Chéri
SAMBA (1956) [view
available works from this artist]
Chéri Samba
was born 1956 in Kinto M’Vuila, Democratic Republic
of Congo and currently lives and works in Kinshasa.
In 1972 Chéri
Samba left school in order to apprentice himself to
the sign painters on Kasa Vubu Avenue in Kinshasa;
from this circle of artists (which included Moke,
Bodo, and later Samba’s younger brother Cheik
Ledy among others) arose one of the most vibrant schools
of popular painting in the twentieth century. 
Working both as a
billboard painter and a comic strip artist, Samba
employed the conventions of both genres when he began
making paintings on sacking cloth (canvas being too
expensive).
In 1975 Chéri
Samba borrowed from comic art the device of 'word
bubbles' which allowed him to interject not only narrative
but also commentary into his compositions. Samba has
recalled how he came to use text in this paintings:
“I had noticed that people in the street would
walk by paintings, glance at them and keep going.
I thought that if I added a bit of text, people would
have to stop and take time to read it, to get more
into the painting and admire it. That’s what
I called the ‘Samba signature.’ From then
on I put text in all my paintings.”
In the early 1980s
Samba began signing his paintings “Chéri
Samba: Artiste Populaire.” Indeed, the popularity
of his paintings soon went beyond Kinshasa’s
city limits; by the mid 1980s his work was gaining
an international audience.
Chéri Samba’s paintings
of this period reveal his perception of the social,
political, economic and cultural realities of Zaïre
(now the Democratic Republic of Congo), exposing all
facets of everyday life in Kinshasa. His canvases
offer a running commentary on popular customs, sexuality,
AIDS and other illnesses, social inequalities, and
corruption. Samba has explained, “My painting
is concerned with people’s lives. I’m not
interested in myths or beliefs. That’s not my
goal. I want to change our mentality that keeps us
isolated from the world. I appeal to people’s
consciences. Artists must make people think.”
From the late 1980s on, he himself
became the main subject of his paintings. For Samba,
this is not an act of narcissism; rather, like an
anchor on TV news broadcasts, he places himself in
his work to report on what it means to be a successful
African artist on the world stage.
source: CAACART
Selected
Exhibitions
Chéri
SAMBA GALLERY
