Moufouli Bello
Born 1987 in Cotonou, Benin
Lives and works between Cotonou, Benin and Brussels, Belgium
Moufouli Bello’s art challenges our societal reality and perception of gender, aiming to question, disturb, and modify it. Bello’s portraits immediately challenge audiences to meet the eyes of the women in her paintings, who are not only aware of the viewer's gaze but confidently return it, giving full strength and autonomy to her subjects. Through the use of the deep blue hues she connects with the audience emotionally and in strength. To Bello, the hue holds the memory of her emotions, bringing her back to feelings of benevolence, security, and home in Cotonou, Benin. Her paintings are focused on the representation of the black woman and her visibility. The blue colour grants the women in her portraits total freedom to be and to exist and not have their blackness be the main focus of the audience's perception. In 2021, her work was showcased at Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and as a solo exhibition at NassimaLandau Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Moufouli Bello, Beautiful Silly Flowers, 2021, Acrylic paint on canvas, 150 x 170cm. Courtesy of SMO Contemporary Art.

Artists 2022