PORTFOLIO – 39.

GERARD SANTONI AND THE BAULE TRADITION.

By Nii B. Andrews

During the 1993 Venice Biennale five African artists had their work exhibited; one of them was Gerard Santoni from La Cote d’Ivoire.

Later that same year, his work was shown at the Museum for African Art in New York.

 

Santoni after completing his secondary education in La Cote d’Ivoire, attended the Ecole des Beaux Art in Paris and Nice.

He returned home to teach in the National Institute of Art where he mentored a generation of art students – including students from Parsons School of Design /Drew University from the US.

 

With respect to his body of work, Santoni always insisted that he was part of the global tradition while explaining that, “the point of departure for these (his) paintings is the tradition of Baule weavings, which are tapestries made of narrow bands sewn together……I break down the traditional weavings, ‘decompose’ them, and find something personal in their decomposition.”

He emphasized that he used oil paints on canvas (as in the works shown here) simply to express himself.

“I don’t feel that I’m working on a specifically African fabric; I’m just using cloth. And I’m not trying to do any symbolism”, he clarified.

Some writers interpreted his work as reflecting social unrest.

While Santoni agreed that they had a perfect right to see that in his work, he also stated, ” what I am looking for in my painting is a kind of calm and peace and serenity that’s very personal. I am looking for an interior calm that I am trying to find in myself”.

His works are in private and public collections in Cote d’Ivoire, the United States and France.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *