By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 23 July 2018)
In less than
five years, Brush tu Art Studio has become one of Nairobi’s leading cultural
venues for the visual arts. That was plain to see last weekend when they held
one of their annual Open Houses, humbly entitling it ‘Pyenga’ (the Sheng term
for ‘small’).
But there
was nothing small about the display at Brush tu’s Buru Buru space, which the
resident artists recently expanded by renting the next door-duplex and tearing
down an adjoining wall. Now it could easily accommodate the most recent works
of all thirteen artists based at Brush tu, eleven of whom are part of the
permanent crew plus two interns, twins by the name of Joe and Andrew N’gang’a.
One of the
most successful, democratic and open-minded groups of artists around, Brush tu’s
amiable atmosphere of inspired artistry is infectious as one could see last
Sunday when the corner house on Ol Leleshwa Road in Buru Buru Phase 1 got
jam-packed with a slew of leading local artists.
There were
poets, photographers, painters, sculptors and print-makers who came visiting,
all intent on seeing how well their creative peers are doing. Trekking upstairs,
one could see the genius works of Michael Musyoka on one side and those of Peteros
Ndungu on the other.
Peteros Ndunde above and Michael Musyoka with his 'Contemplation of the Righteous'
But it’s
downstairs where the Studio has most effectively maximized their space to
accommodate everyone from Boniface Maina (one of the Brush tu founders along
with Musyoka and David Thuku who’s currently based at Kobo Trust but is a proud
alumni of BTAS), Waweru Gichuhi, Kimani Ngaru, Moira Bushkimani, Elias Mung’ora,
Abdul Kipruto, Sebawali Sio, Emmaus Kimani, Lincoln Mwangi and the twins.
One key to
Brush tu’s success is the modesty of the artists. Despite their having both
solo and group shows at Circle Art, Nairobi and Polka Dot Galleries, the Attic,
the Art Space, Kenya Art Fairs and elsewhere, each artist retains his or her commitment
to their art, to their process and to moving forward fearlessly, experimenting
with new ideas and media.
Indeed,
there was a wide range of both experimental work and works in progress at the
Open House. The surrealists in the house, Boniface and Michael each are moving
on their own tracks (downstairs and up). Meanwhile, the ‘brush tu’ concept (of
brush referring to ‘painting’ and tu meaning ‘only’) has expanded to now
include sculptors like Kimani, print-makers like Kipruto, photographers like
Emmaus and even a few so-called ‘junk artists’ who work with recycled ‘found
objects’. Those include artists like Moira who recycled goat jaws and cow bone
to create a fascinating work like ‘Bearer of Inspiration’ and Joe Ng’ang’a who
transformed rusty mabati (metal) sheet
into a ‘painting’ enhanced by acrylic paint and a sharp knife.
Even Boni
Maina refashions found objects, including an old damaged toilet seat, although
unlike Marcel Duchamp who deemed his toilet seat a ‘work of art’, Boni simply
covers over the seat with bubble paper and uses it as a sort of throne from
which he can contemplate new ideas for his art.
There are
still several painters among the group. They include Elias Mung’ora (although
he’s lately been experimenting with pencil and ink), Sebawali (who with Moira
is one of the first female artists to join BTAS), Peteros, Lincoln, Waweru
(whose nudes have a luster, alluring line and bronze glow to them) and of
course, Michael who’s already creating frame-worthy ‘sketches’ to follow from
his recent exhibition at The Attic Art Space.
One key
turning point for BTAS came in 2016 when they got assistance from the Danish
Embassy enabling them to conduct a year’s worth of artist residencies in 2017.
Inviting both Pan-African and Kenyan artists to apply, the group quickly upped
their game. They were already working well together, developing an arts library
made up of both books and DVDs, and sharing ideas. But now they began opening
up to the whole city and arts community, intent on informing their guests about
the wide range of talents at work around Nairobi.
In a sense,
Brush tu has done more to bring together a fiercely independent Kenyan arts community.
It’s not a formally organized group that they intentionally fashioned, but by
their openness, artistry and genial wit, they’ve brought lots of fresh air to
the local art scene.
Just ask the
women. Both Sebawali and Moira have been warmly welcomed into the fold, each
finding the space both mentally and physically to produce original works that
add flavor and feeling to the Studio.
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