Listen to me carefully, you bunch of snobs. Contemporary African art is not an accident or a footnote in the history of global art. It is time to look beyond clichés and preconceived expectations to discover a creator with an entirely new artistic language. I am talking about Alioune Diagne, this Senegalese-French painter who invented an artistically dazzling movement: figuro-abstro.
Parisian critics have long claimed to be the ultimate arbiters of taste, dragging behind them the dead weight of their outdated references, unable to see what is happening right under their noses. Meanwhile, Diagne was busy creating a completely unprecedented visual alphabet, a system of signs that transcends cultural barriers while remaining deeply rooted in his personal heritage.
Born in 1985 in Fatick, Senegal, Diagne developed his unique visual language after being admitted to the Fine Arts School of Dakar in 2008. In 2013, he created his own movement, the renowned figuro-abstro, which involves constructing a figurative image from abstract elements. An approach similar to concrete poetry, where words and letters form visual images while retaining their linguistic power. But it is not merely a matter of form.
The essence of this technique lies in the fascinating tension between two modes of perception: up close, one discerns thousands of abstract calligraphic signs; stepping back, these signs assemble to form strikingly clear figurative images. It is a perpetual play between detail and the whole, between abstraction and figuration, reminiscent of the concept of ‘oblique vision’ developed by philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty [1].
Merleau-Ponty argued that we never perceive the world directly, but always obliquely, through the prism of our body and bodily consciousness. Similarly, Diagne’s works force us to constantly adjust our perception, navigating between different levels of understanding, thus creating a complex phenomenological experience that challenges the stability of our vision.
The women of Senegalese markets, fishermen confronted with the overexploitation of marine resources, migrants risking their lives at sea to reach Europe – all these subjects are addressed through the unique prism of figuro-abstro, offering not only a visual representation but also a meditation on how we perceive and understand these realities.
Diagne’s work is inseparable from his personal history. The death of his grandfather, a Quranic master responsible for the calligraphic reproduction of the Quran, in 2013 marks a turning point in his artistic practice. The hours spent observing his ancestor’s meticulous work profoundly influenced his artistic approach. Like writer Marcel Proust who delved into the meanders of involuntary memory to resurrect the past, Diagne uses his abstract signs as a means to evoke not only images, but also memories, emotions, and deep cultural connections.
If photography has been described by Roland Barthes as a ‘that-has-been’ [2], testifying to a past moment, Diagne’s art could be considered a ‘that-is-still’, a continuous presence that refuses finitude. His works are visual testimonies where layers of signs and colors create a complex temporality, both rooted in the immediate present of perception and in cultural and personal history.
But don’t be fooled, his work goes far beyond mere formal experimentation or nostalgic exploration. There is something political in his refusal of Western artistic conventions, in his determination to create a visual vocabulary that is neither wholly African nor entirely European, but decidedly singular.
At the time when the Templon gallery in New York is preparing to host his upcoming exhibition titled ‘Jokkoo’ (which means ‘connection’ in Wolof) from March 6 to May 1, 2025, Diagne continues to explore the links between Afro-American and continental African communities, highlighting the similarities between these communities marked by centuries of colonial violence and seeking a new identity on the international stage.
At the Dakar Biennale in 2022, some may have approached the event with preconceived biases, expecting to discover a so-called ‘typical’ African art – a notion as vague as it is contested. Yet, the exhibition confronted the public with a series of paintings that led them to reconsider not only their expectations regarding contemporary African art, but also their very perception of the role and potential of art.
One painting stands out: Women of the Market, from the series Market Scenes. It depicts a group of Senegalese women dressed in colorful boubous, selling their goods. But as the gaze lingers, the image seems to fragment into a multitude of abstract signs, as if reality itself were decomposing into its constituent elements. The artist thereby seems to reveal the deep structure of the visible world, its visual atoms, in a way.
What is particularly interesting about Diagne’s work is how it escapes easy categorization attempts. Is it African art? Contemporary art? Figurative or abstract art? The answer is both all of that and none of it. As philosopher Jacques Derrida wrote about deconstruction, Diagne’s art ‘is not an analysis or a critique… [it] is not a method and cannot be transformed into a method’ [3]. It resists simplistic labels and reductive interpretations. This resistance to predefined categories may be the most subversive quality of Diagne’s work. In our time, creating a visual language that refuses to be easily assimilated or classified is an act of cultural resistance.
