Until May 04, 2024, the Hall of Helmets of the Montresso Foundation presents “The fiction of control“, a project resulting from the artistic residency of Nigerian artist Abi Salami. Through deep, expressive paintings, she shares her own experience as a black woman artist with the public.
Born in 1986, Abi Salami is a self-taught artist based in New York. Her artistic beginnings focused on the social and familial representation of black women in the United States. After capturing public interest with her Blackness exhibition at 1-54 Marrakech, the contemporary artist explores the nuances of the notion of control. “The fiction of control” is the result of this profound and inspiring reflection, in which Abi Salami frees herself through impulsive artistic expression.
The canvases serve as an outlet for his own doubts, creating a personal mythology in which hybrid beings symbolize a consciousness torn between the desire for control and passive consent. Abi Salami paints unsettling landscapes where the urban and the natural merge, offering a body of work about dependency and the possibilities of freedom from a nuanced approach to control.
Her artistic work is a critique of the American fairy tales that shaped her childhood. Through the contrasts of her individuality, she questions the mythology surrounding the black woman. Her paintings freely convey her emotions as a woman, as a black woman and as an artist, giving depth to her canvases, which come to life in the space of the Fondation Montresso*. In “The fiction of control“, she offers a visual critique of the obsessive control that often weighs down women in today’s society. By creating her own artistic language, she gives her works a deeply intimate and personal character.
Through her art, Abi Salami explores her own doubts, reflecting our struggles for control. Her personal narrative intersects with social tensions linked to appearance. Despite addictions, she offers pathways to emancipation. Her brushstrokes confront us with our often coercive illusions of control. She questions our deepest beliefs, using shades of pink, blue and violet, evoking crystals. Like Salvador Dali, she defies convention, creating a free painting style. Her palette, instinctively shaped, embodies her artistic narrative. Her complex identity reflects the issues explored brilliantly in her painting. Rooted in her experience, her work at Jardin Rouge is an artistic exploration, offering creative reflection. Abi Salami addresses the issues of her intimate discourse with dualism.
In 2020, the Nigerian artist was shortlisted for the Saatchi Prize, the celebrated award for an artist under 35. Abi Salami ‘s works are also on show at the Women’s Museum, the African American Museum of Art in Dallas,Viridian Artists Inc in New York and have joined the permanent collection of the Montresso Foundation* in Marrakech.