AfricanColours: Artists pursue new breed of connoisseurs
Artists pursue new breed of connoisseurs
August 4, 2008:
Having passed through life’s challenges in the village and in the city, Charles Ngatia has become a storyteller. An artist based at the GoDown, Ngatia paints stories that record his personal life and other historical events, and then puts them up for sale wherever there is space.
One of his pieces, ‘Eastlands on Sunday’ takes one into Nairobi’s murky side - many critics will see it as a cliché of sorts - but it is still pleasant to the eye. This aesthetic appeal is achieved by a mixture of colours and even a riot of uncoordinated action which populates the canvas. Then there is the mixed media piece which takes one on a journey through his childhood and adulthood. The story begins somewhere in a Machakos neighbourhood where as a kid, Ngatia suffered in the cruel hands of abusers. Using the Matatu and journey motif, the artist injects humour into an otherwise infuriating story.
Corporate sponsor
Another artist Dennis Muraguri whose pieces are next to Ngatia’s captures the political temperatures during the post election violence early this year.
Titled ‘Allegory of Early 2008’, the mixed media piece depicts a riotous cloud of colours that is apparently trying to settle down. In the same hall are sculptures and photographs capturing different moods and in different styles.
All this is at the SparkArt exhibition an art exhibition sponsored by the Kenya Power and Lighting Company that is currently running at Nairobi’s Jamhuri Park.
To continue reading this article follow the link below:
http://www.bdafrica.com/in
Having passed through life’s challenges in the village and in the city, Charles Ngatia has become a storyteller. An artist based at the GoDown, Ngatia paints stories that record his personal life and other historical events, and then puts them up for sale wherever there is space.
One of his pieces, ‘Eastlands on Sunday’ takes one into Nairobi’s murky side - many critics will see it as a cliché of sorts - but it is still pleasant to the eye. This aesthetic appeal is achieved by a mixture of colours and even a riot of uncoordinated action which populates the canvas. Then there is the mixed media piece which takes one on a journey through his childhood and adulthood. The story begins somewhere in a Machakos neighbourhood where as a kid, Ngatia suffered in the cruel hands of abusers. Using the Matatu and journey motif, the artist injects humour into an otherwise infuriating story.
Corporate sponsor
Another artist Dennis Muraguri whose pieces are next to Ngatia’s captures the political temperatures during the post election violence early this year.
Titled ‘Allegory of Early 2008’, the mixed media piece depicts a riotous cloud of colours that is apparently trying to settle down. In the same hall are sculptures and photographs capturing different moods and in different styles.
All this is at the SparkArt exhibition an art exhibition sponsored by the Kenya Power and Lighting Company that is currently running at Nairobi’s Jamhuri Park.
To continue reading this article follow the link below:
http://www.bdafrica.com/in