Diagne’s growing success on the international scene – notably his representation of Senegal at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024 with the project ‘Bokk – Bounds’ – testifies to the power and originality of his vision. But it also raises important questions about how contemporary African art is received and interpreted by the international art world.
Too often, African artists are celebrated only to the extent that their work aligns with Western expectations of what African art ‘should’ be – either authentically ‘traditional’ or overtly political, addressing issues such as colonization, migration, or cultural identity. This reductive dichotomy denies the complexity and diversity of contemporary African art, as well as the freedom of African artists to explore aesthetic and conceptual concerns that transcend these limited categories.
In this context, Diagne’s work represents a form of liberation. His figuro-abstro is not simply a distinctive visual style, but a declaration of artistic independence, a refusal of imposed categories and preconceived expectations. As art critic Okwui Enwezor observed, ‘contemporary African art must be understood as a field of practice that is not solely defined by geography or cultural identity, but rather by a diversity of approaches and concerns that reflect the continent’s complexity and its diasporas’ [4].
Diagne’s calligraphic signs, which represent nothing specific but evoke a multitude of associations, can be interpreted as a metaphor for this diversity and complexity. As he himself explained: ‘These signs are actually the essence of my paintings. It is through them that the image becomes clear as one steps back and that it decomposes into a multitude of elements as one approaches… I see them as a writing filled with emotions’ [5].
This ‘writing filled with emotions’ is not merely a formal device but a way to communicate experiences and ideas that resist direct verbal expression. In a world saturated with words and images, where meaning is often flattened and homogenized, Diagne’s art offers a form of deeper and more nuanced communication.
Take, for example, his installation ‘Bokk – Bounds’ at the Venice Biennale, which includes a broken canoe wrapped in a Senegalese textile painted with his characteristic signs. This powerful work evokes migratory waves, fractured relationships, and the separations faced by migrants, as well as future migrations that may be provoked by climate change. But it does so in a way that avoids the pitfalls of sensationalism or over-simplification.
Instead of presenting migrants as passive victims or anonymous statistics, Diagne emphasizes their humanity and dignity. As one critic noted: Through his work, ‘the painter visually addresses today’s issues that particularly affect him, such as clandestine migrations, the African diaspora around the world, the role of women, education, and the plundering of resources in Africa’ [6].
This approach recalls the notion of ‘witnessing’ developed by philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, who argues that we have a fundamental ethical responsibility towards ‘the Other’, a responsibility that precedes any knowledge or understanding [7]. By inviting us to witness the experiences and struggles of others in a way that respects their complexity and humanity, Diagne’s art assumes a profound ethical dimension.
For his upcoming exhibition at the Templon gallery in New York from March 6 to May 1, 2025, Diagne explores the links between Afro-American and continental African communities, with a particular focus on sports culture. His paintings depicting African-American basketball players and scenes of Senegalese wrestling – one of the most popular combat sports in Africa – evoke a pan-African identity that transcends geographical and historical boundaries.
As he himself explains: ‘The young generations in Africa no longer consider pursuing careers on their continent. Their eyes are turned toward the success of the Afro-American community in cultural fields like sports and music. I want to show them that there is a future for them on the African continent. They need to believe and invest in their countries. There is no reason why there shouldn’t be an African dream, just as there is an American dream’ [8].
This vision of an ‘African dream’ lies at the heart of Diagne’s work. It is not merely about criticizing existing inequalities and injustices, but imagining and contributing to a better future. In this sense, his art is profoundly utopian, not in the naive sense of escaping reality, but in the deeper sense of critical imagination that envisions alternative possibilities.
German philosopher Ernst Bloch described this type of utopianism as a ‘principle of hope’, a force that allows us to see beyond the limitations of the present toward a more just and humane future [9]. Diagne’s art embodies this principle, not by presenting a simplistic vision of a perfect future, but by creating a space where different possibilities can be imagined and explored.
