Kassou Seydou (b. 1971, Ziguinchor, Senegal) creates richly patterned paintings that bring together everyday life, spirituality and the relationship between people and nature. A graduate of Dakar’s École Nationale des Beaux-Arts, he lives and works in Keur Massar, Senegal. He is represented by Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, which operates in Abidjan, Dakar and Paris. Drawing on his upbringing in Senegal’s Casamance region, Seydou combines human figures, animals and symbolic forms in compositions that explore the hopes and contradictions of contemporary society. Artist biography, gallery representation.

His exhibition history includes the Boribana Museum of Contemporary Art and RAW Material Company in Dakar, alongside presentations within the Dakar Biennale’s OFF programme.

In Cap Skirring (2020), Seydou explores the Senegalese coastline as a meeting point between land and sea, departure and arrival. Slender figures and fantastical creatures inhabit a dreamlike landscape, where warm earth tones meet ocean blues and flowing patterns suggest the movement of water. The painting takes its name from a fishing village that became an international tourist destination, introducing a poignant reflection on the different meanings of travel: leisure and discovery for some, uncertainty and the search for opportunity for others. Beneath its exuberant colour and intricate surface, the work considers migration, memory and belonging, inviting viewers to discover individual stories within its densely woven world. Series text.