Lot 32
George Lilanga
Tanzanian, 1934 – 2005
Title partially obscured verso (Utali Da..Ngoja Niku..), circa mid 1990s
Signed ‘Lilanga’ (lower right)
Enamel on board
62 x 61 cm
KES 300,000 – 400,000
(US$) 2,350 – 3,150
Provenance: Private collection
Sold KES 254,000
Sold KES 254,000
George Lilanga is recognised internationally as one of Tanzania’s best known artists. 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.