Samuel Githui (Kenyan, born 1973)
Rat Race, 2015
Signed ‘S Githui’ (lower right and verso)
Oil on canvas
54 x 60 cm
Ksh 176,000-220,000
(US$ 1,600-2,000)
Sold Ksh 352,200
Provenance: direct from the artist
Samuel Githui’s figurative paintings combine sensitive observation with technical skill to express the experiences and concerns of Kenyan daily life. He studied fine arts and history at the Creative Arts Centre, Nairobi, in the 1990s and since then has worked and exhibited consistently.
This piece is inspired by an early morning scene the artist witnessed as he arrived in Nairobi from Mombasa. Nairobi used to be known as the city in the sun, but the artist observes that the daily quest to earn a living has produced a city that never sleeps. Three strangers are depicted: a woman, a man and a child, each deep in their own thoughts.
Githui has exhibited widely throughout East Africa as well as in Germany and Italy, and is represented in both private and institutional collections.