The Jean Pigozzi African Art Collection (CAAC) is the world’s largest private holding dedicated to contemporary African art, comprising over 10,000 artworks by nearly 160 artists from 22 sub-Saharan countries. Founded in 1989 by Italian businessman Jean Pigozzi after being inspired by the 1989 “Magiciens de la Terre” exhibition in Paris, the collection has since spotlighted the ingenuity and diversity of contemporary African art, long neglected in global art circuits.
Initially curated by André Magnin, renowned for his expertise in non-Western art, the CAAC features works spanning painting, sculpture, photography, video, installations, and drawing. The collection’s scope is remarkable for its representation of emerging and mid-career African artists, with a notable dedication to gender diversity: nearly 40 percent of featured artists are women, and most were born after 1945. Prominent figures include sculptor Romuald Hazoumè (Benin), painter Chéri Samba (DRC), and photographers Seydou Keïta (Mali) and Jean Depara (DRC).
”My goal with this collection is to show how good and original African contemporary art is in the twenty-first century. I am in no rush, and I have nothing too prove to anyone, but I do think that African contemporary art has a place in all the serious contemporary art museums around the world. Bodys Kingelez and Seydou Keïta are as interesting and important as Richard Serra and Richard Avedon.
— Jean Pigossi
Beyond its size, CAAC is influential for its role in challenging Western-centric narratives of African art. Instead of reinforcing stereotypes or “primitivist” readings, the collection underscores the complexity, contemporaneity, and global relevance of Africa’s creative voices. While the CAAC does not have a permanent museum, it regularly lends works to major exhibitions worldwide and played a vital part in recent gifts to major institutions such as MoMA in New York, where Pigozzi’s donation constituted the museum’s largest-ever reception of African art.
Plans are now underway for a dedicated museum in Cannes, further cementing the collection’s role in redefining how African art is valued and encountered on the international stage. Through relentless advocacy and collecting, Jean Pigozzi’s vision has brought the vibrancy and originality of contemporary African art firmly to the world’s attention.
Cover image: Jean Pigozzi at the exhibition “Art Afrique, Le Nouvel Atelier” at Fondation Louis Vuitton on April 25, 2017 in Paris. Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images.
Athmaja Biju is the Editor at Abir Pothi. She is a Translator and Writer working on Visual Culture.
