Cyprien Tokoudagba Explained

Cyprien Tokoudagba (1939–5 May 2012) was a Beninese sculptor and painter.^[1] He was from Abomey, Benin.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Biography

He started to work as an art restorer for the Abomey Museum in 1987, when he was hired to replicate the original bas-reliefs that told many of Dahomey's legends and stories while celebrating the individual kings for the new King Glelé royal palace façade, among the Royal Palaces of Abomey reconstructed by the government of Benin.

Tokoudagba continued the tradition of bas-relief though the use of cement and commercially available synthetic paint, while also producing works on canvas, frescoes and monumental sculptures. In 1989, Cyprien left Benin for the first time to exhibit at “Magiciens de la Terre” in Paris, France.

Tokoudagba's work was exhibited at the "Ouidah '92" festival, which celebrated Vodun art from Benin and the African Diaspora in Ouidah, Benin in February 1993.^[5] His works have also been exhibited in the following museums: Smithsonian institution - National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC; Musée Dapper, Paris, France; Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany; Hayward Gallery, London, Englands; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan; São Paulo Biennale, Brazil.

Notes and References

1. News: LeVine . Keiron . 2014-07-10 . Cyprien Tokoudagba's voodoo visions . en-GB . . 2023-11-20 . 0261-3077.
2. Palace Sculptures of Abomey: History Told on Walls Francesca Piqué, Leslie H. Rainer - 1999 - Page 108 "Cyprien Tokoudagba with several of his sculptures, which depict various deities and other folk figures. His art has been exhibited at the Pompidou Center in Paris. Photograph by Susan Middleton, 1996. Sculpture by Cyprien Tokoudagba in ..."
3. Politique Africaine N-059-Le Bénin - Page 54 "Etaient présents Amidou Dossou, avec ses masques Gélédé, et Cyprien Tokoudagba, avec des terres cuites peintes, qui tous deux ... Cyprien Tokoudagba sera encore présent, cette fois avec les frères Dakpogan, dans une autre importante ..."
4. Slavery in Art and Literature: Approaches to Trauma, Memory and ... Birgit Haehnel, Melanie Ulz - 2010 -- Page 230 "The choice of Cyprien Tokoudagba to create them speaks for itself. Cyprien Tokoudagba is as contemporary Beninese artist whose works of art are in the Pigozzi Collection as well as in many other cultural institutions around the world."
5. 33 . Rush. Dana . Contemporary Vodun Arts of Ouidah, Benin. African Arts. 34. 4 . Winter 2001. UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center. 10.2307/3337805 . 3337805 .