Soly Cissé graduated from the School of Fine Arts in Dakar, from which he graduated major of his class. As a child, Soly enjoyed drawing on the radios that his father, a radiologist, brought home.
He is still fascinated by transparencies, the light imposing on the darkness, the essence of colors. When he paints, his brush reveals a scene, sheds light on a story, and frees the captive characters from the black background.
Soly refuses imitation and abhors illustration. Every work is creation. Each work gives birth to a new world, to new creatures neither completely human, nor completely animal, nor completely legendary.
Soly Cissé paints by brush, hand, and knife. He is also an excellent draftsman. The public has also discovered his extraordinary metal sculptures. Soly reputation has crossed borders and his work has been shown in many exhibitions (France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain etc...). For example, he took part in the exhibition Africa Remix at Centre Pompidou, Paris, France.