Tchif is the professional name of Francis Nicaise Tchiakpe, a self-taught Beninese painter and installation artist of Fon heritage, born in Cotonou in the early 1970s. He is one of the best-known artists of Benin's contemporary scene and now divides his time between Cotonou and Paris. His paintings are abstract and full of colour. He builds up layers of pigment and texture, often working directly with his hands, and adds invented signs, symbols, imaginary figures and animals. The result suggests ancient landscapes, inner journeys and the search for meaning. He has cited Kandinsky's idea that form expresses inner content. His installations are more satirical, mocking materialism and political power. One well-known piece hangs a car in a tree, and others reimagine world leaders and dictators. The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art chose him for its year-long Earth Matters exhibition and acquired his painting Sunshine Line. He has exhibited in Brazil, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium and Portugal, and at fairs such as AKAA Paris, Art Paris and 1-54 Marrakech. Galerie Vallois in Paris shows his work, and he is in collections including the Zinsou, Blachere and Leridon collections.
School or movement: Beninese contemporary (Cotonou).
Influenced by Wassily Kandinsky, Fon culture and symbolism.
