Ousmane SOW -Touareg - Signed gouache

Ousmane Sow : (born in 1935 in Dakar) is a senegalese sculptor, sacred as one of the best contemporary sculptors. In 1957, he left his native country to go to Paris. He passed his nurse and then physiotherapy degrees. He worked as a physiotherapist for 20 years, which influenced a lot his work as a sculptor, thanks to the knowledge he acquired of the human body. Self taughtman, he dedicated most of his time to perfectionate his artistic technique, and to do research on materials. Aged 50, and back to Senegal, he decided to quit his job and work only with sculptures. He elaborated a very personal technique: on a framework of metal, straw, canvas and other materials, he models his sculpture using a specific paste, which he took years to elaborate, and now keeps its receipe secret. In 1988, he exhibited for the first time his series Noubas at the French Cultural Centre of Dakar. The next years, he exhibited a bit everywhere, starting in France, then Germany, Japan, USA, Senegal, Belgium, and Italy. In 1999, he exhibited his series Little Big Horn on the Pont des Arts in Paris. This exhibition was visited by 3 millions people. Ousmane Sow est aujourd’hui considéré comme l’un des plus grands sculpteurs contemporains. On December 13th 2013, he became the first black man to become a member of the french Académie des beaux-arts.