Why Nairobi is currently the main focus of fine art

Stavros Pavlides had only been in Kenya six weeks when Kuona Trust gave him his own one-man show in its cosy exhibition hall. But as the Greek American artist is currently doing an art residency at the Trust, that makes sense.

Nightlife

What is surprising is the way he was so quick to pick up on the nuances of Nairobi night life in his nine oil paintings. ‘Nairobi Nocturnes’ reflects a familiarity and fresh view of our city after dark that’s devoid of clichés and filled with magical moments that compel one to look at the city in a new light.

In fact, the artist works a lot with light and shadow in this show. There’s a good deal of darkness as well, but the black textured paint serves to accentuate the stunning images that he’s seen and captured, first in photographs and then with his chiaroscuro-ed paintings.

The speed with which Pavlides has created such a substantial body of work seems uncanny, especially as his first week out of the six was spent just getting acclimatised to his new environment. But the artist is happy to demystify the process by which he created his provocative paintings.

Trafiic jam

“I took something like 600 photographs of the city in a relatively short time. Then I went through them and selected 20 that I liked best. Out of those, I worked with approximately 10,” he explained.

But it wasn’t as if he painted duplicates of what he had spontaneously snapped, since, he says his paintings sometimes are composites of more than one snap. He also improvises and adds elements of shadow, colour and shade which enhance the magic and the mystery that seems to be part and parcel of Nairobi after dark.

Given that all the painting are, in a sense, framed in darkness, one of his most magical works is of an open doorway into one artist’s studio at Kuona Trust. The woman standing at the entrance seems infused with expectation, especially as the light from within the studio space seems to beckon, suggesting there’s a lot going on inside.

The painting that seems to reflect one experience that almost every Nairobian has had is entitled Dashboard. Anyone who’s travelled by bus, matatu or private vehicle any time after dark has surely encountered an excruciating traffic jam, meaning one in which all the vehicles are bumper-to-bumper with no one wanting to cede his space to his fellow driver to proceed.

Only one pedestrian is in motion in the work, snaking between tight spaces to suggest that at least one is sure to make it home.

Musician

Born in the US but brought up in Athens, Greece, Pavlides went to university in the States, but his early education was grounded in the inescapable elements of classical Greek antiquity. That could explain why he ultimately became an artist despite his first university degree being in critical theory.

Shifting from North Carolina to New York City, he went for a second university degree in fine art from the acclaimed School of Fine Art.

Currently based in Brooklyn, the artist who admits he’s a nocturnal being who loves urban night life whether in Athens, Manhattan or Nairobi, also works evenings in New York where he earns his bread and butter as a guitarist playing with two rock bands.

So the discovery that Pavlides is also a musician gives one insight as to the exhibition’s title since a nocturne is a musical piece. And anyone who’s spent time in Nairobi’s CBD after dark will know there are always strands of music wafting in the wind all around the town.

Apprenticeship

One place in town where the music isn’t quite so loud is the Nairobi Gallery (next to Nyayo House) where Michelangelo Mwebe joins his father Expedito and Elkana Ong’esa in an exhibition of wood and stone sculptures that opens this Sunday from midday.

Both Mwebe’s work in wood creates carefully carved art that are not only in Nairobi Gallery but also scattered all around East Africa.

In contrast to Pavlides who’s been formally trained in fine art from childhood, Michelangelo has also been trained to sculpt, carve and paint from a very early age only that his schooling was in the form of a lifelong apprenticeship. He’s been taught by one of East Africa’s finest artists who also happens to be his own father.

Having worked on practically all of his father’s art projects and commissioned works from childhood, Michelangelo never doubted what line of work he would pursue.

At Nairobi Gallery, the son is overshadowed by his dad but enough of his art will be on display for all to see that he’s just as gifted as his father.