Since childhood, Carl-Edouard Keïta has been passionate about drawing. A graduate of the New York Academy of Art, Keïta discovered the history of African art and was inspired by traditional, modern, and contemporary references. From the angular forms of African statuary to the geometric compositions of Cubism, via the Ivorian Vohou-Vohou, Keïta’s influences are numerous and create bridges between eras and continents.

Keïta perfected mastery of the pencil over the years, attached to the idea that pencil drawing, behind its apparent simplicity, can become the site of a true search for aesthetic sophistication and conceptual complexity. The sobriety of the pencil is synonymous for the artist with freedom. The breakdown of his subjects’ bodies into several geometrically-shaped elements can be understood as being mimetic of a movement of unveiling and deconstruction, from the visible to the hidden.