RAFIY OKEFOLAHAN
Painter and sculptor | Benin
Okefolahan is a multidisciplinary artist, who creates colourful, textured neo-expressionistic paintings. Humans are always at the center of his works, although the figures are often obscured by heavy layers of abstraction.
PORTRAIT
Rafiy Okefolahan (1979 Porto Novo) is a multidisciplinary artist, who started his formal training in glas painting and photography and experiments also with performance art and sculpting, but found his real expressive edge in painting. Okefolahan draws his inspiration from daily urban life around him and puts humans at the center of his work, in all their ups and downs of their daily struggles.
Giving the invisables a voice against the myth of violence. His colorful neo-expressionist textures, made from a mixture of materials with acrylics at its base, breath a vigorous, almost palpable energy, which gives a sense of urgency to the figures he portrays. Figures obscured by heavy layers of abstraction, carrying hints of Basquiat and Bacon, but distinctly different in his own style and expression.
Rafiy Okefolahan (1979 Porto Novo) is a multidisciplinary artist, who started his formal training in glas painting and photography and experiments also with performance art and sculpting, but found his real expressive edge in painting. Okefolahan draws his inspiration from daily urban life around him and puts humans at the center of his work, in all their ups and downs of their daily struggles.
Giving the invisables a voice against the myth of violence. His colorful neo-expressionist textures, made from a mixture of materials with acrylics at its base, breath a vigorous, almost palpable energy, which gives a sense of urgency to the figures he portrays. Figures obscured by heavy layers of abstraction, carrying hints of Basquiat and Bacon, but distinctly different in his own style and expression.
WORKS
CREDENTIALS
2024
- Solo exhibition "Porteurs de rêves, porteurs de charges" as part of the Africapitales event - Lavoir Moderne Parisien, Paris (France)
2023
- Solo exhibition "L'imaginaire (ceci n'est pas une boite à souvenirs)" - La Grande Place, Porto-Novo (Benin)
- Solo exhibition "Au clair de la Lune" - La Grande Place, Porto-Novo (Benin)
- Solo exhibition "Les témoins silencieux" - Galerie Lazarew, Paris (France)
- Solo exhibition "Effigies" (and artistic performance for the opening)
2022
- Solo exhibition "Irawo" - Galerie Lazarew, Paris (France)
2020
- Solo exhibition "Jazz it up!" - La Maison Rouge, Cotonou (Benin)
- Solo exhibition "Aïdo-Hwedo" - Galerie Lazarew, Paris (France)
2024
- Group exhibition "Gléhoué - Home of the earth", OpenArtExchange, Schiedam, Netherlands
- Group exhibition "La Fusion des Impossibles" - La Grande Place, Porto-Novo (Benin)
- Group exhibition as part of the Vodoun Arts Festival - Congolese Cultural Center, Brussels (Belgium)
2022
- Group exhibition "(Re)connections" - La Grande Place, Porto-Novo (Benin)
2023
- "Arts et développement" at the Foundation for Studies and Research on International Development in Clermont-Ferrand (France) & at the AFD Campus in Marseille (France)
2014
- "Asiko" Program: Intensive courses in Art History and Conservation (program directed by Bisi Silva and the Center of Contemporary Art of Lagos), Dakar (Senegal)
2011
- Residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (France)
2006-2007
- National School of Arts of Dakar (Senegal), Department of Fine Arts
2023
- Project "Dancing, illustrating, and inventing the environment of lagoon banks," conducted in Benin and supported by the Metis fund of the French Development Agency (AFD) for local artists engaging in Art and development. (Awareness-raising actions on environmental issues in primary schools in the city of Porto-Novo, using the example of lagoon banks through various workshops)
2021
- Artistic performance "La Procession". Filmed performance broadcasted live on March 22 for the International Water Day, during the event "Water and Climate, Source of Life and Ecological Challenge on the African Continent" (sharing experiences and expertise of the NGO ID echoing the artistic performance)
2019
- Establishment of the cultural venue "La Grande Place" (Porto-Novo, Benin). A place for experimentation, residencies, and training, focused on educating young people and reflecting on political and environmental issues
2021
- Creation residency at the Réservoir, Sète (France)
2019
- Residency in French Guiana (Amazon), and photographic research project "Morpho-Logy"