This utopian dimension is particularly evident in his treatment of themes of education and cultural transmission. As he stated: ‘For me, young people are our future, and education is a subject that is close to my heart… I wish for young people to have access to art and culture, even in the villages of Senegal. It is an opportunity that I did not have’ [10].
In his paintings depicting children at school or scenes of traditional knowledge transmission, Diagne emphasizes the importance of education as a means of empowerment and social transformation. But he does so in a way that recognizes the complexity of these processes and respects the dignity and autonomy of those involved.
One of the most remarkable features of Diagne’s art is his ability to address serious social and political issues without falling into didacticism or excessive simplification. His works can be appreciated on multiple levels – as captivating formal explorations, as evocative representations of daily life, or as nuanced commentaries on broader social and political issues.
This multiplicity of possible readings is made possible by the very structure of figuro-abstro, with its layers of signs and plays of perspective. As one critic observed: ‘Through this new language, an unprecedented relationship is established with the viewer. The latter is obliged to engage physically, to move, to squint, to recompose the image’ [11].
This active involvement of the viewer is essential to the experience of Diagne’s art. By forcing us to constantly adjust our perspective, to oscillate between different modes of perception, his works create a space for reflection and critical engagement that resists simplistic interpretations and easy answers.
In a media landscape dominated by images and simplified narratives that often reduce complex realities to easily digestible clichés, this insistence on complexity and ambiguity is itself a political act. As political philosopher Chantal Mouffe has written, critical art can play an important role in subverting the dominant hegemony and contributing to the construction of new subjectivities [12]. Diagne’s art is ‘critical’ in this precise sense – not because it presents an explicit political message, but because it creates a space where existing certainties and hierarchies can be questioned and where new ways of seeing and understanding can emerge.
This critical dimension is particularly evident in his treatment of themes such as migration and resource exploitation. In his paintings depicting Senegalese fishermen facing overexploitation of waters by foreign fishing fleets, or young people risking their lives attempting to cross to Europe, Diagne draws attention to structural injustices without reducing the individuals involved to mere victims.
As he explained: ‘Due to overexploitation of resources by Europeans and Chinese, there are no more fish to catch. Some have become smugglers and organize ‘sea trips’ to bring desperate young Senegalese to Europe. Graduates or not, these young people have no jobs and are willing to risk their lives at sea to reach Europe’ [13].
By shining a light on these often-ignored realities, Diagne assumes the role of witness and chronicler. But he goes beyond mere testimony to create works that invite deeper reflection on the underlying causes of these situations and the shared responsibilities they entail.
This approach recalls the notion of ‘reflective solidarity’ proposed by political philosopher Iris Marion Young, who argues that we have a shared responsibility in the face of structural injustices, even when we are not directly responsible for them [14]. By inviting us to reflect on our own involvement in these structures of injustice, Diagne’s art can contribute to cultivating this type of solidarity.
But what truly distinguishes Diagne’s work is that he balances this critical dimension with an authentic celebration of beauty, joy, and resilience. His paintings are never merely denunciations of injustices or suffering; they are also vibrant affirmations of human dignity and cultural richness.
This dual dimension is particularly evident in his representations of Senegalese women. As he explained: ‘I have noticed that most women, whether in Senegal or in Africa in general, are the ones who work and take care of children at the same time. And most of the time, the husbands stay at home, playing cards or having a good time. Women wake up at 5 in the morning, traveling the streets of Dakar from market to market to sell their products like fish or vegetables’ [15].
By drawing attention to this often-overlooked reality, Diagne adopts a critical stance towards gender inequalities. But his representations of women do not limit themselves to depicting them as victims of these inequalities; he also celebrates their strength, dignity, and centrality in Senegalese social and cultural life.
Diagne asserts: ‘For me, women are our everyday heroines, who single-handedly carry their households. I find that society, especially in Africa, does not sufficiently consider women. Day after day, they accumulate tasks and kilometers in order to provide for their families’ [16].
This celebration of women’s strength and resilience is a characteristic of Diagne’s broader approach, which seeks to offer a nuanced and respectful representation of the people and communities he depicts. Rather than reducing them to stereotypes or abstract symbols, he insists on their individuality and dignity.
