Lot 10 Houston Maludi
Houston Maludi (Congolese, born 1978)
Kinshasa Street Scene, 2009
Signed ‘MALUDI 09’ (lower right)
Indian ink on canvas
40.2 x 40.2 cm
Ksh 240,000 – 440,000
(US$) 2,200 – 4,000
Provenance: Private collection
Sold Ksh 563,520
Houston Maludi is a Kinshasa-based artist whose instantly recognizable aesthetic is a synthesis of the influences of cubism, and years of experimentation; the result is an approach that he refers to as monochromatic cubism, symbiotic quantum. Maludi’s works on paper and canvas are usually dichromatic, densely populated compositions that rely primarily on line and geometric shapes to build up cityscapes in which the artist depicts life in Kinshasa. The resulting paintings are small universes swelling with life, where all the available space on the canvas is filled with figures and activity, much like the bustle and vibrancy of life in Maludi’s native Kinshasa.
Maludi began painting at a young age and went on to study at the Académie des Beaux-Arts de Kinshasa. He has exhibited his work in Kinshasa, as well as Paris and Belgium, along with participation in international art fairs in Paris, London, New York and Marrakech. His work regularly comes up at auction in Europe and we are pleased to offer this small canvas for the first time.