arts Pluriels, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Galerie Koffi-Yao, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
2013
Blabla Bar Hippodrome, Bamako, Mali
Institut français de Bamako, Mali
2012
Le cri silencieux, Goethe Institut de Bamako, Mali
2003
Centre Culturel Français de Lomé, Togo
2002
Centre Culturel Français de Cotonou, Bénin
Group Exhibitions
2024
The Blue Note, Pavillon national de la Côte d'Ivoire, Biennale de Venise, Italie
Sleep is Prayer, Yoka Lounge, Off Biennale d e Dakar, Sénégal
MythologieS, Centre culturel Georges Ginesta, Saint-Raphaël, France
2023
Let's peel it back, dot.ateliers, Accra, Ghana
2022
TEFAF New-York, Galerie Maria Wettergren, New-York, USA
2021
Un pied sur terre, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Paris, France
La clairière d'Eza Boto, Jardin des plantes de Rouen, France
2020
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Marrakech, Maroc
Tu es beau comme tu es, Exposition à ciel ouvert, Dakar, Sénégal
2019
L'esprit du large Chapitre II, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
L'esprit du large, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Dakar, Sénégal
Kubatana, Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Vestfossen, Norvège
Parc des sculptures, Palais de Lomé, Togo
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Londres, RU
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, Afrique du Sud
2018
Les Fantômes de l'Afrique : Siriel Rellik, Dakar, Sénégal
Des Hommes et des Totems, Galerie Le Manége, Dakar, Sénégal
Pioneer Works, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, New-York, Etats-Unis
Palimpsest, African Studies Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israël
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Londres, Royaume-Uni
2017
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Londres, Royaume-Uni
Art Paris Art Fair, Paris, France
2016
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Londres, Royaume-Uni
Une collection particulière, Biennale de Dakar OFF (12e édition), Dakar, Sénégal
2015
Art Twenty One, Lagos, Nigeria
2014
Biennale de Dakar OFF, Hôtel Djoloff, Dakar, Sénégal
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Londres, Royaume-Uni
2013
African Art Yaya Gallery, Londres, Royaume-Uni
Festival Arkadi (17e édition), Institut Français, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
2012
Biennale de Dakar OFF (8e édition), Maison d'Aïssa Dione, Dakar, Sénégal
2010
Cinquantenaire de l'indépendance, Radisson Blu, Bamako, Mali
Residencies
2024
Résidence de création, Fondation Donwahi, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Guest Résident (masterclass pour jeunes artistes), Black Rock, Dakar, Sénégal
Residence de création, Espace Azankpo, Ahépé, Togo /Projet Das Kollaborative Museum avec le Humboldt Forum de Berlin
2023
Résidence de création, Biennale de la Sculpture de Ouagadougou (BISO), Burkina Faso
Résidence de création, dot.ateliers (Amoako Boafo), Accra, Ghana
2021
Résidence de création, La Pagerie, Martinique, France
2018
Résidence Institut français, Cité internationale des arts de Paris, France
START, Fondation Tiroch DeLeon, Tel-Aviv, Israël
2016
THREAD, The Josef & Anni Albers Foundation, Tambacounda, Sénégal
La Vallée, Bruxelles, Belgique
La Somone, Fondation Blachère, Dakar, Sénégal
Collections
Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Mohammed VI Museum, Rabat, Maroc
Tiroche DeLeon Collection, Jaffa, Israël
Fondation Blachère, Apt, France
Fondation H, Antananarivo, Madagascar
Palais de Lomé, Togo
Collection Jom, Dakar, Sénégal
Collection Gervanne + Matthias Leridon, Paris, France
Publications
2024
Nid d'Artistes Abidjan, Malika Slaoui editions, Maroc
2020
Catalogue d'exposition, Biennale de Dakar
ed. Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Dakar, Sénégal
2019
Silentium, catalogue d'exposition
ed. Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
2017
Transition, the magazine of Africa and the Diaspora
ed. Harvard University, USA