Romuald Hazoumè, (Benin, born 1962)
'Divedo'
'Divedo'
inscribed '"Divedo"/ R.Hazoume/ 8-Mai 2000/ Pour mon ami Frits Bless' (verso)
oil and sand on paper
42 x 29.5cm (16 9/16 x 11 5/8in).
Provenance
Gifted to Mr. Frits Bless by the artist in 2000.
By direct descent to the current owner in 2014.
Frits Bless (1951-2014) directed the Van Reekum Museum in Apeldoorn between 1985 and 2000. During his tenure, he took an active role in expanding the museum's contemporary art collection to include more abstract and conceptual works.
A keen collector himself, Bless turned his own attentions to African and Latin American art in the early 1990s, searching for alternative visual languages to those of Western Europe.
It was during this period that Bless met Hazoumè. The two soon developed a friendship. The artist gifted him the present lot in 2000.
The painting depicts a Fâ symbol. Hazoumè turned to this ancient Beninese art form to try and make sense of his place in the world. In contemplating the complex symbols, the individual is supposed to discover his/herself in relation to other communities, the environment, and ultimately the entire cosmos. The artist has described the central importance of Fâ symbolism in his work:
"Each (symbol) is a universe in itself. The Fâ's influence is marked in my painting, but I resort to it as a cultural landmark, which (raise) questions about myself, Africa's future and the world's evolution. It is a quest upon which I have embarked and as such it requires ceaseless research. For the Fâ is first and foremost a sacred knowledge."
A painting titled Di-meji from the same series, Signes Isoles du Fâ (1993), is illustrated in the Fondation Zinsou exhibition catalogue, Romuald Hazoume (2005) p.53.
Bibliography
Fondation Zinsou, Romuald Hazoume, (Cotonou, 2005), p.53.
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'Divedo'
'Divedo'
inscribed '"Divedo"/ R.Hazoume/ 8-Mai 2000/ Pour mon ami Frits Bless' (verso)
oil and sand on paper
42 x 29.5cm (16 9/16 x 11 5/8in).
Provenance
Gifted to Mr. Frits Bless by the artist in 2000.
By direct descent to the current owner in 2014.
Frits Bless (1951-2014) directed the Van Reekum Museum in Apeldoorn between 1985 and 2000. During his tenure, he took an active role in expanding the museum's contemporary art collection to include more abstract and conceptual works.
A keen collector himself, Bless turned his own attentions to African and Latin American art in the early 1990s, searching for alternative visual languages to those of Western Europe.
It was during this period that Bless met Hazoumè. The two soon developed a friendship. The artist gifted him the present lot in 2000.
The painting depicts a Fâ symbol. Hazoumè turned to this ancient Beninese art form to try and make sense of his place in the world. In contemplating the complex symbols, the individual is supposed to discover his/herself in relation to other communities, the environment, and ultimately the entire cosmos. The artist has described the central importance of Fâ symbolism in his work:
"Each (symbol) is a universe in itself. The Fâ's influence is marked in my painting, but I resort to it as a cultural landmark, which (raise) questions about myself, Africa's future and the world's evolution. It is a quest upon which I have embarked and as such it requires ceaseless research. For the Fâ is first and foremost a sacred knowledge."
A painting titled Di-meji from the same series, Signes Isoles du Fâ (1993), is illustrated in the Fondation Zinsou exhibition catalogue, Romuald Hazoume (2005) p.53.
Bibliography
Fondation Zinsou, Romuald Hazoume, (Cotonou, 2005), p.53.
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Time, Location
Auction House
