RASTO CYPRIAN: FROM MARSHES, STILL, LIFE FLOWS

  

The Kenyan artist’s explores impermanence in his works with a focus towards growth, change while spreading hope. His work is not only a symbol of growth but also a mirror of journey’s from the past while pointing towards a road less taken.

From Marshes, Rasto Cyprian brings discussion about life in his artworks. At his mid-20s, the young Kenyan Artist’s work is a sight to behold. He speaks a language that is rarely spoken by Kenyans- a language away from politics and hidden deep into the annals of struggle. This language, Kenyans do not speak it; they live it and it is from experience that the young artist has carved a niche for himself.

                                                     Photo: Ephemerals exhibition, Circle Art Gallery 

Even though Rasto Cyprian is making headlines now, he has been titillating with brush from his childhood. While his peers were kicking balls mercilessly on the dusty streets and fields in Kibera- Nairobi. The Busia born artist was busy embedding paints on canvas. This early start would explain his quick rise in the art field.

So far, Rasto Cyprian has had three major Solo exhibition in three different locations in the Kenyan capital. The exhibitions, have not just been a display of works but a journey through which Rasto Cyprian has taken. A graduate from Presbyterian University of East Africa, Cyprian is as versatile as he is focused. With a degree in Education Arts focusing on English Literature his paintings yearn to be studied both for their literary and aesthetic inclination.

It is easy to pass through Cyprian’s work, the way you would read Margaret Ogola’s The River and The Source or Henry Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah. His paintings are very engaging and natural except for the deeper paintings e.g ‘The secrets between us choke me when I sleep, 2024.’ When going through his work, your eyes catch a lily here, a tree there, decaying matter and intertwined marshes or even human faces. These are daily engagements that bring peace and serenity especially for those living in the chaotic city of Nairobi. The paintings breath life and it’s refreshing, just like a good book until when you realise that the book wasn’t just beautiful words patterned into seamless sentences that invigorates the mind, but it has a question, an answer and a debate.

The same realization hits you hard when enjoying Rasto Cyprian’s work. You are walking through a gallery then wait! These are not just marshes, twigs and trees, they are stories. That fresh perspective jolts you back into the present and just like in Giuseppe Tornatore’s 2013 Movie ‘The Best Offer’ when you realize that this movie is not a story of how a lonely art auctioneer and appraiser finds love but its a well crafted heist and revenge by unappreciated artist, you start allover again. You do the same with Rasto Cyprian’s work; looking at the work with renewed interest and a different perspective.

Rasto cyprian’s work can be divided into three major works- in fact, the division is perfectly in sync with his three major solo shows in Nairobi: The Liminal Spaces, Unseen Nairobi (2020); ‘Flowers, Sun and Rain,’ One-Off Contemporary (2024) and, ‘Ephemerals,’ Circle Art Agency, (2026.) These three solo exhibitions are not just isolated but connected both in presentation and in redefining the artist’s journey.

The 2020, ‘Liminal Spaces’ at Unseen Nairobi Gallery was Cyprian’s initial voyage into major solo work in a major gallery. ‘Liminal Spaces’ can be described as an experience of transitioning from one stage in life to another. It is that point of intersection in which things seem strange and one feels so alone as they tackle the ‘newness’ of life. In Liminal spaces, Rasto Cyprian addressed a pivotal point in life: the inevitable change and how we respond to it. Change is in growth as we transition from one stage in life to another; it is in achievement as we celebrate graduation, marriage and the birth of a child; and it is in loss as we try to fathom how to deal with the weight of loss.

‘Liminal spaces’ did not respond to the what to do in times of inevitable change for in itself, the artist sought to find that pathway to change- the in-between before adopting ‘a strategy to embrace change. In it we see the experience of ‘being or feeling lost’ and the endurance that creeps in for survival. Having left Busia as child and growing up in Kibera, ‘Liminal Spaces’ offered Rasto Cyprian a perfect metaphor for a journey he had taken and a promise of undefined tomorrow.

The 2024 ‘Flowers, Sun and Rain’ at One-Off Contemporary Gallery ushered in the middle phase in Rasto Cyprian’s growth. In it the artist explores renewal, revival and vitality. The flowers bloom bringing with them hope, love and happiness. In them we see the renewal of life, growth and the freshness that comes with vitality. The rain replenishes, regrows and freshens making the earth produce new life. The sun, on the other hand, makes life real, livable and lovable. In the sun we see a new dawn and a good bye wave at the last of it in the evening as the day dies.

‘Flowers, Sun and Rain, accordingly, was a deliberate successor to ‘Liminal Spaces.’ It ushered in a new phase not only in the life of the artist but in the way his art had grown. From ‘Liminal’- age of uncertainty- to growth; sense of purpose and positive direction. In Flowers, Sun, and Rain’ the artist also points to the fact that life is cyclic. Indeed, flowers bloom, but their glory in the sun is not permanent; they are just a transitional phase. From flowers, fruits emerge and from fruits, life emerges. The sun and the rain are elements in nature that define how life behaves on the terra firma. They define decay, dryness, and even flowering thus reshaping how humans and animals interact with nature. In ‘Flowers, Sun and Rain’ Rasto Cyprian is no longer stuck in liminality but has progressed towards growth, actualization and the dawn of reality. In it, there is hope.

