Georges Adéagbo

Georges Adéagbo (* 1942 in Cotonou , Dahomey , today's Republic of Benin ) is a Benin installation artist .

After studying law in Abidjan ( Ivory Coast ) and Rouen , he returned to Benin in 1968. He turned down the expected role of head of the family after his father's death. He was marginalized by his own siblings and repeatedly admitted to a psychiatric clinic by them because of inheritance disputes. Out of loneliness, he began to tell stories with found and acquired objects, but without considering himself an artist. In the period up to 1993, numerous installations were created in his house that a French curator became aware of by chance.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

1997

• Death and Resurrection (La mort et la résurrection), Galerie Natalie Obadia, Paris.
• Redemption, the Redeemer (la rédemption, le rédempteur), le Quartier, center d'art contemporain, Quimper, France.

2000

• La rencontre de l'Afrique et du Japon , Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
• Abraham, l'ami de Dieu , PS1, New York, Long Island City.

2001

• L'Epoque Pythagoreene , Gallery in the Taxispalais, Innsbruck.

2004

• "L'explorateur et les explorateurs devant l'histoire de l'exploration" ..! -Le théâtre du monde ..! , Museum Ludwig , Cologne.
• Le Socialisme Africain , Ikon Gallery, Birmingham.

2005

• Dieu-créateur dans la création and AC-DC archive of the Museum Ludwig , Galerie Elisabeth Kaufmann Zurich.

2007

• Tout de Moi à Tous , DAAD Gallery , Berlin.
• La rencontre ..! , Venise-Florence, Fondazione Querini Stampalia-Venice.

2008

• La rencontre ..! , Venise-Florence, Palazzo Vecchio and Gallery Frittelli, Florence.
• La Belgique au Congo , Sint Lukas Gallery, Brussels.

2009

• Colonization and the history of the colonized , MAK Vienna.

2010

• La Culture et les Cultures - La Chine a Hambourg , Galerie Holzhauer Hamburg.

2011

• La Mission et les Missionaires , MUSAC, Leon, Spain.

2013

• Il était un fois, Košice: Košice d'hier, Košice d'aujourd'hui ..! , Make-Up Gallery, Košice, Slovakia.

2014

• Les Artistes et l'ecriture , Gallery Wien-Lukatsch, Berlin.
• La Naissance de Stockholm , Moderna Museet , Stockholm.

2015

• Inverted Space , an installation in a glass cube on the Altona balcony , Hamburg.

Group exhibitions

1994

• Archeology (L'archeology), in La Route de l'art sur la Route de l'esclave , Saline Royale d'Arc-et-Senans, France; traveling in 1997 to: Center culturel du SESC Pompeia, São Paulo, Brazil, 1998: Musée d'art moderne, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Center culturel de Fond Saint-Jacques, Sainte-Marie, Martinique, 1999 Artchipel, scène nationale de la Guadeloupe

1995

• Peace in the World (La paix dans le monde) “Dialogue of Peace”, Palais of the United Nations, Geneva
• Art and Evolution , (L'art et l'evolution) "Big City", The Serpentine Gallery, London
• Archeology (L'archeology) "African Artists and Aids", Center Culturel Français, Cotonou, Benin; The Dakar Biennial, Senegal

1996

• Images of Africa (Les images de l'afrique) "African Art towards the Year 2000", Round Tower, Copenhagen
• The Renaissance (La renaissance) Galerie du jour Agnès B., Paris

1997

• Johannesburg Biennial
• Contemporary Art and Modern Art (L'art contemporain et l'art moderne)
• Georges Adéagbo and Honoré d'O , Kunsthalle FRI-ART, Friborg, Switzerland
• Creativity (la créativité) “The other moderns”, House of World Cultures , Berlin
• The Guardians of the World 1997/98 (Les veilleurs du monde) studio-session and exhibition at the Center Culturel Français, Cotonou, Benin and Musée national d'arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie, Paris
• The First Year of Democracy 1997–1998 (L'An 01 de la democratie) Alternating Currents, second Johannesburg Biennial, South Africa

1998

• Cannibalism (le canibalisme) "Roteiros, Roteiros, ... Roteiros" XXIV Biennale de São Paulo
• The Philosophical Schools (Les Écoles philosophiques) 7th Triennial of Small Sculptures, Africa-Europe, Stuttgart

1999

• Venise d'hier-Venise d'aujour d'hui ( 'The Story of the Lion ) a one-day installation for the Campo dell'Arsenale, June 10, hosted by Joint Adventures Art Projects and the Venice Biennial, awarded with the' premio della giuria '(prize of the jury)
• Kunstwelten im Dialog , Museum Ludwig Köln, concept: Marc Scheps (Global Art Rheinland 2000) Against Georges Adégbo's will, the piece Death and Resurrection (dedicated for a gallery exhibition in Paris 1997) was partially installed. His offer to create a site specific installation for the occasion and city of Cologne was refused.

2000

• ForwArt a choice, six curators-six artists, Harald Szeemann invited Georges Adéagbo, who composed 'La colonization Belge en Afrique noir' for this exhibition in Bruxelles hosted by the BBL (banque bruxelles lambert) April-May
• La resurrection de Edith Piaf in Voilà. le monde dans la tete. Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris, ARC
• Hommage à Napoléon le grand in la ville, le jardin, la mémoire , Rome, installation in the loggia and the garden of villa Medici for Partage de l'exotisme at the fifth Biennale de Lyon, the piece La mort et la resurrection ( Death and Resurrection , created for the exhibition at Galerie Natalie Obadia, Paris 1997) was partially installed against the artists will.

