8 Congolese artists you should know
Colorful, extraordinary and very political: For the first time, 90 years of art from the Democratic Republic of Congo - formerly the Belgian colony of Zaire - is on show at the Fondation Cartier in Paris.
Art and colonialism
In 1926, Belgian colonial administrator Georges Thiery discovered the art of Albert Lubaki in what was then Zaire. He had been an ivory sculptor, but Thiery motivated him to paint. The artist's paintings were colorful and expressed a zest for life, but were also critical of Belgian colonialism. This is one of the works now on show in the Paris exhibition, "Beauté Congo."
One woman
Albert Lubaki's wife Antoinette worked together with him. Their paintings now sell for five-figure sums. Antoinette Lubaki is the only woman whose works are shown in the exhibition "Beauté Congo," now taking place at the Fondation Cartier in Paris. Curator and collector André Magnin told the New York Times that unfortunately he did not come across any other women artists from DR Congo.
From house mural to European show
Another artist discovered by Georges Thiery was Djilatendo - while he was painting a warrior on the wall of a house. In 1929 in Brussels, Djilatendo was one of the first Congolese artists to have his works exhibited in Europe.
Landscape impressions
In 1946, French amateur painter Pierre Romain Desfossés founded the studio "Le Hangar" in Lubumbashi. It was the second time that a European had come to DR Congo to support local artists. The landscape paintings of Pili Pili Mulongoy, one of the artists associated with the studio, are now hanging in the Rockefeller Collection at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and other prestigious museums.
Natural references
At "Le Hangar," the focus was on nature. Mwenze Kibwanga often depicted hunting scenes. His works made have been exhibited in the Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale in Brussels and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as well as DR Congo's national museum in Kinshasa.
Political art
In the 1980s, the curator of "Beauté Congo," André Magnin, met Chéri Samba in Kinshasa. Samba was a former cartoonist and advertising artist who had never had formal artistic training. In his work, he focuses on neocolonialism, civil war and child soldiers. Samba told the British daily "Guardian" that he cannot separate his art from politics.
Stopping stereotypes
Cardboard, aluminum foil and bottle lids aren't trash to Bodys Isek Kingelez. He recycles such materials and turns them into futuristic cities. He once advised DR Congo's political leaders not to see view their country the way the world does. Like many other Congolese artists, he questions commonly held prejudices of Africa as an impoverished continent. The artist died in March 2015.
A new world order
Chéri Samba depicts the world how he feels it should be: with a shrunken northern hemisphere. "Beauté Congo" aims to draw Congolese art into the canon of international fine art - though perhaps many more shows will need to be held before it gains widespread interest. The exhibition at the Fondation Cartier in Paris runs through November 15.