HAF in the gallery: Turay Mederic, Morocco

Turay Mederic was born in Ivory Coast, educated in USA and Ivory Coast and spent most of his childhood in Washington DC. “I have those two combination of cultures struggling in my soul. I think my paintings reflect that because you can see something very African in them, but also a very contemporary style, like street art.” and currently lives and works in Fez, Morocco. In late 1999 Turay Mederic was elected the best young artist from West Africa.  Turay’s career took off in 2013 after winning the Jack Bell prize, a London-based program aimed at supporting young artist across Africa.  He recently appeared in CNN London 3.3.2016. “would you hang this coffee on your wall?

Turay’s trademark is his use of coffee in his art.  Coffee is a major export in Ivory coast and Turay uses it to celebrate his home country. “I add glue to thicken the coffee, so that I can work with it like acrylic paint. I spread it, and colored paper and work it up in layers.”

His unique style, “Trace” is made of a bonding assembly of newspapers, paper colors, magazines, acrylic painting, coffee, and oil painting. These signs and symbol reminds us of the painter Basquiat for is expressionism power and even of Picasso for his cubism and compositions.

Turay Mederic’s works are recognized by African and European critics, who see in the young artist a great value. They confirm the growing talent of this artist with a bright future, whose signature retains the attention of collectors. Turay Mederic is part of various collections Like Charles Satchii London, Ethan Cohen, NewYork, Pierre Bergé France, and private collectors from Germany and Spain.  Mederic Turay, currently exhibiting at the BCK Gallery in Marrakesh.