JOCELYN AKWABA MATIGNON
Born in 1961 in Guadeloupe, Jocelyn Akwaba Matignon grew up in the North of France. His adoptive father initiated him very young to drawing and painting. After exploring computer science and glassmaking, he turned to Fine Arts (Master in Art expression superior national degree).
A triangular journey Europe - Africa - America
His first period of work "the spirit of the earth" is a plastic research based on the use of natural elements of the forest. His first trip to Africa in Burkina Faso, as a photographer, will take him several years later to work on the spirit of the African mask.
In 1998, he began his Amerindian quest following a dream: study in depth the whole spirituality of the Native American world. In 2010, he made his first trip to Guatemala. For him, this will be the realization of his years of theoretical research.
The artist's triangular logo symbolizes his journey between Europe, Africa and America, evoking profound meanings such as water, the feminine, trinity and the perception of the invisible. Currently, artist Jocelyn Akwaba Matignon lives and works in Guadeloupe.
Jocelyn Akwaba Matignon is exploring the mysteries of the universe through Mayan cosmogony. The multiple pictorial layers superimposed in his works represent symbols of the Amerindian world, culminating in the emergence of his dreamlike character "Kioukan”, often associated with entities such as Kukulkan, the feathered serpent.
This imaginary character “Kioukan” (Who Where When) with multiple members and an almond- shaped head, became in his painting mystical consciousness who questions our place in space and time, and is used to reveal or hide what we call reality, appearances. It is WhoWhereWhen the WWW circulating on the web. This artistic approach bears witness to Jocelyn Akwaba Matignon's deep commitment to exploring the boundaries between the tangible and the elusive through his art.
Aesthetic choices, such as format, composition, colors and titles, are considered to nourish a profound reflection on the very nature of painting.
The characters in his works are the fruit of meticulous preparatory drawing and graphic research.
Exhibitions and Fairs
2023
- Prizm Art Fair - Miami
- IVX Biennale Florence, Italy
- Las voces del silencio - Muséo Nacional de Arte de Guatemala - Guatemala
- Les voix du Silence - Travelling exhibition - Saint Pierre, Martinique
- On tour London - The Crypt Gallery, London
2022
- Canoës Cosmiques - Atrium Scène Nationale, Martinique
2021
- Le Chant des Seigneurs - Hôtel Arawak Beach Resort, Guadeloupe
- Divine Feminine - La Batelière Hotel, Martinique
2019
- Aguas Calientes - Spanish Cooperation and Alliance Française, Guatemala
2017
- Ixchel, the Moon Goddess - L153 Gallery, Seoul
- AAF (Affordable Art Fair) - Metropolitan Pavillon, New York, USA
2016
- From infinity to the center - Korean Foundation Gallery, Seoul
2015
- Biennale d'art contemporain du Marin, Martinique
1994
- Salon des Peintres d'Outre-Mer, Espace Reuilly, Paris