Frédéric Bruly Bouabré's Encyclopedic Drawings at Galerie Magnin-A

Galerie Magnin-A in Paris presents "On ne compte pas les étoiles," an exhibition of drawings by Ivorian artist Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, running until July 30, 2022. The show coincides with the MoMA New York retrospective "World Unbound" (through August 13, 2022). Curator Julie Chaizemartin highlights Bouabré's encyclopedic practice, which began after a celestial vision on March 11, 1948, when he became Cheik Nadro, "the one who does not forget." He created the Bété alphabet, recognized by Théodore Monod, and produced thousands of small card-stock drawings combining text and image. André Magnin discovered Bouabré in 1988 while preparing "Magiciens de la terre" at Centre Pompidou, leading to his inclusion in that landmark exhibition and subsequent collection by Jean Pigozzi. The exhibition features an unpublished corpus reflecting the friendship between Magnin and Bouabré from 1988 until the artist's death in 2014. Bouabré's works, often using library cards or hairdresser's Darling wick cartons, depict observations of daily life, natural objects, and social rituals with a deceptively naive style. Notable series include the 213 drawings of his mother's imaginary world tour and the "Alphabet Bété." The exhibition's title derives from Bouabré's autobiography begun in 1983.