IC-Africa // Encounter with Kokou Ferdinand Makouvia

Kokou Ferdinand Makouvia is a sculptor from Togo, born in Lomé in 1989. He lives and works in
Amsterdam. He arrived in France in 2014 and settled in Valenciennes, where he studied at the Ecole
des Beaux-Arts and began to exhibit his work. In 2016, he entered the École nationale supérieure des
Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 2017, he won four prestigious art prizes in quick succession, including the Salon
de Montrouge and the Dauphine Prize for Contemporary Art. He was also named «Révélation ADAGP
Arts Plastiques 2017».
Trained in Togo, Makouvia’s sculptural practice lies on the frontier between the exploration of the potential
of the most diverse materials (rubber, copper, wood, plastic, iron, earth) and the reinterpretation of
vernacular forms, reminiscent of his African culture. Makouvia works all the materials for his pieces by
hand: this experimentation with a wide variety of techniques (carpentry, ironwork, clay) is at the heart
of his creation. It also feeds on the reuse of materials considered poor and non-noble, such as used
air chambers, cardboard boxes and other salvaged elements that he combines with iron or wood.
This practice has its origins in contemporary African art, but rather than objects of social denunciation,
Makouvia’s non-figurative pieces examine matter and form in search of a harmonious and essential
aesthetic, interacting with space, but also expressing the strength of the raw material.