Ousmane Sow

Born in Dakar in 1935, Ousmane Sow died on December 1, 2016 surrounded by his family in Dakar. Trained as a physiotherapist, Sow worked in this field for over 20 years. It is through this practice that he learned how to see and embrace human bodies and movements. Since the 1980s, he fully dedicated himself to the world of sculpture. He completed some series of life-size sculptures of Nuba wrestlers, the Maasai, a tribe in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as the Zulu of South Africa. Sow became the first African to be named a member of France's renowned Académie des Beaux-Arts, being selected as a foreign associate in 2012. His sculptures have been displayed globally, including 1992's edition of documenta IX, and the Whitney Museum in New York.