Lot 51

John Obaso Diang’a (Kenyan, born 1945)
Baboon, 1987
Signed ‘J.DIANG’A 87’ on the right inner space of the right leg and a sticker with the title of the back ‘9. BABOON,1987’  
Soapstone
29.5 x 38 x 40 cm
Ksh 200,000 – 300,000
(US$) 1,750 – 2,600
Provenance: acquired direct from the artist by the current owner

John Diang’a is an influential Kenyan sculptor, painter and printmaker whose works are known for their exploration of perfect abstract forms. He lives and works in Maseno, where he founded the Esiepala Cultural Centre in the early 1980s.

Diang’a achieved a BA Honours in Fine Arts from the University of Nairobi in 1973. He was a teacher in the Department of Fine Arts at the Kagumo College in Nyeri. In his earlier career he exhibited widely in Nairobi, holding multiple solo exhibitions at Gallery Watatu. In more recent years his work has also been exhibited in Germany and he has had two museum exhibitions, in Kisumu and Nairobi. His work is in international collections including the Kunst Transit, Berlin and the Contemporary African Art Collection, Kisumu Museum.