The exhibition Dakar, Dakar, presented at the MAGNIN-A gallery in Paris, France, is a group show that runs from April 1 to May 20, 2023. It features the work of two Senegalese artists, Ndary Lo and Assane N’Doye, whose work is rarely shown in Paris. The exhibition is a confrontation between the long metal sculptures of Ndary Lo and the vibrant paintings of Assane N’Doye, two Senegalese artists of the same nationality and almost the same generation, who meet here for the first time.
The exhibition presents works that express the movement of the body in radically different ways. Ndary Lo’s straight, monochromatic sculptures, which illustrate direct, linear movement in a purity of form and material, contrast with the colors and sensual undulations of Assane N’Doye’s curved bodies. Both are inspired by Senegalese tradition to question modernity and tradition in Senegal.
This exhibition is a unique opportunity to discover the historical works of Ndary Lo, one of Senegal’s most important artists. His mythical long iron walkers, his men with their arms stretched towards the sky, his female bodies in bust or in foot, which respond to the soft curves of the female bodies and the flamboyant colors of Assane N’Doye’s paintings. The exhibition is an invitation to explore the work of two Senegalese artists who have chosen different artistic expressions to represent movement and the body.
The exhibition Dakar, Dakar has a special place in the context of the exhibition Senghor and the Arts at the Musée du Quai Branly, which explores the key role of the arts in Senegalese politics from 1960 to 1980. As “Hosties Noirs‘, one of Ndary Lo‘s major works paying homage to Senghor’s eponymous work, is presented at the Musée du Quai Branly, it is interesting to observe the different aspirations, conscious or unconscious, of Ndary Lo and Assane N’Doye. On the one hand, that of Assane N’Doye, who follows in the wake of the Dakar School, although he left Senegal at a relatively young age. On the other hand, Ndary Lo, who has sought throughout his career to free himself from it.