Lot 40

Evanson Kang’ethe (Kenyan, born 1961)
Traders and Commuters, 2014
Signed ‘Evanson Kang’ethe 2014’ (lower right)
Ink on Paper
51 x 76 cm
KES 80,000 – 150,000
(US$) 630 – 1,200
Provenance: From the artist’s collection

Evanson Kang’ethe was born in Ngecha, Kiambu County in Kenya and began his artistic journey in the early 1980s as a self-taught practitioner. He later honed his skills through private tuition with Dr. John Mayienga of the University of Nairobi’s Department of Design. Kang’ethe’s artworks serve as visual chronicles of Nairobi’s urban life, collective memory, and the dynamics of social encounter.

Kang’ethe’s practice encompasses drawing, painting, sculpture, and video, though he is most widely recognised for his intricate ink and charcoal works on paper. Over the past three decades, he has developed two distinctive approaches: dense, narrative-rich line drawings often referred to as Outlinism, and his experimental Smoke Paintings, where soot, smudging, and soft tonal washes interact with precise ink outlines.

In the mid-1980s, Kang’ethe produced commissioned murals and soon began exhibiting widely in Kenya, with notable presentations at the Nairobi National Museum, the French Cultural Centre, and the Goethe-Institut. Kang’ethe’s work has also featured in international group exhibitions and entered gallery collections and auctions abroad, reflecting enduring interest among collectors.

Today, Kang’ethe lives and works in the Nairobi region. His drawings and experimental smoke pieces continue to be presented in local and regional exhibitions, where they are often shown in dialogue with the work of other contemporary Kenyan artists, affirming his place as a distinctive voice in East African art.