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Gallery Features Almost Unknown East African Artists
We don't call our gallery Ridge Art for nothing. We like to think that we are showing work that is just over the ridge, just on the verge of discovery. Nothing truer could be said about the current show, Points of No Return, which features some wonderful work by relatively unknown (at least in the US) East African artists. The star of the show is George Lilanga. Lilanga was a member of the Makonde people who are famous for their wood-carving. He was a driver in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, for a Maryknoll nun named Sister Jean. Sister Jean was involved in a project call Dogo Dogo which raises money to support artists. She encouraged him and eventually he was able to work on his art full time. Lilanga ended his career with the cover piece for the catalogue that accompanied a major survey of contemporary African art in Houston and the Smithsonian in Washington. He died one week after returning home from the opening of the Houston show. You can view the Lilanga pieces on our website.
http://www.ridgeart.com/PaintingsLilangaPortfolio.html
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 This is a commentary on the art scene in East Africa by Pat House, aka Mama Twiga. "Another rising star is Evarist Chikawe, also from Dar-es-Salaam. He still paints in the Dogo Dogo studio and works with very limited materials. His style is his own creation and he is admired by his colleagues for developing his unique visual interpretation of East African people and their interactions. . . . Women play a major role in East African family life and have a special importance. Much of Chikawe's work honors the role of women in society. He likes strong colors and images meshing into each other representing the interdependence of people's lives.
http://www.ridgeart.com/paintings2.html
". . . There is a very small market for art in Tanzania and almost no galleries, even in Dar. . . . Artists in East Africa have more problems getting a following because there isn't a recognized art tradition like in West Africa. When France and Belgium moved into West Africa, they encouraged art in two ways: by buying up all the available artifacts and cultural art and by encouraging sculptors and mask makers to make more to sell rather than for ceremony.
"The English and Germans did not do this in East Africa. They encouraged the people to minimize their cultural celebrations. Plus, the East did not have as many Europeans living and traveling in the area until recently. Safari hunters were not looking for art. The East is also sparsely populated and has been under major Arab influence for at least 500 years. Arabs do not encourage art production." |
