Woven strips of dyed Malian cloth fashioned into large-scale tapestries have become the trademark of Abdoulaye Konaté’s oeuvre. His large-scale textiles of sewn and applied fabric reference the West African tradition of using textiles as a means of commemoration and communication. Combining local aesthetics with global subject matters (sovereignty, AIDS, deforestation and the disparities between North and South), Konaté merges political commentary and traditional craftsmanship.

Konaté has participated in numerous international museum exhibitions. Major group shows include documenta 12 in Kassel, Germany; Africa Remix (2004–2007 in Düsseldorf, London, Paris, Tokyo, Johannesburg); and more recently, the Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2014; and the Norrköping Art Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2015. In 2008, he was nominated for the Artes Mundi prize in Cardiff, UK. Konaté has received national honours from Mali (Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mali) and from France (Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de France). He is Director of the Conservatoire for Arts and Media in Bamako.