Galerie Magnin-A will be participating in Art Brussels, taking place from April 23 to 26, 2026. The presentation will include African artists Amadou Sanogo and Rodrigo Armando Mabunda.
Amadou Sanogo was born in 1977 in Ségou, Mali. His ancestors were noble Sénoufo farmers who founded the village of Zangorola in the Sikasso region, then part of the Kingdom of Kénédougou—the “Land of Light.” Their kings, Tiéba and Babemba Traoré, are remembered and respected as the last leaders to resist the French colonial army during its campaign in Mali. Sanogo often reflects on his origins: “To know where you are going, you must know where you come from.” He sees himself as heir to a land of history, a symbol of resistance with a rich artistic heritage.
Determined to follow his own path, Sanogo diverged from the expectations placed upon him. While he was expected to become an engineer, he chose instead to enroll at the National Institute of Arts (INA). Although, as he notes, “a noble should not engage in the activities of griots,” he trained in the technique of Bogolan—a traditional Malian cloth—before turning to painting. Frustrated by academic instruction, he pursued his own artistic research, developing a unique visual language. His originality led him to collaborate in 2006 with Simon Njami and Pascale Marthine Tayou, and he received support from Abdoulaye Konaté, artist and director of INA.
Rodrigo Armando Mabunda began working at the age of 15, alongside his studies, which he ultimately did not complete. He took on a series of odd jobs, including working as a market vendor and mechanic, to support himself. Self-taught, he first explored drawing on A4 sheets before truly finding his creative fulfillment on cardboard packaging, which would become his preferred medium.
Originally from Mozambique, Rodrigo Armando Mabunda maps, with ballpoint pen, chaotic narratives in which bodies vibrate and twist in hypnotic compositions. His drawings, dense and powerful, serve as reflections on the social and political realities of his country. The artist describes himself as “a dreamer of the streets,” a wandering creative who roams urban spaces to extract stories and visions.
Source: MAGNIN-A
