Lot 28

Elkanah Ongesa (Kenyan, born 1944)
Hong Kong Owls, 2011
Unsigned
Wood
45.5 x 20 x 15.5 cm
(US$) 5,500 – 7,500
Ksh 620,000 – 850,000
Provenance: Direct from the artist

Bought in

Elkana Ong’esa was born into a family of craftsmen with a long heritage of stone carving. Ong’esa was the first to combine these traditional skills with training in fine arts acquired at Makerere University, the University of Nairobi and later McGill University in Canada. He is now one of Kenya’s most recognized sculptors.

Ong’esa has travelled widely; studying, lecturing and collaborating internationally as well as exhibiting in places such as Hong Kong, the USA, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Canada and Sweden. Commissioned major artworks include pieces for the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi in 2010, the Murumbi Peace Memorial in 2008 and the Rosenberg Museum at Hofstra University in New York, USA in 2004.

This sculpture was created whilst working in Hong Kong using indigenous wood.