Lot 46 Richard Kimathi
Richard Kimathi (Kenyan, born 1971)
Bird in the Hand, 1998
Signed ‘Richard Kimathi’ (lower middle)
Acrylic and oil on paper
62.5 x 44.5 cm
Ksh 110,000-170,000
(US$ 1,000-1,600)
Sold Ksh 176,100
Provenance: private collection of Mary Collis
Richard Kimathi’s inventive and thought-provoking practice has established him as one of the region’s most respected contemporary painters. He is at the forefront of Kenya’s second generation of post-independence artists, many of whom emerged from Kuona Trust Centre for Visual Arts in the mid-nineties.
This is a very early work on paper, bought from the artist just 2 years after he graduated from the Nairobi Creative Art Centre in 1996. In it can already be seen the painterly language that Kimathi has developed throughout his career – the use of symbolism, the considered, idiosyncratic compositional placement, and the sensitive quality of paint.
Kimathi has exhibited widely, with solo exhibitions in Kenya, the USA and Spain. He was selected to represent Kenya in the Dak’Art Biennale in 2006 and has attended residencies in the USA and Pakistan.
This painting has some craquelure and paint loss.