Born in 1998 in Ivory Coast, Charles-David Gnangoran, a.k.a. Chada, is an Ivorian artist whose practice explores ceramics, sculpture, textiles, and installation. After studying law, he pursued artistic training at the National Superior Insitute of Art and Cultural Action Institute in Abidjan, before refining his approach at the Beaux-Arts de Marseille.
Graduating with honors and winning the prestigious Alberto Cortina Prize for African Art, Chada’s work speaks about the tensions between tradition and modernity, while questioning African cultural heritage and Western influences.
His work draws on a dense materiality rooted in a poetics of found materials, such as roots, shells, and vines, collected during his travels between Africa and Europe. These materials are reimagined and reassembled to interrogate both collective and individual memory.
In the darkness of silence, a canvas unfolds, weaved with ethereal threads storytellers of forgotten stories and ancestral memories. Like an alchemist of emotions, Chada dives into the depths of his being, exploring the complexities of his identity through the lens of textiles. Inspired by the philosophies of Frantz Fanon, he challenges the boundaries of Western thought, seeking to transcend the limits imposed by colonialism and to reveal the essence of African culture.
Beyond the object, Chada questions notions of identity as repetition, model, and mutation. By drawing on his iconographic heritage—motifs, colors, and symbols—he reactivates silenced narratives while deconstructing colonial legacies. His practice extends beyond aesthetics, serving as an invitation to reconsider the relationships between humanity, objects, and history. The tapestries he creates offer a critical perspective on cultural domination and memory-related tensions while exploring the narrative potential of ambiguity.
The artist develops installations that form plural narratives, where material and artisanal techniques intersect in a fertile dialogue. Collaborating with craftsmen, he reinterprets and learns traditional skills. His work operates as a hybridization, weaving connections between temporalities, geographic spaces, and forgotten histories.
Rooted in a raw and uncompromising aesthetic, Chada’s works transcend the conventional boundaries of contemporary art. They invite the viewer to a reflective engagement, oscillating between contemplation, resistance, and transmission.