Geoffrey Ernest Katantazi Mukasa (Ugandan, 1954-2009) Untitled 37 1/4 x 24 1/4in (94.6 x 61.6cm).
Provenance : Provenance Signature Art Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria; A private collection. Born in 1954, Geoffrey Ernest Katantazi Mukasa is widely acknowledged as one of East Africa's most influential artists. He grew up in a politically influential family in Uganda but was forced into exile when his father was assassinated during Idi Amin's military coup of 1971. It was during this time that Mukasa decided to undertake study at the College of Arts and Crafts at the University of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, India. He graduated with a degree in Fine Arts in 1984. Mukasa's studies exposed him to the work of the Indian figurative painter M. F. Husain (1915-2011) and European traditions including Cubism and Expressionism. Together, these diverse influences played a significant role in shaping the artist's own distinctive style which he continued to develop upon his return to Uganda in the mid-1980s. In the present work, Mukasa echoes the visual language of Cubism. The head of the central drummer is rendered in multiple iterations. Each is executed in a distinct visual register that juxtaposes bold yellow pigments with deep black and vibrant red hues. Executed atop a collaged surface, the work demonstrates the Ugandan artist's inventive use of medium and materials – an approach initially necessitated by the difficulties he faced accessing traditional artmaking materials in Kampala. Reflecting on the development of his idiosyncratic figurative style, Mukasa explains, '[t]he philosophy of my artwork lies mainly in the human figure and the head reflected in different settings of various colors, semi-abstract surroundings with an inner light that consolidates the feeling of depth and the fourth dimension of time'. With its bold color palette and tightly packed composition, the present work exudes the emotive energy championed by the artist in his depiction of the human condition.
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