2001

• Le Socialisme Africain (African Socialism) in: The Short Century by Okwui Enwezor four venues. Villa Stuck - Munich, House of World Cultures-Berlin, MCA-Chicago, PS1- New York (2002)
• Un espace ...! Monde (histoire de l'art) in: A space is a world . Kunsthalle Zurich 2001

2002

• "L'explorateur et les explorateurs devant l'histoire de l'exploration" ..! -Le théâtre du monde ..! in: Documenta 11 , Kassel.

2004

• In the Bed in: “In Bed.” Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
• Dieu-créateur dans la création Art Cologne , booth Galerie Elisabeth Kaufmann
• AC-DC archive of the Museum Ludwig Rheinschau. Cologne

2005

• Dieu-créateur dans la création and AC-DC archive of the Museum Ludwig both in modified versions at Galerie Kaufmann, Zurich.
• La Colonization Belge en Afrique Noir modified version in Belgique Visionnaire, Bozar, Bruxelles, curated by Harald Szeemann.
• The Blake Byrne Collection, ed. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

2006

• Abraham, l'ami de Dieu - Philadelphia version Philadelphia Museum of Art
• In Notations: Out of Words that included also Bruce Nauman, On Kawara, Glenn Ligon and Joseph Kosuth.

2007

• Créer le monde en faisant des collections - hommage to Christoph Weickmann , in Weickmann's Wunderkammer, Ulmer Museum
• Une espace avec le monde in “Beyond the Wall”, Brandenburg Gate Foundation , Max Liebermann House, Berlin.

2008

• Ephemeral Fringes Art Brussels
• Regardez l'histoire! in “See History 2008”, Kunsthalle Kiel .
• Intolerance Ravello Festival, Sorento

2009

• Hypocrisy-The Sitespecifity of Morality Oslo National Museum of Contemporary Art.
• Fare Mondi 53rd Venice Biennale .

2010

• Transparancy Trasparenze, Macro Future Rome , curated by Laura Cherubini and Sauro Bocchi, hosted by Fabula in Art.
• Transparancy Trasparenze, MADRE Napoli

2011

• ARS 11, Kiasma Helsinki ABSOLUTT INSTALLASJON National Museum for Art, Architecture and Design. Oslo. Reinstallation of the work commissioned for the exhibition Hypocrisy in 2009.

2012

• Paris Triennial, Palais de Tokyo, curated by Okwui Enwezor.
• We Face Forward , Whitworth Art Gallery , Manchester
• The Storytellers , The Stenersen Museum Oslo
• Biennale Regard Benin 2012 Porto Novo and Togbin Plage

2013

• DECOLONIZE MÜNCHEN , City Museum Munich
• L'Allemagne avant la guerre et L'Allemagne après la guerre ..!

2014

• Le Bois Sacré Off event during the Dakart Biennial. Dakar.
• Artevida Rio de Janeiro, at Parque location.

2015

• Global Imaginations, De Lakenhal Museum and De Meelfabrik, Leiden.
• After Babel, Moderna Museum Stockholm.
• The Problem of God, K21, Düsseldorf

2016

• “And yet another world” Kunsthaus Hamburg
• “An Age of our Own Making” part of images 2016, Holbaek Denmark.
• “The Incantation of the Disquieting Muse” SAVVY Contemporary Berlin.
• “We call it Ludwig” 40th Anniversary of the Museum Ludwig in Cologne
• 11th Shanghai Biennale “Why not ask Again?” Power Station of Art, Shanghai.
• Georges Adéagbo and Otobong Nkanga at Gallery Lumen Travo.
• Georges Adéagbo Gallery Vilma Gold, London Oct. 2016

2017

• “Africa - Raccontare un Mondo” PAC Milano

Collections

• Toyota Municipal Museum of Art 2000 and 2004
• Museum Ludwig Cologne 2003
• Blake Byrne, Los Angeles 1999 (donated to LA MoCA spring 2005)
• Elisabeth Kaufmann Gallery, Zurich 2005
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 2006
• Ulm Museum 2007
• Oslo National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. 2009
• MAK Vienna 2009
• MUSAC Leon 2011
• KIASMA Helsinki 2011
• GIZ Regional Office Cotonou 2012
• Collection Cecile Fakhouri Abidjan 2013
• Whitworth Art Gallery The University of Manchester 2013
• Munich City Museum 2013
• Moderna Museet Stockholm 2014
• Israel Museum Jerusalem 2016

Awards

• Venice Biennial 1999, premio della Giuria
• Scholarship Grants Juries
• 2006: jury member for the Schindler residencies MAK
• 2006/07: guest of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program
• 2017: Finkenwerder Art Prize , sponsored by Airbus Hamburg

Web links

• http://www.jointadventures.org/
• Literature by and about Georges Adéagbo in the catalog of the German National Library
• Materials by and about Georges Adéagbo in the documenta archive
• Georges Adéagbo on kunstaspekte.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Source: Conversations with Georges Adéagbo recorded by Stephan Köhler (c) 1999–2013
2. ↑ The Incantation of the Disquieting Muse. Retrieved April 16, 2018 .