The extraordinary at Strokes of Splendor

Godfrey Banadda and Kizito Maria Kasule showcase masterly skills in painting in a two-man Show

ART | DOMINIC MUWANGUZI | Three paintings of nude figures in charcoal black will seize your attention on entry to the Umoja art gallery. Each of the three nubile females pose elegantly with their naked bodies reclining on one side and supported by the elbow; a classic pose of many female models in European Modernist nude paintings. Within, the same space, artworks of women figures painted in semi-abstract styles hang inviting similar attention and curiosity. Their form and colour is splendid and evoke a rare quality of studio competence that can be matched to one who’s a master of his craft. The artist, Kizito Maria Kasule, is a familiar name on the Uganda Modern and Contemporary art scene and his repute as an accomplished painter and sculptor is undisputable. The ability to fuse his technical skills in sculpture with painting to create grandeur images on canvas is remarkably amazing.

The second half of the two-man show is Godfrey Banadda, who like his contemporary is highly skilled in studio practice. His paintings provide a breathtaking perspective on an artist who has mastered the use of colour and deploys it on canvas as both a representation of the themes he’s exploring and as a therapeutic tool for his diverse audiences. Banadda’s extensive and intense exploitation of the oil medium on his canvases gives him a leverage as a colourist to not only enhance the visual appeal of his narratives but draw in as many different audiences in his art. As such, the unifying factor between these two artists within the context of the exhibition, Strokes of Splendor, is their technical approach to their art. Both artists are prolific painters who dominantly work with oils- a challenging medium- and emphasize the exploration of different forms, to produce paintings that linger in the mind of the viewer with their startling compositions.

While the artists have a commonality in studio approach, their choice of subject matter and themes differ from time to time. Kizito Maria’s paintings in this exhibition are generally a continuation of his pursuit to connect the visual arts to the political, social and economic narratives of his immediate surroundings: Uganda and Africa as a continent. His figurative paintings either interrogate the subjects of social justice, the human condition or political disarray in the contemporary times. The female figure in his paintings is a powerful symbol to represent his sentiments on issues that underlie his psyche. Nonetheless, he communicates such feels and emotions in a poetic manner hence the presentation of his abstracted figures on canvas with different facial and gestural expressions in order to provoke deep thought about the art. For example, in one painting he paints three women entwined with almond eyes, gazelle necks and slim round faces; symbols of feminine beauty. Their wide stare- perhaps a symbol of confidence- coupled with their poise, suggest women of high status and virtue.

On the other hand, Banadda’s paintings are largely contextualized in the Ganda culture and therefore offer an interesting insight into its rich and diverse cultural heritage. The artist’s technique to reference particular norms and traditions of the ethnic group for example, the traditional belief in Nabuzaana; a female deity concerned with duties of the feminine gender; specifically, fertility and the household kitchen, illustrates an artist whose artistic practice is rooted in indigenous cultures. More so, he uses these folklores- the artist also evokes the legend of Namunye (the census bird) in his paintings- to create a marriage of both the traditional and the modern on the same canvas. Through such familiar imagery the artist builds deep conversations about his art while prompting his audience to reflect on the importance of research in the visual arts.

Strokes of Splendor exhibition is a celebration of two well established artists on the Uganda Modern and Contemporary art scene. Their proficiency in studio work that leads to the production of such startling artworks on showcase is what sets them apart from the crowd. Indeed, it is through their different techniques of working which involves routine research on different subject they are tackling in their work, like is the case with Banadda’s kaleidoscopic paintings or the harmonization of colour and form on canvas as observed in Kizito Maria’s distinctive paintings, that their names are forever etched among the living masters of Modern and Contemporary art in Uganda. As such this exhibition, underscores their artistic practice as unique and inspirational and should be emulated by other artists within the region.

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The exhibition Strokes of Splendor is showing at Umoja art gallery located on Moyo Close, Bukoto, Kampala.