SOLY CISSÉ : ART BEYOND ALL LIMITS

A prolific multidisciplinary artist, Soly Cissé has established himself as one of the most influential figures on the Senegalese artistic scene. Faithful to his philosophy—that of considering life as a game—he weaves a teeming universe where the boundaries between reality and imagination dissipate.

His works, bursting with bright colors, rich textures, and moving compositions, invite a playful and profound exploration of the human experience. For his first participation in the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, alongside the Parisian gallery Marion Chauvy, Soly Cissé reveals the foundations of his work and the traces that he wishes to inscribe in the imagination of future generations.

How does play, which you consider essential to your artistic approach, allow you to push the boundaries of creation and give an ever-renewed meaning to your art?

For me, painting is above all a game, a space of freedom where I can experiment without limits. I have always perceived the act of painting as a quest through a labyrinth made of tradition, modernity, and childhood memories. Each time I find myself facing a blank canvas, all these references resurface spontaneously, nourishing my imagination and guiding my actions. But painting is not simply reproducing or representing, it is above all an exercise in intelligence and sensitivity: you have to know how to play, experiment, push the boundaries of creation to give birth to something new. What fascinates me is the process itself, this constant research that means that the work is never fixed, that it evolves with me.

My relationship with painting has never been academic. I am self-taught, and that is perhaps what allows me not to be locked into pre-established frameworks. I have never been formatted by a school—even if I am a graduate of the Beaux Art of Dakar—and I deeply believe that nothing can replace practice, the reality on the ground, the risk that we take with each brushstroke. It is this freedom that allows me to create worlds from nothing, to invent characters and shapes that come to life on the canvas. My father did not understand this passion and thought that I would earn nothing by being an artist. But for me, the bottom line has always been: as long as I can eat, the rest will follow. What matters is to paint, to research, to discover a new aspect of my art every day.

My philosophy is based on the idea that everything, in the world and in life, is a game. Every morning is a new opportunity, a different day, a blank page to fill. This is what makes the beauty of an artist’s life: this uncertainty that pushes us to go further, to question ourselves, to understand our desires, our dreams, our deep motivations. I believe that the strength of a creator lies in this ability to see the world differently, to transform it, to give it a new reading. Art is a magnet that attracts fragments of life, encounters, memories, materials, and mediums that enrich a story in perpetual construction. I have never imposed limits on myself, nor allowed my identity to be dictated: over time, it is what chooses us, it is shaped through experiences and works.

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