Ndayé Kouagou
Ndayé Kouagou (b. 1992, Montreuil France) is an artist and performer based in Paris. His practice always starts from texts of which he is the author. Voluntarily or involuntarily confused, he tries as best as he can to bring a reflection on these three topics: unease, power and vulnerability. The result is… what it is. He describes his work as “quite interesting, but not that interesting or maybe not interesting at all”.
Kouagou’s most recent exhibitions include; Sorry but your beloved mom is not always right at Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster, Germany and The Guru at Transmediale, Berlin, Germany, as well as performances at Contemporaine de Nîmes, France, and The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland. In 2023, Kouagou had solo exhibitions at FRAC Ile de France, Paris, France, and Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France. His work has been shown at Centrale Fies, Italy (2019); Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France (2020); Wiels, Belgium, (2021); Athens Biennale, Athens, Greece (2021); Centre George Pompidou, Paris, France (2021); Frieze London’s Curated Section, London, UK (2021); Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Germany (2022); Mudam Museum of Modern Art, Luxembourg (2023).
Solo and Group Exhibitions
2024
Sorry, but your Beloved Mum is Not Always Right!, Westfalischer Kunstverein, Munich, Germany
Please don’t be yourself, Fragment Gallery, New York, USA
Please don’t be, MOMA Warsaw, Poland
A message for everybody, Gathering, London, UK
The Guru, Transmediale, Berlin, Germany
A Crack We Sprout Through, Sanatorium Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
2023
A Change of Perspective, Frac-Ile-de-France, Paris, France
The Guru, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France
Position and Balance, Nir Altman, Munich, Germany
Direction, Direction?, Sundy Gallery, London, UK
Violins/Violence, Gathering, London, UK
La flemme - Joy of Missing Out, Centre d'art image/imatge, Orthez, France
Scabs, Mécène du Sud, Montpellier, France
Après l'éclipse, Magasins Généraux, Paris, France
Words don't go there, Kunstverein Braunschweig, Braunschweig Germany
2022
Like Dracula dodging the cross, Galerie Imane Farès, Paris, France
A Manifesto of Presence, Ses12Naus, Ibiza, Spain
Real, Unreal, The Constant Now, Antwerp, Belgium
Sublime Rage, The French Place, London, UK
After all a coin is a coin, Liste Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
Manette, Art-o-rama, Marseille, France
(un)forgiving, surprising, blessing, Nir Altman, Munich, Germany
Let your ( ) do the talking, eyes knee whatever, Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Aachen, Germany
2021
I'll Only Swallow My Own Fluid, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Good People TV, Frieze London, curated by Cédric Fauq, London, UK
Should you define yourself by opposition?, Festival Parallèle, Marseille, France
All great and precious things, T293, Rome, Italy
Will You Feel Comfortable in my Corner? #2, performance curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah, Athens Biennale, Athens, Greece
Les Chichas de la Pensées, Magasins Généraux, Pantin, France
2020
TBH if it's not about me I'm not really interested, Nir Altman, Munich, Germany
Will You Feel Comfortable in My Corner?, Ariel Feminisms, performance curated by Karen Vestergaard Andersen & Nina Wöhlk, Copenhagen, Denmark
I Like Them They're Nice, Nir Altman, curated by Ndayé Kouagou, Munich, Germany
What is Not Tall, is Not Necessarily Small, HEAD, Geneva, Switzerland
Le couteau sans lame et dépourvu de manche II, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
This margin will be your vantage point, Galerie In Situ - fabienne leclerc, Romainville, France
2019
A Simple and Easy Talk About Love, Les Urbaines, performance curated by Deborah Joyce Holman, Lausanne, Switzerland
One Side is Rarely Similar to The Other, Auto Italia, London, UK
Le couteau sans lame et dépourvu de manche, CRAC Alsace, Altkirch, France
Sensational and anti generative successions, Cinder, sinuous and supple, Les Urbaines, Lausanne, Switzerland
Gathering Exhibitions
Selected Press
15 Jan 2025
Gathering London reopens on 15 January with Ndayé Kouagou’s solo exhibition A Message for Everyone
4 Jan 2025
Ndayé Kouagou is included among 5 performance artists to watch in 2025 by Artnet
12 Dec 2024
Keshav Anand interviewed Ndayé Kouagou for Something Curated
2 Dec 2024
Ndayé Koaugou’s solo exhibition A Message for Everybody is featured in Wallpaper
24 Oct 2024
To celebrate the opening of the Museum of Modern Art’s headquarters in Warsaw, Ndayé Kouagou will prepare a new performance commissioned by the museum