This approach is particularly important in the context of Western representations of Africa, which have often oscillated between romantic exoticization and dehumanizing victimization. Against these reductive trends, Diagne’s art offers a more complex and humane vision, recognizing both the real challenges faced by African communities and their ability to confront them with creativity and resilience.
As Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has written, ‘the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story’ [17]. By offering nuanced and multidimensional representations of Senegalese life, Diagne’s art contributes to countering this ‘danger of a single story’.
This resistance to simplifications and stereotypes is an essential feature of Diagne’s artistic approach. As he explained: ‘I like to touch on everything: video, sculpture, painting, photography, serigraphy. I live with the arts naturally… There are no barriers’ [18].
This openness to different forms and influences is emblematic of his broader approach, which refuses rigid categories and limiting definitions. Whether in his treatment of social and political themes, in his innovative fusion of abstraction and figuration, or in his navigation between different cultural traditions, Diagne creates art that celebrates complexity and multiplicity.
Perhaps this celebration of complexity constitutes Diagne’s most significant contribution to contemporary art. In an increasingly polarized and oversimplified world, his art reminds us of the importance of nuanced perceptions and judgments, of staying open to different perspectives and modes of understanding.
The abstract signs that compose his figurative images can be seen as a metaphor for this complexity – each sign is unique, carrying its own meaning and emotion, but it is together that they create a coherent and meaningful image. Similarly, it is by recognizing and valuing our diversity and individuality that we can create more humane and just communities and societies.
Alioune Diagne’s art, with its unique fusion of the abstract and the figurative, its critical engagement, and its celebration of life, not only offers a distinctive contribution to the history of contemporary art but also provides an ethical and aesthetic vision that can help us navigate the complexities of our current world.
So, you bunch of snobs, it’s time to open your eyes and minds. Alioune Diagne’s art offers us much more than a simple aesthetic experience – it invites us to reconsider our perceptions, our biases, and our responsibilities, to see the world both in its detailed complexity and in its larger unity. Like his paintings that oscillate between the abstraction of individual signs and the coherence of the figurative image, his art reminds us that we are both unique individuals and parts of a greater whole, connected to one another by invisible but essential threads of shared history, culture, and humanity.
- Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. Eye and Mind. Gallimard, Paris, 1964.
- Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. Éditions du Seuil, Paris, 1980.
- Derrida, Jacques. Letter to a Japanese Friend. In Psyche: Inventions of the Other. Galilée, Paris, 1987.
- Enwezor, Okwui. The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa, 1945-1994. Prestel, Munich, 2001.
- Marynet J. Interview with The Art Momentum, “Alioune Diagne: A Writing that Embodies Emotion”, November 27, 2019.
- Lanot, Lise. “The Painter Alioune Diagne Tells the Stories of Fishermen Who Became Smugglers”. Konbini, January 17, 2024.
- Levinas, Emmanuel. Otherwise than Being or Beyond Essence. Livre de Poche, Paris, 1990.
- Diagne, Alioune. Press release for the exhibition “Jokkoo”, Galerie Templon, New York, January 14, 2025.
- Bloch, Ernst. The Principle of Hope. Gallimard, Paris, 1976.
- Diagne, Alioune. Interview with Whitewall, July 5, 2024.
- Les Presses Du Réel. Excerpt from the exhibition catalog “Alioune Diagne: Ndox-Glint”, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, 2023.
- Mouffe, Chantal. “Artistic Activism and Agonistic Spaces”. Art & Research, Vol. 1, No. 2, Summer 2007.
- Rantrua, Sylvie. “Alioune Diagne: Opening the Door for Young Senegalese Artists”. Le Point Afrique, February 1, 2024.
- Young, Iris Marion. Responsibility for Justice. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2011.
- Marynet J. Interview with The Art Momentum, “Alioune Diagne: A Writing that Embodies Emotion”, November 27, 2019.
- Diagne, Alioune. Interview with OnArt.Media, “Meeting Alioune Diagne, Senegalese-French Painter and Sculptor”, 2020.
- Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “The Danger of a Single Story”. TED Talk, July 2009.
- Forster, Siegfried. “Alioune Diagne, the ‘Figuro-Abstro’ Art of a Senegalese Painter”. RFI, November 1, 2019.
