Nowon-gu 'African Contemporary Painting' Exhibition

A special opportunity to meet artist Hendrick Lilanga in person!

Exhibition of over 30 works by 25 contemporary African artists

Free admission at Nowon Art Gallery until July 13, open 10 AM to 5 PM, closed Sundays

Meet Hendrick Lilanga on July 1 at 2 PM

Edward Saidi Tingatinga-Family

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will hold an exhibition titled "Contemporary African Painting" at the Nowon Art Gallery on the 4th floor of the Nowon Culture and Arts Center until July 13.

Contemporary African art is still unfamiliar to many of us, but it features a fresh and unique artistic world where Western art styles coexist with distinct traditional elements.

The exhibition mainly showcases works characterized by the vibrant colors unique to Africa, often depicting families or animals. However, the scope is as vast and dynamic as the continent itself.

This exhibition features over 30 works by 25 artists, including Edward Saidi Tingatinga from Tanzania, who marked the beginning of contemporary African art; Hendrick Lilanga, who expresses the theme of "togetherness" through humanity; Cameroon’s representative artist Jo?l Mpah Dooh; and Adugna Kassa from Ethiopia.

First, although relatively unfamiliar in Korea, works by Edward Saidi Tingatinga, the founder of the Tingatinga style known to have inspired Western modern artists such as Pablo Picasso and Keith Haring, will be on display. Visitors can view Tingatinga’s paintings that complete animals, people, and African nature on canvas with dazzling and diverse primary colors and outlines.

A particularly notable artist is Hendrick Lilanga, whose works are featured in the 3rd and 5th-grade textbooks in Korea.

The people appearing in Lilanga’s paintings, who is raising four of his own children and three abandoned children "together," wear beautiful clothes "together," stroll the streets "together," dance "together," and go to the hospital "together." The artist’s humanity, who plans to adopt more children in the future, is concretely expressed through his works. The piece Hendrick Lilanga presents this time is titled "Untitled."

On July 1 at 2 PM, Hendrick Lilanga will personally introduce his paintings and engage with visitors. The event is limited to the first 30 people, and reservations can be made starting at 11 AM on June 28 through the Nowon Cultural Foundation website.

Works by Jo?l Mpah Dooh, a national artist of Cameroon who studied in France and has created a unique domain by combining African graffiti style with French-style illustration, will also be on view.

Additionally, visitors can enjoy works by Adugna Kassa from Ethiopia, known as the "Magician of Color," along with artists representing eight African countries including Sudan, Congo, Senegal, and South Africa.

The exhibition runs until July 13 with free admission. It is open from 10 AM to 5 PM and closed on Sundays. Guided tours are offered once from Tuesday to Friday and three times on Saturdays. For more details, please visit the Nowon Cultural Foundation website.

Hendrik Rielanga - Happy Family

To celebrate summer vacation, the district will hold an interactive exhibition titled "The Sea, Jonah, and Your Time" at the Gyeongchun Line Forest Trail Gallery for one month starting July 13. The exhibition uses installations and video works to raise awareness about environmental conservation.

At the Nowon Art Gallery, from July 18 to August 10, visitors can see works by 12 overseas blue-chip artists including Andy Warhol, Banksy, and Keith Haring.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “This will be a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the pure and unique charm of contemporary African art,” adding, “We will continue to do our best to ensure that diverse cultural arts can be enjoyed nearby without having to go far.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.