“My work generally focuses on how I see and understand the world around me. i.e. ideas, thoughts, memories, experiences, hopes and aspirations e .t .c. which I try to express [ i.e., ideas and thoughts] through colors, forms and objects, with the impressions of figurative images derived from daily life’s occurrences and hence creating dialogue, beauty, peace and relations to the audience. I usually find it satisfying to express myself in any form of medium that I might come across, but, I normally insist on figurative images for the sake of social caricature or political messages.”
hen a Kenyan artist comes along who ‘knocks your socks off’ with his genius painting, one is ever tempted to compare him to one Western painterly genius or other. This is the dilemma I have with the work of Samuel Githui whose works went on show late last year at Rahimtulla Museum of Modern Art in its upstairs Rahimtulla Gallery. A man whose works were initially dismissed by the late Ruth Schaffner of Gallery Watatu in 1995 for being “too mzungu”(too white), Githui was cut to the quick for creating art that was too refined, well drafted and deftly painted for Watatu’s grande dame’s taste. Fortunately, Rob Burnett who was working at the Watatu Foundation at the time, steered him to Kuona Trust where his sophisticated style would be welcomed as one more dimension of the artistic explosion of up-and-coming Kenyan artists who were arriving in Nairobi from all over the country. “Ruth actually picked one of my painting and put it on display at Watatu just before she died [in 1996],” recalled Githui who said that only happened after he decided to sacrifice his own individual style and conform to the more naïve style of brush work that Ruth seemed to admire and which fit the stereotype of ‘unschooled’ Kenyan art.
But Githui couldn’t compromise his artistry for very long. Admitting it was a kind of test he’d given to himself to see if he could meet Ruth’s criteria and get exposed to the Nairobi public through Gallery Watatu, her acceptance of that one work [which never sold, and which Githui still owns] was a small triumph for man. “I had actually been exposed to Watatu and various other Nairobi galleries during my days at the Creative Arts Center,” said Githui, who attended CAC between 1993 and 1996. “We used to go on gallery tours and that is how I first heard about the National Museum Gallery as well as Watatu.” Heading to CAC straight out of secondary school was the privilege that Githui enjoyed, coming from a family who appreciated his love of painting and drawing. “My father used to bring home Kenya Airways In-flight Magazine and I’d get inspired by the colorful images,” said Githui, who also loved copying images from the daily newspapers that his dad would bring home. “My mother also ran a nursery school in Mountain View [a suburb of Nairobi], and I used to be fascinated by the art materials, including the Lego blocks, she used to bring home from the school,” Githui recalled. Growing up in Uhuru Estate in Nairobi’s Eastlands in the Eighties meant that Githui also had the good fortune to be in the 8-4-4 school system where Art was an “examinable subject”, meaning he had teachers who took fine art education seriously.
“My art teacher was also my Kiswahili teacher and he was very strict,” recalled Githui. But as strict as that teacher was, the lasting impression he made on Githui had more to do with his appreciation of the young student’s art. “We learned a very basic style of etching in class. It involved coloring a piece of paper using colored crayons, then covering the colors over with black wax and then using a pencil point to gently etch off the black wax,” Githui explained. His teacher liked his work so much he asked to ‘borrow’ one etching. “But I asked him to keep it, which he happily did,” Githui said. Where times got tough for Githui was after joining the Creative Arts Center, since his engineer father had now retired from Kenya Airways and other domestic issues complicated the family finances. So Githui was compelled to find the means to pay his own school fees. “I remembered that part of the CAC curriculum involved taking up an internship with an employer who had something to do with arts or graphic design, so I found a friend whose family ran an advertising agency,” he said.
And so from around 1995 to 1998, Githui worked one or the other advertising agency doing work that was a cross between sign writing and graphic design. Painting mostly logos and brand names everywhere from walls to sign boards to corrugated iron sheets [mabati], Githui found the work unsatisfactory for an array of reasons. For one thing, the work was rarely steady, so he worked more like a casual laborer than a salaried employee. “We would get paid by the square foot,” he said. Then too, he had discovered Kuona Trust back in 1995 and had even been afforded studio space wherein he could work. “The problem with Kuona at the time was bus fare,” said Githui, who had to choose between saving his money to pay CAC tuition or using it to travel from his home in Donholm Estate [where his family had moved] to the National Museum site. But by 1998, Githui got fed up. He faced the fact that “wall branding” [as his work was called] had no lucrative future, so he might as well get back to the work that he really loved. And that was painting. Coming to terms with his true feelings was a liberating moment for Githui whi had already begun taking his art for sale to the National Museum Gallery. His work was also being featured in the monthly “Best of Kuona” exhibits at the Museum. No longer compromising his artistic style to suit the late Schaffner, who passed on in 1996, Githui quickly cultivated a brand of social realism that is uniquely Kenyan.
And yet looking at his past show at Ramoma, one might be inclined to recall the late great American social realist Andrew Wyeth, like Githui painted against the grain of what was popular in his day, such as abstract expressionism. But Githui’s social realism is rarely political, although his installation hints at his attitude towards politicians and their abuse of power. Nonetheless, his works are infused with a deep appreciation of ordinary Kenyans, particularly working people, be they the cook called “Wanjohi” who is laboring over his sufurias, or the young women plaiting their hair while listening to Taarab music on the radio, or the guys on bicycles that are overloaded with stacked sacks of bananas [‘Ndizi’]. Paintings that veritably throb to the pulse of city life, Githui’s bus stop scene is overflowing with urban activity as is his perceptive painting called “Traffic Jam”. But Githui isn’t only caught up in city life. In fact, his sleepy Swahili scenes, painted while working among local and international artists at Lamu during annual Wasanii Artists Workshops [organized by Kuona Trust in conjuncition with the Triangle Arts Trust] reflect a sensitivity to the local ambience that is wonderful and takes you there. At Lamu it was the donkeys who deeply touched Githui, so much so that his most expansive work in the Ramoma show—a triptych of heavy-laden donkeys sojourning along the Indian Ocean coastline—reveals the warmth and elegant richness of the sun, sea and sand.
But it also subtly exposes the animal exploitation that moved him to make this impressive seaside set of paintings. Githui’s exceptional aptitude for fine art has drawn him beyond the realm of painting to the point where last year, he took up the calling of curator on a collaborative project involving the Alliance Hotels, Kuona Trust and Ramoma Museum. “The exhibition I put together involved a number of Kenyan artists,” Githui said. Clearly loving the role of curator, Githui isn’t going to give up painting to take up that task, but the exhibition he assembled in 2008 was so well received that Githui admits he would love to do it again. Whichever way Githui goes, one thing is clear: he is a painter who is on the road to world recognition. In 2007, in fact, he was acclaimed by a critical team of art connoisseurs representing the French Cultural Centre and the Goethe Institute. His work was deemed the finest painting to be produced that year! It’s quite a turn around for an artist whose work was rejected as ‘too mzungu’ 12 years ago. But for Githui, his art transcends racial definitions and stereotypes. “My art tells stories about Kenyans’ everyday lives,” he said. And it is the dignifying of Kenyans’ busy lives that gives so much richness to every piece of his current work.
By Margaretta wa Gacheru
