An international exhibition grounded in local context
At the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute, the current exhibition brings together three artists whose practices span continents, generations and artistic languages: Michael Armitage, Maria Lassnig and Chelenge Van Rampelberg. The show at NCAI is the second iteration of a travelling exhibition first presented at Kunsthaus Bregenz in Austria, extending a dialogue of the exhibition to an international audience.
In explaining the impetus for this show Armitage paraphrased artist Paul Klee who said that art is there to make the invisible visible – signifying that art’s purpose is to reveal deeper realities, emotions, and unseen forces by expressing inner worlds and abstract concepts over literal representation.
At the exhibition’s core is a shared preoccupation with the human body, how it exists in the world, and how it is related to human condition: how we feel, connect and suffer, as we navigate the world. Though each artist works within distinct contexts of time and location, their practices converge on corporeality and the commonality of human experience.
(L) Chelenge Van Rampelberg – When They Came ( Edition 1/5), 1995 (R) Maria Lassnig – Krieg (War), 12.1989
For Armitage, founder of NCAI and one of the most internationally recognised artists of his generation, the exhibition is also an act of homage and lineage. His relationship to Van Rampelberg, who has been his mentor, teacher, and long-time influence, and his admiration for Lassnig, whom he has described as among the most important painters of all time, shape the curatorial logic of the show. The exhibition is grounded in both aesthetic affinities and lived artistic relationships.
Armitage’s practice revolves around re-rooting his painting in East Africa, using material and figurative language that speak to local audiences, addressing migration and socio-political issues. In this exhibition he is staging a cross-cultural dialogue between his own work, Chelange’s sculpture, and Maria Lassnig’s practice—where the real power lies in making invisible, experiential realities visible.
Significantly, this is Armitage’s first show in Kenya and at NCAI. In an artist’s talk in March, he discussed how, even though he didn’t show his work in Kenya, he still felt that Kenyans should be his primary audience and that his work should resonate with “anyone walking off the streets” here. This led him to focus on more relatable figurative representations in his works. He also reflected on how a chance encounter with Ugandan bark cloth, commonly used for tourist curios in Kenya, sparked his own exploration and use of the material in his works and allowed him to ground them in East Africa.
Michael Armitage – Ol Ngoroi Rock, 2020
Armitage’s works on paper – drawings and lithographs – carry his signature sensitivity to political and emotional undercurrents. Known for his layered compositions and nuanced use of material, he continues to explore tension and tenderness in equal measure.
In contrast, Lassnig’s practice turns inward. A pioneer of what she termed “body awareness,” her drawings map sensation from within. Her figures appear unstable, shifting, often surrealistic and distorted, with a focus on embodying feeling rather than strict representations of the body. This radical, introspective approach has influenced generations of artists and positioned her as a key figure in feminist art histories.
Van Rampelberg’s sculptures and prints anchor the exhibition within a Kenyan context while expanding its emotional register. Working primarily in wood, her forms—frequently female, often relational—speak to intimacy, memory and the complexities of human connection. As a self-taught artist, Van Rampelberg’s work offers a grounded counterpoint to the more academic concerns of her counterparts.
Chelenge Van Rampelberg – The Man II 1992
Van Rampelberg described her foray into woodcarving: “My sculpture starts with an avocado tree, which was growing next to our bedroom, and one part was producing fruits and the other part was dead…and I called a person to come and cut firewood. When it came down…I saw these figures in it. That was the beginning of my sculpture. I began my sculpting not knowing there were tools, sandpaper, strip or something, I was breaking bottles to scrape the work. And I’ve learned a plenty along the way.”
What makes this exhibition particularly resonant in Nairobi is its layering of firsts and returns. It marks the first time works by both Armitage and Lassnig have been shown in the city, while simultaneously situating Van Rampelberg, one of Kenya’s most accomplished sculptors, within an expanded international framework. The result is a reframing of global art histories, highlighting the dialogue possible between works of diverse contextuality.
(L) Maria Lassnig – Kopfstudie mit 1 Glas (Head Study with 1 Glass), ca. 1990 – 1999 (R) Chelenge Van Rampelberg – Labour of Love – 1997
The exhibition invites viewers to encounter the body not as a fixed image, but as a site of experience, bringing together these three distinct and resonant voices which echo one another through practices anchored in an exploration of the human condition, examining corporeality, vulnerability, relationships, and place in the world.