Chéri Samba

Chéri Samba Born in 1956 in Kinto M’Vuila as the elder son of a family of ten children. His father was a blacksmith and his mother a farmer. In 1972, at the age of 16 he left the village and the school to find work as a sign painter in the capital Kinshasa. From this circle of artists (which included Moke, Bodo…) arose one of the most vibrant schools of popular painting in the twentieth century.

Samba’s paintings of this period reveal his perception of the social, political, economic and cultural realities of Zaïre, exposing all facets of everyday life in Kinshasa. This canvases offer a running commentary on popular customs, sexuality, AIDS and other illnesses, social inequalities, and corruption.