Joseph-Francis Sumégné was born on 30 July 1951 in Bamenjou, Cameroon. Painter and sculptor since 1976, he is a self-taught artist. He lives and works in

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...

(Cameroon).

Biography

Influenced by the engravings and the tattoos that he observed on his grandmother's body and pillars of the royal houses to the west of Cameroon, he drew a lot during his childhood in the village. He then got introduced to different types of artistic practices (sculpture, colorization, jewelry, basketry and weaving), the combination of which will characterize his future work. His works are marked by the influences of traditional sculpture in his home region. The fusion of found objects linked with copper wire and stitches that he invents, confront the challenge of the free volume. Concretizing his desires, pains, passions, indignations and dreams through his sculptures, Sumégné invents his philosophy and his technique of JALA'A to manifest and magnify self-transcendence. The topics addressed by Sumégné are multiple: masks and characters of traditional powers, men and women on the move (dancers, pushed-pushers), scenes out of his daily environment. Invited to a do a residency in Douala by

doual'art doual'art is a non profit cultural organisation and art centre founded in 1991 in Douala, Cameroon and focussed on new urban practices of African cities. History doual'art was registered as a non profit organization in 1992 and it was establish ...

for three years, from 1993 to 1996, Sumégné made his

La Nouvelle Liberté ''La Nouvelle Liberté'' is a public artwork in the Deido suburb, in Douala (Cameroon, Cameroun). The Artwork La Nouvelle Liberté is the most famous and emblematic artwork of Douala, which today has become a symbol of the city. Produced by Jo ...

, a monumental sculpture of 12 meters in height. He has been invited to create outdoor works in Gabon, France and Germany. His latest urban creation was ''Le monument pour la Paix'' for the

contemporary art biennale of Bangui Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

, in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

. He has exhibited in several countries, including Japan for the

triennial of Osaka An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...

(1998) and the Netherlands for the

triennial of Arnhem An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...

(2008). In 2004, he participated in the

biennale of Dakar The Dakar Biennale, or Dak'Art - Biennale de l'Art Africain Contemporain, is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Dakar, Senegal. Dak'Art's focus has been on Contemporary African Art since 1996. History ...

(Senegal), in a one-man show in the official selection, where he presented his series of sculptures ''Les neufs notables'' to an international audience for the first time. His latest big public presentation took place in 2014 at ArtFair London, in the United Kingdom. In 2015, he reunited with painting.

Expositions

Individual

* 2008 ** Mouvements de poussière-Espace

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country ...

* 2005 ** Les neuf Notables-Espace

* 2003 ** Exposition sans titre de Joseph-Francis Sumégné-Espace

, Douala * 2002 ** Exposition de sculptures de Joseph-Francis Sumégné-Espace

Collective

* 2010 ** Cameroonian Touch.2, Espace

* 2008 ** Sonsbeek 2008: grandeur, Sonsbeek International Sculpture Exhibition,

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

* 2007 ** Africa Remix -Contemporary art of a continent, Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG),

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

* 2006 ** Africa Remix -Contemporary Art of a Continent, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo ** Guerre contre la Pauvreté, Espace

* 2005 ** Africa Remix -l'art contemporain d'un continent, Centre Pompidou – Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris ** Africa Remix -Contemporary Art of a Continent, Hayward Gallery,

Londres Londres may refer to: Locations * London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wi ...

* 2004 ** Africa Remix -Zeitgenössische Kunst eines Kontinents, Museum Kunst Palast,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

** 6e Biennale de l'Art africain contemporain, Dak'Art Biennale de Dakar,

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

* 1998 ** Dak'Art 1998, Biennale de l'Art africain contemporain, Dak'Art Biennale de Dakar,

References

Bibliography

* Marie-Laure Bernadac et

Simon Njami Simon Njami (born 1962 in Lausanne) is a writer and an independent curator, lecturer, art critic and essayist. Career Writing Njami published his first novel, ''Cercueil et Cie'', in 1985, followed by ''Les Enfants de la Cité'' in 1987, and '' ...

(dir.), ''Africa Remix : l'art contemporain d'un continent'' (exposition présentée au Centre Pompidou, Galerie 1, du 25 mai au 8 août 2005), Éditions du Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2005, * Dominique Malaquais, ''Une nouvelle liberté ? Art et politique urbaine à Douala (Cameroun)'' in ''Afrique & histoire'', Dossier : Villes d'Afrique : circulations et expressions culturelles, 2006/1 (vol. 5), .
Joseph Francis Sumégné
in ''

Africultures ''Africultures'' is a publication of arts and culture about and from Africa and its diasporas. Based in Paris, it was founded in 1997 under the impetus of Olivier Barlet by journalists and academics such as Virginie Andriamirado, Gérald Arnaud, ...

''. * Dominique Malaquais, ''Quelle Liberté : Art, Beauty and the Grammars of Resistance in Douala'' in ''Beautiful/Ugly : African and diaspora aesthetics'', (dir.) Sarah Nuttall, Duke University Press Library & Prince Claus Fund, Durham & The Hague, 2006, . , 9780795701863 * Christian Hanussek, ''La Nouvelle Liberté-Le Nju-Nju du Rond-Point'' in ''Douala in Translation'', (dir.) Marilyn Douala Bell, Episode Publishers, Rotterdam, 2007, . * Batchou, W. F. (2014): Cameroun- Art plastiques: L’escale sculpturale de Joseph Francis Sumegne. Cemerpost

* Christel, A. (2015). Impressionnisme et expressionnisme sculptural dans l'oeuvre de Joseph Francis Sumegne. Artkmermouth

* Hanussek, C. (2001). Cameroon: An Emerging Art Scene. Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art, 2001(13–14), pp. 100–105. * Lequeux, E. (2012). A Douala, la princesse qui veut éveiller les consciences. Culture

* Linge, I. (2010). Joseph Francis Sumegne ou l'art de la nouvelle liberté. Journal du Camero

* N'Goné, F., Loup, P. J. (2001). Anthologie de l'art africain du XXe siècle. Paris: Revue Noire Editions, Paris, pp. 268 * Nehdi, D. (2012): Sumegne Joseph Francis : c’est la quête du chef-d’œuvre qui détermine un artiste. Culturebene

* Noubissi, V. (2016): La Nouvelle liberté séduit Douala. Agricdev

* Osaka Triennale 1998. (1998). 1st ed. Osaka: Osaka Prefectural Government: Osaka Foundation of Culture, p. 62. * Raphael, D. Hommage à Joseph Francis Sumegne: Fils de Bamendjou et créateur de la statue de la nouvelle liberté à Douala-Cameroun

* Pensa, Iolanda (Ed.) 2017. Public Art in Africa. Art et transformations urbaines à Douala /// Art and Urban Transformations in Douala. Genève: Metis Presses.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumégné, Joseph-Francis 1951 births Living people Cameroonian contemporary artists Cameroonian painters Artists from Yaoundé