After the 2024 successful exhibition of ‘Flowers, Sun and Rain”, Rasto Cyprian would re-emerge at Circle Art Agency in June 2026 with an exhibition dubbed ‘Ephemerals.’ In this show, Rasto brought almost twenty pieces of his latest works. The pieces on display showcased unprecedented transitions only an art savvy individual would grasp. Cyprian has never been a loud artist and that is what makes his art resonate. His work speaks a silent measured language. Whether it is about the weather or a serious emotion, Cyprian’s work is calm, calculated and deeply engaging. It wants to be seen yet, it screams not. It is from this deep silence that the Kibera slums raised artist embeds deep philosophical musings.

Rasto Cyprian's ‘Ephemerals’ is very distinctive and stands out as an art emerging fresh from the marshes- literally, as well as, figuratively. As it were, the artist,has carved out a niche in which, he speaks for the bushes, the marshes and the swamps. From lush green to deathly black of the dying and decaying marsh, the young Kenyan explores a myriad of themes hidden, yet plainly seen in the circles of the murky waters. Plainly, Cyprian’s art may mimic the story of dying ecosystems- especially riparian and swampy ecosystem. Invaded by human activities, our soggy grounds have slowly morphed into multistory architectural marvels. From residential apartments, to shopping malls, the fresh breath of life that once was, is now dumped in a land fill, especially in Kenya's modern urban landscape

Cyprian’s symbolism, in ‘Ephemerals’ transcends architectural marvels to the dynamic ecology that changes with seasons. Sometimes, the land is green- trees are healthy and, looking down at the ground, the roots are in a peaceful embrace holding the thick overgrowth that smiles at the defiant sun. The soggy grounds are also filled with dead and decaying matter in which life grows. While the roots look delicate, they also play and important role in putting the growing marshes in place, never surrendering to the brutality of the raging river as seen in ‘River Bank, 2026’ and ‘Downstream, 2026.’ Holding firmly onto the clay soil, the plants declare a war on the raging water and thus the evidence is seen in the loosely hanging twigs (River Bank,2026) and the swirling vortex of drying browning reeds (Downstream, 2026.)

In ‘Ephemerals, also, life takes on different shades, from luminous green of fresh vegetation (Herbs II,2026) to the deathlike decaying matter of marshes (Dissolving memories I & II, 2026.) This speaks a lot about transitions, the in-between and the inevitable changes in the riparian life. Looking at the paintings, one is walking from one end, in the beginning of life, in the middle and the end of life. Yet one does not feel that ending or that beginning or that middle because they are captured in stillness- a peaceful stillness disturbed by the occasional marsh animals and the wind, the moving water along the banks of rivers and sometimes human activities.

Cyprian was detailed in capturing the delicate roots, the intricate patterns of stems and roots, the disturbance caused by motion and the resilience in towering trees. His generosity is revealed in fullness of the canvas as color covers every corner of the canvas.

However, Cyprian’s work is not about the environment and the devastation of human habitation on aquatic life. It is deeper and more intriguing than what one can see hanging on the walls. It delves into individual psyche and wants to answer questions pondered over in philosophy on the state of being and the integral part of change.

From ‘Liminal Spaces’ to ‘Ephemerals’, Rasto Cyprian delves into the issue of impermanence. From ‘Liminal Spaces’ we learn the reality of struggle, how life’s experiences compels us into moments of indecision and confusion. Then comes the “Flowers, Sun and Rain’ in which optimism and hope is implanted. In this hope, we see never changing progress and bliss becomes part of our toil. However, like in Robert Frost’s poem, ‘Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening’ we are confronted by the cruelty of life. Yes, ‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep’ there are moments of resignation yet life has to go on. However, all this toil, accumulation of stuff is for naught, since we come to realise that everything has an ‘expiry date.’ In a nutshell, Rasto Cyprian tells a middle-class gallery audience that permanence is an illusion sold by stone buildings, and that real permanence lives in ephemeral communities like Kibera. He uses his art both in technique and imagery to espouse his deeper understanding of life.

Rasto Cyprian has exhibited extensively in Kenya and abroad. Apart from solo shows, group exhibitions include Held High – Held Back, House of Friends, Kibera (2026); The Middle Ground, Kofisi Art, Nairobi (2025), African Identities, AKKA Project Venice, Italy (2022), Shifting Tides, Kobo Trust, Nairobi (2022); Unbound, Village Market, Nairobi (2022); Art fairs include ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair with ArtCN Gallery, Shanghai (2023); WopArt 2022 with AKKA Project (2022). Prizes include the Mask Art Prize in the Promising Artists under 25 in Kenya category (2017). Publications include the 2022 edition of the GIDA Journal.