GARDEN COURT GALLERY

INVENTORY OF A05 ART

September 13, 2022

DINING ROOM

1.     Geraldine Robards abstract art, oil paint mixed with resin and topped with Swarovski crystals. A gift to me. Geraldine has been extremely generous, giving me painting practically every time we meet.

2.     Gomba Otieno’s Untitled abstract wooden box painting. Gomba, a founder of Maasai Mbili artist collective, called me and asked me to buy one of his paintings since he was headed to Germany or Sweden for an exhibition but he had insufficient funds. I agreed to buy at a minimal price, like perhaps Sh10,000. My dear friend.

3.     Patrick Mukabi’s Market mamas. I bought for very little, like Sh6,000 when he was in a group exhibition at the Kempinski Hotel on Waiyaki Way. Patrick is a dear friend who has mentored so many young Kenyan artists, he has lost count. But none ever forget him since he always has an open door. He also travels globally to teach and exhibit abroad. He also teaches children all the time.

4.     Kathy Katuti’s Kikuyu event where women come to celebrate the bride-to-be. I bought for Sh17,000 at the Dusit D2 Hotel during a group exhibition. She has exhibited in the Kenya Arts Diary.

5.     Lionel Njuguna is brother to John Kimemia and son to Zecharia Mbutha. He is rarely seen on the Nairobi art scene in part because he had a drug problem, in part because he is alienated from his family.

6.     Geraldine Robards’ Coastal village scene. Geraldine taught art at Kenyatta University and at Makerere in Uganda. While raising four children, she spent lots of time with them at the Coast in villages like the one in the painting.

LIBRARY/TV ROOM

7.     King Dodge K… of Ngecha. Dodge is a poet, playwright and gallerist whose Ngecha art centre is a place he has turned into a Kikuyu museum. Not sure when I bought that painting but I think it have been when he exhibited at the Nairobi National Museum.

8.     Joshua Maingi’s abstract piece is a narrow painting that fits conveniently at the right of the library, just next to it. I bought it for Sh7,000, not because I loved it so much as because I like to support the artists even in a small way. Buying their art makes a difference to their quality of life

9.     (above TV) Lisa and Migwi: the drawing was done by a young Kenyatta University art student named Elvis Ramboh Ochieng. He is also the artist who painted Maya alone and Faith alone. I had him do the art work before they came in June 2022.

10.Geraldine gave me the red and yellow abstract work.

11.Dennis Muraguri is a brilliant sculpture and painter who decided to focus on making money. So he now mainly paints matatus like the one above the TV. There was a charity auction organized by One Off Gallery where they were selling small paintings like this one. I was able to buy it for Sh10,000.

12.Gloria Muthoka’s Coffee Picker came to us to be in one of our Kenya Arts Diaries. We exhibited it at the Heinrich Boell Foundation and I bought for a very reasonable price from the artist. Two more of her works are in Faith’s bedroom.

13. Three gazelles were produced as part of the Tinga Tinga school of artists, who followed the style of the late Tanzanian artist, Edward Saidi Tingatinga. I think I bought it from either Alan Donovan who sadly died in 2022 or Shine Tani of Banana Hill art gallery.

14.John Kariuki, ‘Nairobi Railways’. I found this painting by Kariuki at Patrick Mukabi’s Dust Depot before COVID. It could have been 2017. I bought it for 17,000/ since I’d never seen a work by him that I felt represented more of his life and our lives as members of the Nairobi arts scene

15.Maya’s room has Maya’s portrait, a gift to her from me in June 2022 by Elvis Rambo Ochieng from a photograph Lisa sent me of Maya at her 11^th birthday party.

16.Faith’s portrait. After I had Elvis paint Maya (because I recall the first trio painting I gave them when they were just faith, mom, and dad), I decided Faith should have a solo painting too. That is how Elvis painted Faith in her lovely Ethiopian dress which she wore during her high school graduation time when the family was still living in Ethiopia.

17.Faith also has two Gloria Muthoka paintings, based on folk tales about the tortoise and another creature.

18.Faith also has a Tingatinga-like painting creating by a young Kenyan female artist who I had never seen before and never since. She was exhibiting at the Owl’s Nest, which briefly held exhibitions at a café based across the road from Valley Arcade. I paid her Sh15,000 just because I thought it was so sweet and I could see she was trying to get moving in the local art scene.

LIVING ROOM

19.Samuel Njuguna Njoroge’s Footware painting was a gift to me. He says he had tried to exhibit it somewhere but it was rejected. I told him I wouldn’t have rejected it. I liked it so he gave it to me. Those footprints are from the shoes of children in his neighborhood including his own.

