Seydou Keïta

On the occasion of the retrospective Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens, presented at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the platform 28 Vignon Street pays tribute to one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century through an exceptional online exhibition of original prints, all signed by the artist during his lifetime.

Seydou Keïta holds a very special place in the history of our gallery. In the nineties, even before the official opening of the gallery, we began working with him—fascinated by the power of his gaze and the natural elegance of his portraits. This founding collaboration marked the beginning of a long-standing relationship with his work. Today, nearly thirty years later, we are proud to present a selection of signed prints, drawn directly from our collection.

The exhibition brings together around twenty photographs taken between the late 1940s and early 1960s in his Bamako studio. Through compositions of remarkable precision and softness, Keïta offers a glimpse of an African society in full transformation: young men in three-piece suits, women adorned with wax fabrics and modern jewelry, children proudly posing next to bicycles, radios, or scooters. Each image captures a generation’s drive toward modernity—with dignity and humanity.

This exhibition offers a chance to discover—or rediscover—the richness of Keïta’s work.
For us, it is more than a tribute: it is an expression of gratitude to an artist who transformed the way we see, and with whom our artistic journey truly began. We are proud to continue to carry his work forward, with the same dedication and emotion as in the very beginning.