Gazelle Guirandou inherited her love for art from her mother, Simone Guirandou-N’Diaye: an art historian and the co-founder of LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. “I got the [art] virus from my mom,” Gazelle told Artsy, recalling how early trips to galleries and museums were a staple of family vacations. This passion was nurtured in a home that doubled as the earliest iteration of the gallery, beginning in 1985 with small garden exhibitions. “The funny part is that when we were younger when it started at home, everybody was involved already,” she said. “We’ve always been around art at home with my parents.”
In 1991, Simone founded Galerie Art Plurial in Abidjan, an early stronghold for the West African art scene. There, she exhibited work from artists around the world, which was documented in her 2011 book, Five Continents at the Galerie Arts Pluriels. Then, in 2015, Gazelle left her job in the banking industry to return to the art world, founding LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery with her mother. Today, the gallery is firmly devoted to promoting contemporary African art on the global stage.
“We are promoting artists…through the gallery, but we have to give those artists the opportunity to be known outside, to be appreciated outside the continent, to be discovered outside the continent,” said Gazelle. “My goal is to present different African artists from different parts of the African continent.”
Motivated by this mission, LouiSimone Guirandou has become renowned for its dedication to regional artists—nurturing the emerging contemporary art scene across the continent. Gazelle’s dedication to showcasing a broad spectrum of talent is evident in the gallery’s ambitious exhibition schedule. “This year, I’ll have more solo shows than I ever had before,” Gazelle said. Her 2024 programming features solo shows from artists based in countries including Mali, Mauritania, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Senegal.
