Textures Summer Group Show. Francklin Mbungu

Bringing together six artists from all over the African continent, these artworks combine ancestral culture and modernism, past and future, to better understand the present time.

Internationally recognized or presented recently in Europe, these artists highlight experimental and plural approaches through a range of forms from fabrics, paper, beads, newspapers, photographs, recycled flip flops, found materials….

Each week we will present one of the artists of the "Textures Summer Group Show". 
Today we highlight Francklin Mbungu. 

Very different from traditional Congolese folk painting, Francklin Mbungu cuts, assembles, folds, superimposes layers of paper, glues them with exceptional dexterity, and adds colored threads, ribbons and wrapping paper, thus creating almost three-dimensional works. We can take pleasure in finding characters, flowers and objects that all spring together to tell a story...their story. 

This astonishing technique allows Mbungu to create scenes where the tactile and visual sensations of volumes dominate. Because any material can be used to complete, highlight, emphasize and dress his paintings, papers and fabrics, but also a host of different materials (chains, strings, ribbons of all colors and all textures) abundant and brilliant, the changeability of which contributes to the expressionism of his works. He creates vibrant and colorful portraits of his Congolese compatriots, including the iconic “sapeurs" (Congolese dandies). 

Francklin Mbungu is inspired by the daily life and the mythology that permeates the experience of all Congolese, including the siren which is one of his recurring themes. His world is dreamlike and flamboyant.

Very much marked by the aesthetics of the seventies, Mbungu often dresses his male characters in wide pants of multicolored elephants, shirts of garish colors and extravagant bow ties. As for women, they wear dresses and colorful headdresses that often showcase the shapes and textures of their hair. Francklin Mbungu likes to represent street musicians, dancers in action or getting ready to go out to party.

By making us dance and swirl to lose our breath, to lose consciousness, Francklin Mbungu helps us to forget the present, far from our human condition, a moment of absence, and he makes us all feel very good!

Textures Summer Group Show with

Francklin Mbungu - Patrick Tagoe-Turkson - Onyis Martin - Emeka Udemba - Marion Boehm - David Thuku

7/8 - 5/9/2021