ABIDE MASIN (2019) Painting by Bamazi Talle

Talle BamaziFather of Flying CalabashesBorn in Kara, Togo, West Africa, Talle Bamazi can best be described as an artistwho uses canvas as a site for activism. Self-thought in beginning, He began hisartistic career in his young age. Although he went on to study a ConstructionsBuilding management to become head of Site construction Manager in Lomé, hefavorably transitioned to visual art wish was his first gifted. Through his art,Bamazi is intently compelled to share the story of his homeland while dispellingthe notion that Africa is largely a violent and impoverished continent. Hepurposefully pays homage to his ancestors and the culturally significant tiesbetween traditional and contemporary ideas.Arriving in New York in 1995, with absolutely no understanding of the Englishlanguage, Bamazi embarked upon what was the most challenging adventure ofhis life. His quest for knowledge led him to the New York Student Art Leaguewhere he immersed himself in American culture. This was the beginning ofBamazi’s contributions to contemporary African art in America. He continuedhis education at the New York Academy of Art and graduated with a Master'sdegree.Upon completing his degrees, and amongst the bustling art activity of New YorkCity, Bamazi began exhibiting in a multitude of area galleries and institutions. Itwas at this time that he realized his greater desire was to raise the visibility of other African and African-American artists with the broader public. Thisaspiration would come to fruition with the establishment of the KIACA (KabiyeImpact Contemporary African Art) Gallery in 2003, located in Columbus, Ohio.With KIACA, he was able to educate patrons on the enduring cultural gifts of hisbeloved Africa, while also serving as an influential talent incubator for youngartists of color. 

Even today, Bamazi’s life and art have been fueled by his passion for the Africanculture. The calabash, a large, woody gourd, is an important and recurringsymbol in Bamazi’s work. The calabash is an African symbol of sustenance,hospitality, and fertility and is highly revered culturally for its nourishment andreliability. Beyond the edible fruit, the dried and hallowed calabash aboundswith pragmatic purposes-for serving or storing food, acting as a vessel, orcrafting ritual regalia. Bamazi depicts the calabash ethereally floating in thepictorial space. It is profound in both its simplicity and significance. In this way,the calabash becomes a symbol of mythological and proverbial interpretation.

Father of flying calabashes, he's called, Talle Bamazi Has his studio at 700Bryden Road in the artist Community in Columbus, Ohio, where he created themost powerful and mysterious works of art, formerly featured at Museums, 2022 Dakar Biennale Dakar, Senegal. 2022 9th Beijing International Art Biennale,China, Art institutions, Art galleries, and Art shows, round the world, now hangsin the historic Pythian theater. As an artist who creates and celebrates contemporary Art.

• Nationality: UNITED STATES
• Date of birth : 1966
• Artistic domains: Works by professional artists,
• Groups: Professional Artist Contemporary American Artists