SAM’S GAZE ON TRADE AND TRAVEL

BY Margaretta wa gacheru (posted September 4, 2022)

Sam Njuguna Njoroge wasn’t scared when a fellow artist suggested he follow his lead and have a solo exhibition at the new Art Caffe, situated at the Westlands complex previously occupied by the Dusit D2 Hotel.

Up until several terrorists had shown up outside the Hotel back in early 2017, Dusit had been a lively venue where a multitude of up-and-coming local artists came every month to display and sell their work on a first-come-first-serve basis on a Saturday.

One could see artisans like Evans Maina Ngure and artists like Samuel Githui, Patrick Mukabi, Waweru Gichuhi, and many others, including several East Africans like Mark Kassi bring their best works to Dusit D2 regularly.

 But once the terrorists attacked the Riverside Drive complex from January 15^th through 19th, and more than 20 people died (17 civilians and five terrorists), few people wanted to go near the place for many months.

“But people finally realized they had to move on,” says Njuguna. He quickly picked up on the idea proposed by Adrian Nduma, and now has his own solo show at the fearless Art Caffe which has taken up the entire first floor once occupied by the 5-star Hotel.

“We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from our guests about Sam’s painting,” said the General Manager at the Riverside Drive Art Caffe. “And since we’re thinking about hanging more art in several of our other [Caffes], we hope to feature more of Sam’s art in our Westgate and Kilileshwa spots after this,” she adds.

For now, Njuguna’s colorful, figurative paintings are filling the Art Caffe’s sun-filled walls with scenes and stories from both village and peri-urban everyday life. Clearly fascinated by the movements of local traders who transit daily from their villages to Nairobi town, he highlights all sorts of public means of transport that people take to get around the countryside.

There’s a rhythm to the way he reveals people’s comings and goings, whether they are moving by country bus, or full-to-overflowing matatu or by private car. And of course, he highlights those omnipresent boda bodas and less precious two-wheeled (non-electrified) bicycles that remain a celebrated mode of transport, whether one is transporting crates of bread or taking part in the prestigious Tour de France bike race.

One thing that’s consistent about much of Njuguna’s art is the quality of radiant colors that he displays in his work. His greens are especially real, flush, and full-bodied.

“I was born when my father was still growing coffee,” says Sam, who acknowledges that cement has largely replaced the coffee.

But ever since he discovered art at the Banana Hill Art Studio when he was still in his teens, Sam chose to hang out with a host of what we now call ‘emerging artists’, including Shine Tani, the late Alex and his brother Jeff Mbugua, Sebastian Kiarie, and Joseph Cartoon among many others.

Sam’s older brother Willy was also there, so he felt comfortable learning from Shine and the other artistic aspirants who were experimenting and feeling their way and working with new materials.

“I feel like it was a perfect space to be learning among other artists who were inspired and experimenting just as I was,” says Njuguna. “I felt like it was as good, or an even better learning experience than going to art school,” he adds.

Admitting that he hung out with artists at a time when the idea of making art into a professional career was still a far-fetched idea, Sam says he was young enough not to care about a career.

“Besides, I came from a stable home. I was born just next door to Banana Hill, and I was living with my father and my grandfather, in Muchatha,” he says. It seems that sense of stability enabled him to stick with the Studio and witness its becoming a proper Banana Hill Art Gallery.

“So, I guess the same way the gallery grew up, so did I,” he says, appreciating that he now enjoys a career as a full-fledged artist. In addition to his current exhibition, Sam has shown his art all over Kenya, everywhere from the National Museum, the Railway Museum, Village Market, and the International School of Kenya to Kuona Trust, Rahimtulah Museum of Modern Art (RaMoMa), Talisman, and Photizo Gallery. He’s also exhibited overseas in Taiwan, Belgium, and Ireland.

With his broad brush strokes and bright, sunny landscapes, Sam’s visual stories of Kenya reflect what remains of the beauty and bustle of Kenya’s rural and peri-urban life.