Boubakary Konseimbo is an internationally renowned artist from the West African country of Burkina Faso. He currently divides his time between Burkina Faso and Santa Fe, New Mexico. His debut outside of Africa was in Paris in 2006, and Konseimbo has been showing his work across Europe and the United States ever since then.
Self-taught and wholly original, Konseimbo creates what he calls “free spirit” art. He applies his unique, abstract style to dream cities, landscapes, and an assortment of colorful fish and birds who imbue his canvases with a vibrant energy. He says the creatures speak to him of freedom.
Konseimbo extracts his pigments from earthy materials like clay and ground red rock and then ages them for about three weeks. He also ages his canvases by rubbing them with dirt and other natural substances, and by leaving them outside, where the colors absorb dust from nature and develop a natural patina from the rain. Konseimbo doesn’t use gesso; he primes each canvas with either tree sap or wood glue, depending on whether he’s in Africa or the U.S. This priming technique allows the natural pigments, which are mixed with acrylic oil pastels, to reach the canvas, which results in colors that do not fade and a painting that can even be rolled up without cracking the paint. His inventive methods and singular artistic vision combine to produce stunning, one-of-a-kind visual works.
“My favorite part of painting is the way that you can communicate with nothing but your canvas,” he says. “You express yourself freely and bring what you have in your mind and your spirit, and it can be able to touch other people.”
Konseimbo routinely wins awards as he travels the art festival circuit. In the summer of 2022, for example, he won “Best in Show” at Art in the Park in Lawrence, KS; the “Winnie Compton Fangman Award for Creativity” at the St. Clair Art Fair; and the “1st Place Tower Park Award” at the Peoria Heights Fine Art Fair.
Press/Interviews
Galleries
Awards
2022
- “Best in Show” – Stillwater Arts Festival (Stillwater, OK)
- “Best in Show” – Art in the Park (Lawrence, KS)
- “Winnie Compton Fangman Award for Creativity” – St. Clair Art Fair (St Clair, MI)
- “1st Place Tower Park Award” – Peoria Heights Fine Art Fair (Peoria Heights, IL)
2021
- “Best of Show” – Durango Autumn Arts Festival
- “First Place: Painting, Oil or Acrylic” – Colorado ArtFest at Castle Rock
- “Best in Category” – Rockport Art Fest (Rockport, TX)