Maverick painter who wouldn’t give up brush for anything

Divorce Center

By Lameck Mutanda

The Godown Art Centre in Nairobi’s Industrial Area on this particular day is a hive of activity. There is dancing, singing, studio recording, web design and painting going on.

One of the painters at work is Patrick Mukabi, an international painter working mostly with acrylic and oil on canvas.

His works, mostly of human figures, have propelled him to the world stage. Mukabi has featured in many group and solo exhibitions and workshops locally and abroad.

"My subjects are based on every day activities especially women. These are the people I meet and see on a daily basis," he says.

Patrick Mukabi, the painter. [PHOTO: LAMECK MUTANDA]

His interest is not on professional women or celebrities, but the ordinary women who do not get the opportunity to appear on the covers of the magazines.

Makabi draws women in their colourful kangas, portraying the lifestyle, emotional and erotic behavior of the fairer sex. His focus is to arouse curiosity – a fascination that he passed on to his students. "The women I work with are the heavier kind not models but the ordinary women," he says.

Figurative painter

His friend Michael Behr, another expressively figurative painter, inspired Mukabi. Like Mukabi, Behr‘s local theme is the interpersonal, emotional and erotic behavior of both sexes.

Other artists at the Godown are Annemarie Busschers of Netherlands and Annadara Dibiase of Italy. Both artists are fascinated by certain parts of the human body especially feminine.

Taking inspiration from such friends, Mukabi has traveled widely. Last year, he became the seventh artist to receive invitation from Ruth Hunt foundation in America to exhibit his paintings. The foundation hosted him for five months exhibiting and selling his paintings.

He also produced a video art in France sponsored by Jean Paul Blachere. Blachere specialises in the light and sounding system. Its aim is to facilitate exchanges and the cultural mutual understanding between Europe and Africa through artistic creation and promotions.

Mukabi appears to enjoy his work despite opposition from the family, which almost threatened his career.

In the mid 1990s, he applied for sponsorship from Government but his uncle who was on the Government sponsorship committee told him that the committee would not sponsor him because art will not take him anywhere.

"But several years later, my uncle brought his last born son to my workshop and requested me to train him," he says.

Mukabi blames the Government for lack of creativity among the youth because unlike other countries, Kenya lacks art facilities like national art gallery, which can boost young talents through collection and exhibition of artworks.

He says South Africa, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Tanzania and Uganda are some of the African countries that have established national art galleries to help young talents thrive in their creative potential.

Kenya’s privately owned gallery, RaMoMA wound up last year due to unknown reasons. "Ignorance by the Government and parents has robbed the youth of creativity," he says.

A child of 14 years is old enough to realise and pursue his talent. Art provides children with creative skills that enable them to tackle minor challenges without necessarily looking up to their parents," says Mukabi.

Mukabi attended Loreto Convent Primary School where he first encountered art and fell in love with it. His passion grew further when he joined Eastleigh Secondary School and met his art teacher, a Mr Musundi, who was always keen to mentor students to take the brush.

"He used to urge even the uninterested students to show up in class and just watch what others do," says Mukabi.

Abondoned course

The parents later accepted his choice of career and the father even encouraged him to join graphic design. He did the course but abandoned it halfway for painting.

Mukabi took off to a bad start but persevered. His first entry at Gallery Watatu Art Exhibition was rejected on condition that it was not African. But the then owner of the gallery, Ruth Schaffner, who took his work and marketed them, rescued him later.

Mukabi has participated in exhibitions and workshops locally and won awards. In mid 1990s, he took a second prize in East Africa industry Artist of the Year Award and pocketed Sh35,000.

In 2008, he performed his biggest art exhibitions at La Rustique Art Exhibition and earned Sh800,000. Some of his paintings have found space in State House and Commercial Bank of Africa.

"Art provides history, beauty and balance of the house," he says.

Hundreds of young talents who were inspired by his work like Clair Mungai and second price winner of the recent Nairobi Province Art Exhibition, Alex Mbuvi, became his students.

Mukabi draws inspiration from Michael Angelo the Italian painter who drew the paintings in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. He was an avid reader of Catholic books which his devout Catholic mother brought home oblivious of the influence they would have on him.

It is after becoming exposed to the iconic painter’s works that he decided that Mukabi resolved he want to be like him. He also names Gakunja Kaigwa, the sculptor, as another great artist who inspires him. Some of Kaigwa’s great works comprise the fine touches on the floor of Sarit Centre.

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