George Lilanga (Tanzanian, 1934 – 2005)
Hiki Ndio Chakula cha Jumuia Lazima Tule Pamoja (This is the food for the community, we must eat together), undated
Signed ‘Lilanga’ (lower right)
Enamel on board
60 x 60 cm
Ksh 250,000 – 395,000
(US$) 2,200 – 3,500
Provenance: private collection
Sold Ksh 399,160
George Lilanga is one of Tanzania’s best-known artists internationally. He fused influences from traditional Makonde carving with surreal, modern observations to create his much celebrated, idiosyncratic sculptures and paintings.
Lilanga began training as a sculptor in 1961, making wood carvings in the traditional Makonde form. He moved to Dar es Salaam in 1970, where he encountered the Tingatinga School, which had a profound effect on his work. In 1979 he participated in a group exhibition of African artists in Washington DC, where the artist Keith Haring saw Lilanga’s paintings and later acknowledged the significant impact this encounter had made on his own work.
Today Lilanga’s work is widely collected, featuring in many important private and institutional collections of African art.