20.John Okumu is a little-known artist, the nephew of my dear friend, poet, playwright, actor, and media broadcaster John Sibi Okumu. He was about to exhibit it at Village Market, courtesy of William Ndwiga, but I thought it was quite clever and I couldn’t quite understand it. The fish is made out junk so it’s technically a work of junk art. But then it seems to have been photographed, so I am not sure.

21.Waweru Gichuhi’s Piano Player is one of my favorite paintings. Waweru is one of the first members of Brush tu arts collective. He was exhibiting the piece at the Dusit D2 one Saturday morning. It was over in a corner and few people had seen it. Waweru is my good friend so he let me have it for 25,000/.

22.On the other side of the Kitchen, Nicholas Ochieng aka Nicomambo painted The Mkokotene that is above the water cooler. He is studying in Hamburg Germany right now, but I have another one of his earlier works in my bedroom, above my bed. (I wouldn’t have placed her there) I bought it reasonably from Nico at Dusit D2 during a time when the GM of Google Nairobi, Charles…., was sponsoring those Saturday morning for the sake of the artists. It was a great venue for sales.

23.Tonney Mugo’s Framed Glass piece was initially commissioned by me to bring home to give to Joan Smutny for all her good deeds done to me. I only paid Sh10,000 for it which I still feel was a very good deal. But I couldn’t part with it and also worried about breaking it in transit. So it too is there above the water cooler.

24.Missing is a giant Mahogany sculpture of Jesus’s Last Supper based on the painting by Leonardo da Vinci. I had to artist, a Rwandese refugee, make another for you and which I pray you still have. How could a huge work like that simply disappear?

Margaretta’s room (as there is still a lot of art that hasn’t been shown in the house, my walls will be changing, especially when Migwi gets the special hooks that don’t damage the walls)

25.Boniface Maina’s Lovely lady with the long neck is an early work by an artist who has done very well and changed a great deal. He is one of the cofounders of Brush to art studio with David Thuku and Michael Musyoka

26.Dale Webster painting My Portrait unasked. I was and continue to be deeply touched that he did this since he is a wonderful painter-philosopher whose years in Kenya were as a British man dependent on his spouse since she had the job here with BBC. Dale only painted Kenyan artists with whom he then swapped his art for theirs. It was a great situation since his terms here were that he wasn’t supposed to work. So he worked but was not paid. He sent me the painting after he had moved back to the UK. I treasure the painting

27.Moira Bushkimani sold me her very first drawing, a self-portrait, for Sh5000, and I feel it was worth it. She was happy that I was the one who owned this special work.

28.Unknown artist created this collage piece which I found with my friend Stuart Nash. He pointed me towards this little-known gallery in Kibera. That’s where I found the painting. It cost Sh6000 which Stuart paid for me.

29.Mary Collis’s Abstract art was a gift to me which I treasure. Mary and Carol Lees started RaMoMa, the Rahmtukha Modern Art Museum which worked from 2000-2010

30.Nichols Ochieng’s Cucu is over my bed. It’s the first painting that I spent Sh40,000 on, but I thought she was so well conceived I felt I ought to have her. She’s not beautiful but she’s got a sturdy spirit. Nicholas is a rising start in the Kenya art world. He’s from the Mwangaza Art school in Kisumu

31.My 1977 film review. It’s terribly damaged, but I have kept it as evidence to show that I was writing about art, in this case the films of Jean Renoir, the son or grandson of the renowned French painter Pierre Auguste Renoir, back as early as 1977. That was the year the French Cultural Centre opened and its director Pierre Comte was so progressive in his way of opening up the art scene. He treated me like a princess and even gave me his driver to get back to Thika where we were living at the time.

32.Many other pieces, one by Adrian Nduma, several more by Geraldine, Mike Kyalo, Sam Kimemia, Kamal Shah, Lincoln Mwangi, Nduta Kariuki, Mary Collis, Souad, Liza MacKay, Taabu Munyoki, Chela Nancy, Patrick Mukabi again, and many more.

Gazebo

33.Two voluptuous women sculptures by Ugandan artist, John Odoch Ameny, a brilliant junk art artist who was introduced to me by Alan Donovan. Alan had been called by Odoch who was having no money and no sales. Alan asked me to please buy the women and a lamp, all for Sh15,000. How could I resist. I nearly lost both women after bringing them to Alliance Francaise where I was launching by book, The Transformation of Contemporary Kenyan Art. The head of the French language program had kept one in her office. I found the other one in the usual storage space, but couldn’t find the one the French woman had hid. When she saw that I was taking one away, she protested, indicating she might have the other one. I was told later she had it. When I heard she had left kenya, I feared that she’d left with the second one, but I was told I could come for her. I was so relieved.  The two might embarrass some people but I take them with a sense of Odoch’s humor mixed with his love for African women.

34.Gazebo wall painted by Chela aka Nancy Cherwon who is a Kenyatta University graduate in Fine Art and is so versatile she does graffiti art as well as mural painting and NFT as well.