SwissArtGallery · Documented identity

Frédéric Bruly Bouabré

Born : 1923Died : 2014Documented citizenships : Côte d’Ivoire

Frédéric Bruly Bouabré (1923–2014), an Ivorian artist, approached drawing as a means of gathering and transmitting knowledge. His work embraces traditions, beliefs and everyday life, extending to questions of democracy and women’s rights. For his language, Bété, he invented an alphabet comprising 442 monosyllabic pictograms.

His series combine images and commentary on small pieces of card. The 27 drawings of Civilisation Bété (1988), at the Centre Pompidou, combine graphite, coloured pencils, felt-tip pen and ballpoint pen on packaging cards measuring 14.2 by 9.6 centimetres. Signes sur noix de cola (1980–1983), in the same collection, comprises 38 ballpoint drawings. Here Bouabré transcribes markings he perceives on kola nuts: observation of an ordinary object becomes the starting point for a drawn inventory of signs.

This profile brings together identity references for Frédéric Bruly Bouabré and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.

Documented auction references

18auction references

2auction houses

12documented results with prices

Genève Enchères · Piguet

References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.

Works recorded at auction

Photograph : Piguet · Enlarge image ↗

Piguet

Original title: "Groko..."

Medium — source: crayons de couleur

Original catalogue wording

"Groko..."
crayons de couleur

Catalogue period : 2024-02-27 — 2024-03-13

Published result : 800 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 1500–2500

Frédéric Bruly Bouabré

Documented auction references

Works recorded at auction

Original title: "Groko..."

Original title: Objets

Original title: "Mythologie bete..."

Original title: Hommes et membres

Original title: "Les grandes énigmes de la création divine [...]"

Original title: Il fait bon vivre ...

Original title: "Connaissance du monde"

Original title: Histoires, syllabes

Original title: "Vu par l'esprit savant l'homme imita ici en "maître" absolu Zacolo ..."

Original title: "Connaissance du monde"

Original title: "La légende de l'huile de l'empire des morts..."

A woman of white race against a green background pointing to her magnificent village surrounded by a multicoloured wall

References excluded from statistics: attributions and special lots

Joy of living: Humanity in the colours of the rainbow: The blue/yellow/black/white/green/violet/red race smiles at life

Gbéssy, a woman of violet/white/black/green/red/blue/yellow complexion, cuddles her child of yellow/black/white/red/blue/violet/green race

Seen by the learned mind of man, here as absolute master: Zagolo, the spider in the art of weaving the clothing of the future

Harmony of races: A magnificent woman of black/yellow/white/violet/red/green race giving a drink to her husband of yellow/white/violet/blue race

A man of green/white/blue/black/violet/red/yellow race mourns his brother of white/blue/black/violet/green/red/yellow colour killed by a panther

A couple of yellow/red/blue/green/violet/white race proudly showing their child of black/blue/green/white/red/violet/yellow race

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