Exhibition featuring recent works by Peter Elungat and Olivia Pendergast at One Off Gallery.
Private View: Sunday, 31 August
Time: from 11am to 5pm.
The exhibition runs until 24 September 2014.
Venue: One Off Gallery, # 16 Roselyn
About
Peter Elungat needs little introduction.
Since his first solo show managed by One Off was opened by Rob Burnet in a ground floor shop in the Yaya Centre in the late 90s, he has enjoyed enormous recognition domestically and has earned the accolade of being one of the highest selling artists in Kenya. One of the few artsists to truly cross the cultural divide, Elungat attracts collectors in equal numbers from all ethnic backgrounds and walks of life.Following a residency at Kuona Trust, Elungat started his career painting tiny figurative forms on equivalently small squares of canvas. Subsequently, his works have grown in scale in tandem with his audience. Current canvases are now some of the largest works in the gallery characterized by his portrayal of mostly single female forms after the style of some of the major renaissance painters. A spiritual essence pervades these works.
In contrast, Olivia Pendergast is little known in Kenya.
A graduate of a five year BFA program at Columbus College of Art and Design she went on to work in Los Angeles for a further five years in the film industry as a conceptual designer. Since 2007 she has been based out of Seattle and has lived and painted in Malawi, Haiti, Ethiopia and Bangladesh. Most recently she has worked in Nairobi. The exhibition at One Off will focus on portraits she has made of the people of Kawangwari.‘The paintings that I create are a direct reflection of the experience I am having. I simply see something that creates movement …By being present I am aware of hundreds of times a day when this movement occurs and as a way to express excitement, I am moved to paint’.
Diverse as these two painters are in background and experience, they share a common palette and also a fascination with the exploration of proportion as it relates to the human form.
Find out more about the work of Peter and Olivia and the exhibition on www.oneoffafrica.com
