Anthony Wanjau

Wanjau came from a family of Kenyan sculptors, his father Samuel Wanjau was famous in the 1980 and 1990s and Anthony, his older brother, Jackson and nephew, Samuel carried on this tradition. He joined Kuona Trust in 1999 and was associated with the studio space for over 20 years, exhibiting in group exhibitions and doing commissions.

Working directly in wood and stone without sketching the form first, Wanjau was an instinctive artist who understood how to find the form within the material and how to bring it out with humour and a light heartedness. His work was minimal, using only necessary details to simplify a human form. His subjects went about their daily lives, doing chores, using tools, picking flowers, squashing a mosquito, removing jiggers or studying.