Combining his painting skills with installation work, Abdoulaye Konaté questions the ways in which we are affected by political and environmental affairs. Employing material native to Mali, pieces of cotton are woven and dyed and then sewn together, the artist creates large-scale abstract and figurative compositions. Konaté refers to the West-African tradition of using textiles as a means of commemoration and communication.

Abdoulaye Konatè first studied painting at the Institut National des Arts in Bamako and then at the Instituto Superior des Arte, Havana, Cuba, where he lived for seven years before returning to Mali. Major group shows include documenta 12 in Kassel, Germany; Africa Remix (2004-2007 in Düsseldorf, London, Paris, Tokyo, Johannesburg); and more recently, the Museum for Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt, Germany (2014); and the Norrköping Art Museum in Stockholm, Sweden (2015). Konaté has received national honors from Mali (Chevalier de l’order National du Mali) and from France (Chevalier de l’order des Arts et des Lettres de France). He is Director of the Conservatoire for Arts and Media in Bamako.