Born in 1992 in Abidjan, Carl-Edouard Keïta now lives and works in New York.
It was during his studies in economics in Atlanta that Carl-Edouard Keïta discovered the history of African art, through a course offered at his university. As he describes it himself, this discovery was a real aesthetic revelation for him. Fascinated since his childhood by lines, straight or curved, he became passionate about drawing, and was inspired by traditional, modern and contemporary references.
From the angular forms of African statuary to the geometric decompositions of cubism, via the Ivorian vohou-vohou, Carl-Edouard Keïta's influences are numerous and create bridges between eras and continents. Initially self-taught, then an art student, Carl-Edouard Keïta perfected his mastery of the pencil over the years, attached to the idea that pencil drawing, behind its apparent simplicity, can become the site of a true search for aesthetic sophistication and conceptual complexity. The sobriety of the pencil is synonymous for the artist with freedom.
In 2021, Carl-Edouard Keïta graduated from the New York Academy of Art, where he also won the prize for best draughtsman for his graduation work. The same year, he presented his first solo exhibition, Le Bal Noir, at the Galerie Cecile Fakhoury in Dakar. In 2022, he participated in the 2nd edition of the 1-54 Paris x Christie's fair.