Chain
MUHANDI (1957)
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available works from this artist]
Chain Muhandi (also seen
as Muhendi) was born Charles Ng'ang'a Kuria in 1957 in
Ngecha, Kiambu District, Kenya.
Muhandi's artistic career
began in 1978 with the production of batiks that were
tp be sold in Nairobi, Mombasa and Malindi. In 1988, after
attending a workshop sponsored by the Goethe Institute
in Nairobi, he took up painting.
Muhandi's paintings are
difficult to read, composed mainly of bizarre and distorted
characters in various poses that unify the painting's
theme. He uses a strong expressionist style with an extreme
texture, which transforms simple scenes into vibrant images
of everyday life. His current work is inspired by political
commentary and social criticism.
Chain
Muhandi belongs to a group of artists that organised themselves
in Ngecha,a small rural locality outside Nairobi, well
away from the agitation of the Capital. The Ngecha group
also cpmprises artists Sane Wadu, Sebastian Kiarie, King
Dodge, Wanyu Brush and Eunice.
Muhandi has exhibited
in several countries, and has held two workshops in Germany
on the Contemporary Art of East Africa.
source: EASTAFAB 2003 and "Thelathini:
30 faces of Contemporary Art in Kenya"
Selected
Exhibitions
Chain Muhandi
GALLERY
