Kivuthi Mbuno (Kenyan, born 1947)
Untitled, between 1980-1990
Signed ‘Kivuthi mbuno’ (lower middle)
Wax crayon on paper
46 x 71cm
Ksh 120,000-180,000
US$ 1,360-2,050
Sold Ksh 176,100
Provenance: private collection
Prior to becoming an artist, Mbuno worked as a cook in the safari industry in Kenya, which led him to travel into the interior of both Kenya and Tanzania exposing him to nature and the wildlife living there. These long treks, and his memories of the traditional life of his Wakamba ethnic group, are the inspiration for his paintings. His distinctive style uses ink, colour pencils, pastels, and more recently acrylic; it leads the viewer into a fantastical natural world, sometimes hostile, sometimes harmonious.
Mbuno has exhibited widely in museums and private galleries across Europe, including the Saatchi Collection in London and the Center for African Art in New York.
This is an early work in oil pastel on paper and unusual in its muted colour palette.