No Rust in Rustic : The Lake Basins Art Group's 4th Show

Kenya Tue 17-05-2011

No Rust in Rustic : The Lake Basins Art Group's 4th Show
By Zihan Kassam

You’ve never heard the V word so much but funny, it didn’t sound so dirty this time. Too much variety is often considered a negative characteristic in exhibitions with steadfast themes. It can reflect badly on the curator’s sense of congruity.

Jimmy Rakuru’s Wa Meke (We’ve Fished)

Jimmy Rakuru’s "Wa Meke" (We’ve Fished)

At LBAG’s ‘Reflections from the Lake’ exhibition this May however, the variety was met with positive feedback as practised artists displayed their paintings amongst more amateur works. Admittedly, it wasn’t the most harmonious combination on the walls and yet the shifting, uneven feel worked very well for this type of show.

There was an atmosphere of amusement and encouragement as viewers jumped from abstract to realism and back. It seems the idea behind the project has settled with its audience and the crowd grows every year to support artists who paint scenes from their rural lives in Kenya’s western provinces.

Because of the goal at hand, LBAG exhibitions operate quite uniquely. As paintings sold on opening night, they were immediately replaced by new ones so that all artists had an opportunity to showcase their talent.

“Our aim is to promote artists,” said Chairman Partick Adoyo, “The reason why we have so many artists is because I’ll rarely send away someone who wants to participate. It’s really bad for their morale and we are here to give artists the floor and boost their confidence. We also have to help things pick up after the recent recession when art sales declined drastically.”

There were thirty-three artists this year, the twenty LBAG members and thirteen guest artists. Adoyo believes that each of them has something to offer and he’s learned that what may be appealing to him may not be to another. As long as they’re high quality pieces from eager artists, he’s doesn’t let his subjectivity overrule what paintings are shared. He’s sure that each of them will find a home.

During the opening speech on Saturday May 7th, Dr. Idle Farah, the Director General of National Museums of Kenya (NMK) fairly stated that the agenda of the event was to promote art sales in Kenya by selling local contemporary artwork.

The guest speaker who followed, Federico Olivieri, Cultural Cooperation Assistant from the Spanish Embassy, shifted the rational mood by adding a little bit of that magic art lovers yearn for. He used a celebrated quote by the famous Spanish Surrealist painter, Joan Miro, who they say held contempt for painters that painted using the conventional style during his time.

Translated from Catalan, Miro said, “I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music.” Olivieri bared the artist as a capable conveyor of sentiment and sensation. Victor Peko, Kisumu artist who painted The Brotherhood and many other wonderfully soft-spoken abstracts took the speech a step further. He highlighted a truer meaning of the event when he genuinely thanked his audience for coming and said that it’s one thing to attend an exhibition but it’s another when he feels “that people really appreciate what I do.” He reminded the crowd why they were there, to promote artists just like him.

The most palpable eye-catchers at the show were paintings by Jimmy Rakuru and Tom Mboya. Rakuru, most famous for his fishermen paintings, was an obvious favourite. He enamoured the crowd with landscapes such as his silky hued Dhi Lupot, Luo for Going Fishing. In quick and precise brushstrokes, Rakuru fashioned a scene of fishermen walking together toward a lake that touches a coral sky.

Boats were humbling bobbing in Lake Victoria’s waters. His sense of light fall is incredible, picking subtly at different points of the fishermen’s attire and bodies. Mboya, who left the corporate world three years ago to pursue his passion within the arts, delighted us with his Habitat series.

Both painted with weighty texture and heavy colours, his incredible marabou stork and boy herder called you to take a closer look at his unique technique. Many admirers commented on how he has grown significantly in the last three years, harnessing his talent shockingly quick for a new kid on the block.

Erick Ayoti, who comically organized his escape for a few days after the show’s start to participate in another exhibition in Kisumu, drew a lot of attention with his politically tinged semi-abstracts such as Corruption Free Zone. Ayoti, a fine artist only 29 years old, uses oils and pastels to create ‘poetic’ paintings. Having exhibited at the Kisumu Museum as well as in Hungary and Denmark, he’s off to a great start.

Ayoti's Corruption Free Zone

Corruption Free Zone by Erick Ayoti

Minus the getaway of course, this is the kind of progression LBAG hopes to achieve from artists from the Nyanza region. They hope that the exposure gained from their exhibitions will allow the artists more recognition so that ultimately they can sustain themselves and their families while putting Kenyan art on the international map. Batik artist Martin Otieno and abstract artist Ondick’s works were also featured at this year’s show along with other familiar names such as Peter Mburu and last minute entrees Ruth Nyakundi and husband Oywecha.

The common denominator when talking to LBAG artists this year is that they feel it’s still a little tough to sell art to the local market. Admirers said that prices were reasonable but again this time, the buyers were mostly expatriates.

While Kenyans are slowly coming to see value in art, the process has been slower than in places with a more visible art history such as West Africa, and though there’s no doubt that it’s picked up in recent years and continues to grow, the artists believe it’s still important for the public to understand a few things.

They agreed that Kenyans should be further informed about how art appreciates with time, that it reflects the wealth of a nation and is the barometer for how well a country is doing and that it captures history and emotion to educate and inspire accordingly. There was no doubt however, that the Kenyan art scene is on the verge of exploding. None of them had seen as many exhibitions as have cropped up over the last few months in Kenya and with such high class, unique work.

Though there weren’t as many sales as LBAG would have liked to see, the good news is that there wasn’t a chance for the dust to settle at Lake Basins this year. There was a lovely buzz every day. It seems there’s a new stream of consciousness and Lake Basins Art Group is no longer as quiet and still as the waters it represents. The brooks are far from dry and regarding the obviously popular theme, it’s certain that there’s still no rust in rustic.

Posted By: Allan Kapten

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