THONTON KABEYA

(b. 1983 Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo)

Thonton Kabeya captures the essence of African cosmopolitanism through his constructions of contemporary urban life using paint and canvas. Having travelled across the African continent extensively, Kabeya lived and worked as an artist in Paris, before settling in Johannesburg in 2014. Kabeya actively challenges his medium of paint and canvas, pursuing new and experimental ways to create texture, depth, and balance of colour. His process involves glueing layers of canvas together, which he then cuts, carves, and sculpts before painting. Kabeya finishes the work with transferred elements from newspapers, carefully positioned to indicate the folds of moving fabric, and the application of a deep brown walnut powder (an old method of staining wooden furniture) which renders skin, as well as balances the tonality of the work. 

Inspired by architecture and design, Kabeya's practice seeks balance in composition, line, and colour in his three-dimensional work. He creates portraits of people and cities alike, bustling street scenes and tender exchanges between individuals. His recent works have focused on rhumba dancing, inspired by the dance studios and clubs frequented by the artist. Rumba music is of Cuban origin and gained enormous popularity in the Congo during the 1960s and 70s. Dance is a much-loved form of expression and is in many ways a performance of personhood. The Congolese rumba was recently added to UNESCO's intangible heritage list as "The rumba is considered an essential and representative part of the identity of Congolese people and its diaspora. It is perceived as a means of conveying the social and cultural values of the region and of promoting intergenerational and social cohesion and solidarity." - UNESCO, 2021.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2022   Everard Read, Pasada, Johannesburg, South Africa

           Bonne Esperance Gallery, La Rumba Rosa 2 , Paris/France

2021   One Art Gallery, La Rumba Rosa, Johannesburg, South Africa

2019   Galerie Bilembo, Kinshasa, Congo

2018   ODA Gallery, Franschhoek, South Africa

2017   ODA Gallery, Franschhoek, South Africa                                                       

2015   Cry Smile Dream, S Art Gallery, Cape Town 

2014   New Voices, Lizamore and Associates Gallery, Johannesburg 

2010   Médiathèque Woluwe, st Pierre, Bruxelles, Belgium

           Galerie dialogue, National Museum of Lubumbashi, Congo

2009   Métamorphose, Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, Maison de province de France  

           Metamorphose, Arte kalao galeria, Bilbao, Spain  

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2022   Spring, group show, Everard Read, Franschhoek, South Africa

            UCCLE / Bruxelles , Belgium

2021   Gallery 2, A Cloud, Johannesburg/SA

            Bonne Esperance Gallery, Salon Globalisto, Paris/France.                             

            Art voice Gallery, Work on Paper, Kala Lumpur/Malaysia      

2017   The Gravity of Things, Artium Basque Museum Center of Contemporary Art of Vitoria-Gastei, Alava, Spain

2012   Institut Francais of Lubumbashi, Congo

2008   Vision for Africa, Archelle, Germany

            Midi Libre, Mas de grille, Montpellier, France

            Rencontres Picha Biennale De Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi

            Dakar Biennale, (Off Biennale), Gallery L. S. Senghor, Dakar

2007   Yambi, Museum of Modern Art and Contemporain Art (MAMAC) Liège, Belgium.  

            Burogest, Business Centre, Namur, Belgium

            French institute, Congo

2006    Memling Hotel, Kinshasa

             Belgium Consulate, Congo

             National Museum of Lubumbashi, Congo

2005    French institute of Lubumbashi 

             Musée national de Lubumbashi