'NI YA LEO' AN EXHIBITION ABOUT COMMONPLACE MARKET INTERACTION IN KENYA

Patrick Kinuthia brings out the ordinary in Kenyan open air Market in his exhibition dubbed ‘Ni ya Leo’

If you live in Kenya you have probably heard of ‘Ni ya Leo and ‘Bei ya Jioni’ among other catchy phrases that market vendors dish to attract the confused customer or cut into the snippets of conversation among the strollers in the market. This everyday phrases may sound distant to you and somehow annoying but they become nostalgic and music to your ear when you miss them while standing in the gallery peacefully perusing through Patrick Kinuthia’s work in the current Exhibition at Artspace, in Nairobi.

The exhibition that opened in November 26^th 2016 brings together Kinuthia’s recent vibrant works. In ‘Ni ya Leo,’ Kinuthia brings out an array of topics that one picks while wandering through open air market. He inters these memories on canvas bringing out the emotions and details that to some onlookers, may escape their eyes. From the mother who is mentoring her daughter into the ‘Family Business’ to the ‘Bei ya Jioni’ Kinuthia delves into the insecurities mothers have that they have to tag their teenaged daughters along into the business and the rush hour to make a quick buck before the day ends on the sellers. In ‘Chagua’ he looks at the authority buyers have in selecting the items and grocery that appeals to their eyes and hands alike.  

Furthermore, he observes the extra ordinary in the market hierarchy. This he does by bring in the new connection between the market and the Government. In his painting, the ‘Welfare Queue’ Kinuthia points to the direction that the government has taken to cushion the elderly by giving them a stipend to cover their expenses. Strangely enough, such stipends are dished out in the market!

Although Kinuthia uses acrylics, his works come out alive and loud and delicious with a touch of farm freshness in the groceries and brilliant faces in the people. He uses colour to connect with the inner voice so as to speak to the soul, to the mind and at the same time invigorate the eyes. His skills enable him to know where to use the rough and the smooth, where exactly to place the brilliance in light and where do dampen the feelings with dull colours.

Despite the obvious allusions, Kinuthia’s works are subject to interpretation. They speak of the vanity in gestures by different subjects within the hierarchy, the intimate relationship between parents and children and the role of the society as a whole. Moreover, the works reveal satisfaction, in the use of bright colours, despair and different feelings that come with the day to day interactions and activities. It is as if the artist wants to let you see the story he is telling and at the same time create your own. He says, he has to connect with his work for it work, he doesn’t just spill paint on canvas without feeling the connection. It is such love that he loses when he paintings are sold, it such love that he shares when he paintings are bought.

In another display at Artspace, Kinuthia takes the journey of discovery revealing the adventurer in him. He gives a serving of ‘Lukenya Road’ ‘Donkeys in Kikuyu’ and the dull beauty that Naivasha silently exhudes with the lake, the reeds and the peaceful yet eruptive town life. The adventurer in him tells a story of what is within travel, socio-economic association in society and human animal relationships within the Kenya’s Rift Valley among other things.

Kinuthia, who was inspired by American Realist Norman Rockwell, started painting at a very tender age. Initially used water colours to paint his work- the works he misses dearly since he sold all of the pieces. As an artist, he has had to establish himself as a solo most enterprising artist whose works have been exhibited in Nairobi, Lamu (Kenya),  Netherlands, Australia and Ireland.

He has also done commissions for the Republic of Kenya, the Bank of America and the United Nations. A graduate of the Kenya polytechnic, Kinuthia draws lessons from the book of Genesis hence the use of light and dark colours in his works. Furthermore, he has a wealth of knowledge from folk tales and his surroundings which essentially forms a basis of discussion on his works. Lastly, he is among the few artists who are not attached to any gallery, and therefore get individual stands in exhibitions like the Kenya Art Fair.

The exhibition ni ya leo ends in January 14^th, 2017.