Afi Nayo

Afi Nayo's artistic footprint extends beyond the canvas, as she has actively participated in numerous exhibitions across Africa and Europe. Notable venues include the Centre Culturel Français in Lomé, Togo, the iconic Galerie Vivienne in Paris, and Galerie Nathalie Duchayne in the picturesque Saint Tropez, France.  

Biography of Afi Nayo

Afi Nayo was born in the vibrant city of Lomé, Togo, in 1969. The artist's early years saw a pivotal move to Paris with her family. Afi Nayo's commitment to her craft has been unwavering, with an active studio practice evolving from the renowned École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

After studying at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, she commenced her career as a sculptor and later expanded her artistic pursuits to include painting. 

Nayo's artistic prowess has not gone unnoticed, as her works have graced exhibitions across Europe, Africa, and even the bustling art scene of New York. The late 1990s saw her featured in the esteemed pages of Revue Noire, cementing her status as an artist with a distinctive voice.

 Afi Nayo's Art Style

What defines Afi Nayo's art is an intensely intimate narrative, delicately woven with threads of humility and sensitivity. The fusion of the pyrogravure technique—a traditional method of engraving wood with a heated tool—and mixed media on wooden boards brings fantastical scenes that skillfully intertwine dream motifs and satirical references to life.

The surfaces of her works are sensually crafted, giving way to dense conglomerations of images that reveal a playful embrace of art's historical influences. Nayo's artistic palette draws upon the enigmatic signs and symbols of the unconscious, resulting in a poetic amalgamation of abstraction and figuration.