Lot 9

Michael Wafula

Kenyan, born 1972

Untitled II, 2016

Signed ‘Michael Wafula 16”’ (lower left)

Mixed media on canvas

104.5 x 99 cm

KES 230,000 – 330,000

USD 2,250 – 3,200

Provenance: direct from the artist

Sold KES 200,000

Michael Wafula uses the texture of painting to consider the textural fabric of society. Coloured layers are dented and cracked, revealing evidence of a harsh environment.

After receiving a diploma in Painting and Graphic Design from the Creative Art Centre Nairobi, in 1992, Wafula joined the Kuona Trust Museum Art Studios. Alongside his own practice, in 2007 Wafula founded the Kijiji Art Studio where he runs youth and community art training, and he has recently opened a new art centre in his rural home of Kakamega.

Wafula’s sensual and critical abstract paintings have been exhibited in Kenya and abroad, including in Tanzania, Spain, Italy, China and the USA.