Rémy SAMUZ Benin, b. 1982

Born in 1982 in Cotonou (Benin)
Lives and works in Benin

 

The playful dimension of creation often fades to the benefit, if I may say so, of the essential effort of the artist in the gestation of their work!

Art is, for many artists, an outlet for their existential anguish, to the point that the notion of pleasure in creation is too often hidden in favor of a more ethereal, more intellectual dimension, which sees the creator giving birth to their works in pain and agony.

Rémy Ama SOSSOUVI, a native of Cotonou, now at the age of 40, has become a contemporary Beninese artist recognized both in his country and abroad. Since childhood he has always enjoyed manipulating materials, braiding, weaving and making miniature sculptures and, in so doing, bringing a variety of characters to life.

This passion, bizarre in the eyes of those around him, for whom things relating to art escape them, has long lead him to be considered a child "not like the others”, one who spent his time having fun. He chose as his artist name, probably reluctantly, what within his family he was called, "Rémy s’amuse" (Remi’s having fun)!

SAMUZ ’s professional training in general mechanics from 2001 to 2006 led him to become a Master Machinist, a position he held until 2008. Far from taking him away from his passion, this training taught him, on the contrary, to further master his favourite material which is metal.

A machinist is a worker or craftsman who mechanizes and produces parts by removing material until obtaining defined shapes and dimensions, through the use of cutting, lathe or milling tools. In the case of a lathe, it is the tool that moves over the piece, while in the case of a milling machine it is the opposite.

However, in 2003, Rémy’s decision was made, he would continue to "have fun" and make a career as an artist, even if he tried to demonstrate his seriousness to those close to him by continuing his apprenticeship and entering the world of work. Then in 2009, he took the plunge and trained for three years in fine art in the studio of the famous Beninese painter and sculptor Dominique ZINKPÈ. ZINKPÈ works with a variety of materials, however metal is not one of them, but he was able to guide and channel his disciple and give him the foundations for a career as an artist. And with what success!

Specialized books affirm that precise and methodical, the machinist is particularly skilled in carrying out calculations as well as having a fundamental quality, that of visualizing shapes in space, to meet production objectives. Rémy SAMUZ has been able to combine these different qualities as a technician with his sense of observation to the benefit of his creation.

He tells us that as a child he was fascinated by the ballet of weavers (a common passerine bird in West Africa) building their nests. From selecting the twigs, to weaving them into a shape that offers both comfort and safety, weavers offer an exceptional example of technique and creativity that earned them their common name.

Rémy SAMUZ quickly perfected a way of weaving wire that allowed him to create works, sometimes quite large, in which he combines rigidity and lightness with unusual dexterity. But there is also the sense of volume, transparencies and the expressions of the faces as, without exception, the artist only creates human figures.
The artist goes far beyond that apparent lightness, that "fun" that has made him famous. His language allows him to express himself on the problems of society with which humanity, and especially that which surrounds him, is confronted.

Inviting contemplation and reflection, Rémy’s work, in lightness and transparency, nonetheless sharply evokes the troubles of our time, but always with an optimistic perspective that reflects the artist’s way of seeing the world.

His themes start from meditation, the necessary entry into oneself to achieve unity and sharing a common vision of things and beings in a constant desire to move the world forward.

Dignity, humility, but also moments of joy, all the movements of life are approached on very different scales, from the very large to the very small, in a dazzle of spidery wires. But his interventions are not limited to his artistic production. An activist committed to social phenomena, SAMUZ uses all kinds of media to spread his messages.

His white van is known throughout Cotonou having carried out an active campaign in favor of the prevention of the spread of COVID, or more recently for encouraging his fellow citizens to go and discover the exhibition, "Art of Benin of yesterday and today: from Restitution to Revelation”, that took place from May to July 2022.

It was not for him just a simple incitement to go see works of art, including his own, but rather a true civic act to encourage the population to embrace their artistic production, famous for centuries and really work to claim their identity.

Rémy SAMUZ started exhibiting in 2013 in Benin, of course, but also very quickly in other countries and continents (France, Brazil, Senegal, etc.). Shortly thereafter he was “seen” by the VALLOIS Gallery in Paris which is very involved in the Beninese art world and which continues to promote his work. A famous and recognized artist, Rémy SAMUZ notably won the Gold Medal in the sculpture category during the Francophone Games in Abidjan in 2017.
We wish him a long time to continue having fun to our delight!

 

Sylvain Sankalé
Art Critic
Dakar, Senegal
January 2023