Untitled II

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Kaloki Nyamai
Medium:
Mixed Media on Canvas, 2018
Dimensions:
97cm x 123cm
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More Artwork by Kaloki Nyamai
ABOUT KALOKI NYAMAI
Kaloki Nyamai was born in Kenya and currently lives in Nairobi. His painting practice entwines material investigation with a wide-reaching exploration of subject matter. Grounded in hidden narratives, uneasy stories of identity, environment and memory, offering fragments to be pieced together slowly. The lengthy, searching process employed in the making of the works is mirrored in the experience of viewing them.
In early works the artist documented the slum settlement that he grew up in.These charcoal pieces are intended to capture a space in flux, to preserve an impression of these fragile sites. But they were also about adding complexity to widely held perceptions of such environments. His work has developed a lot since these pieces, Kaloki’s subject remains closely connected.
Nyamai explores the parallels between the past and the present through richly-layered, multimedia works. Drawing heavily on the stories of the Kamba people, the works explore how history and identity are intertwined and how this has informed the identities of people living in present day, post-colonial Kenya.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019
‘MWAKI NGINYA EVINDA ENGE (THE FIRE NEXT TIME)’, CIRCLE ART GALLERY, NAIROBI, KENYA
‘WHAT I WON’T TELL YOU (COMMISSARIAT DE SALIMATA DIOP)’, SEPTIEME GALLERY, PARIS, FRANCE
2018
‘I AM NOT MY FATHER’, EBONY/CURATED, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020
STELLENBOSCH TRIENNALE CURATED BY KHANYISILE MBONGWA, STELLENBOSCH, WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA
INVESTEC CAPE TOWN ART FAIR, EBONY/CURATED, SOUTH AFRICA
2019
‘SEED-1’ HOSTED BY SAFFCA, VILLA ARCADIA, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
OSTRALE BIENNALE O19, DRESDEN, GERMANY
INVESTEC CAPE TOWN ART FAIR, EBONY/CURATED, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
2018
KAMPALA ART BIENNALE, KAMPALA, UGANDA
52LAGER GALLERY, WINDISCH, SWITZERLAND
ALSO KNOWN AS AFRICA (AKAA) ART FAIR, EBONY/CURATED, PARIS, FRANCE
‘SUMMER EXHIBITION’, EBONY/CURATED, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
2017
WASHA, CREATEHUB GALLERY, DUBAI, UAE
ALSO KNOWN AS AFRICA (AKAA) ART FAIR, EBONY/CURATED, PARIS, FRANCE
‘CHANGING ROOM’, KUONA TRUST ART CENTRE GALLERY, NAIROBI
MIRADAS GRAVITY ART GALLERY, NAIROBI
‘YOUNG GUNS’, CIRCLE ART GALLERY, NAIROBI
2016
‘LETTERS FROM THE OTHER SIDE’, MARCH ORIEL PLAS GLYN WEDDW GALLERY, WALES
L’ATELIER ART COMPETITION, ABSA GALLERY, SOUTH AFRICA
CIRCLE GALLERY, LAMU
2015
NYNE MAGAZINE, EXHIBITIONIST HOTEL, LONDON
APTHORP GALLERY, LONDON
BRICKLANE GALLERY, LONDON
MILLENTOR GALLERY, HAMBURG, GERMANY
2014
OMNIBUS ART CENTRE, LONDON
MEXICAN EMBASSY, NAIROBI
2013
MANJANO ART EXHIBITION, VILLAGE MARKET EXHIBITION HALL, NAIROBI
2012
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF KENYA, NAIROBI
TALISMAN RESTAURANT, NAIROBI
PANAFRIC, NAIROBI
2011
NOVEMBER GAZZAMBO ART GALLERY, MADRID, SPAIN
2010
GODOWN ART CENTRE, NAIROBI
2006
FRENCH CULTURAL CENTRE, NAIROBI
DOCUMENTARIES
2018