Atsoupé
Born 1986 in Togo
Lives and works in France
Atsoupé is an artist of Togolese origin whose plastic work of faceless dolls and portraits on paper seems to summon spirits, establishing a survival between the past and the future. Atsoupé's dolls are reconstituted by multiple elements, such as wrought iron, fabric, wool, plastic, leather, bolts, and bells. They are regularly decorated with floral motifs, as if a child's hand has come to awaken these extinguished silhouettes — the witnesses of Atsoupé's youth.  As for her portraits, anonymous hybrid figures impregnate the papers in astonishing and mastered palettes. As if magnified, they come to life in Prussian blues, carmine reds, and jade greens that are superimposed and mixed in virtuoso washes. The artist deploys a great expressive power in these mysterious faces sometimes riddled with numerous holes or sewn with threads or ribbons, scrutinizing the world with a deep melancholy.
Atsoupé, Paix, Oil on canvas, ribbon, crochet, wool, safety pin, doily, and leather, 150x150cm. Courtesy of Galerie Anne de Villepoix.

Artists 2022