Chéri Samba

Kalasi Ki Ndduenga, 1956

Unique Artwork

Oil on Canvas

Additional information that may help the collector in his purchase

CM H 105 W 81

IN H 41.34 W 31.89

Signed by artist

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About the work

Kalasi Ki Ndduenga, 1956

Kalasi Ki Ndduenga

About artist

Chéri Samba

In 1972 Chéri Samba left school in order to become a sign painter on Kasa Vubu Avenue in Kinshasa. From this circle of artists (which included Moke, Bodo, and later Samba's younger brother Cheik Ledy) arose one of the most vibrant schools of popular painting of 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.

Indeed, he borrowed the bubbles from the comics in order to incorporate in his paintings not only narrative but also comments. Samba has recalled how he came to use text in these paintings: "I had noticed that people in the street would walk by my 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, to get more into the painting and admire it. That's what I called the 'Samba signature'. Since then I put text in all my paintings." In the early 1980s he began signing his paintings 'Chéri Samba: Artiste Populaire'. Indeed, the popularity of his paintings soon went beyond Kinshasa's borders. By the mid 1980s his work was gaining an international audience. 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), with subject such as everyday life in Kinshasa, customs, sexuality, AIDS, social inequalities, and corruption.

Samba explained, "My painting is concerned with people's lives. I'm not interested in myth...

About Museum

Zeitz - Museum Of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA)

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) is a public not-for-profit contemporary art museum that collects, preserves, researches and exhibits 21st-century art from Africa and its diaspora; hosts international exhibitions; develops supporting educational and enrichment programmes; encourages intercultural understanding, and guarantees access for all.

The galleries, spread over several floors, are dedicated to a large cutting-edge collection gallery; exhibition galleries; and Centres for Art Education, Curatorial Training, Performative Practice, Photography, and the Moving Image.

Zeitz MOCAA was established through a partnership between the V&A Waterfront led by CEO David Green acting on behalf of Growthpoint Properties Limited and the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), represented by the Public Investment Corporation Limited (PIC) and collector Jochen Zeitz.

The building was reimagined through a design by the acclaimed London-based Heatherwick Studio.

Senior Management
Koyo Kouoh: Executive Director and Chief Curator
Brooke Minto: Director of Institutional Advancement, Zeitz MOCAA and Executive Director, Zeitz MOCAA Foundation USA
Fawaz Mustapha: Chief Operations Officer

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V&A Waterfront, Silo District
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South Africa

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