Foreign Agent is proud to present the recent productions by Jean Servais Somian made in 2021, in his Grand Bassam studio in the Ivory Coast. His works occupy a liminal space between sculpture, design and craft, combining beauty, storytelling and functionality. Somian is inspired by nature and its complex, organic shapes. He is a master story teller of everyday life, people he meets, a conversation, something that caught his eye and he does so with passion and poetry. His love of colors comes from Mondrian and Soulages: the use of colors creates new openings, passages, which bring oxygen into these dense blocs of wood or fiber. Come discover these beautiful contemporary productions at Foreign Agent!
Jean Servais is a designer and sculptor born in 1971 in the Ivory Coast, known for his use of local material, particularly the coconut tree, which he fashions into unique pieces. Educated between the Ivory Coast and Switzerland, he draws inspiration from West Africa’s heritage and long-held tradition of wood carving. Somian’s work has been exhibited in the Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, 1:54 Fair and are currently on display at Artcurial, Paris “Exceptions d’Afrique”.
