Congolese artist Ngimbi (Luve) Bakambana, represented by Galerie Atiss Dakar, gave 1-54 a tour of his studio located in Paris, France.

More about the artist:

Bakambana’s expressionistic approach to art leverages colour and a gestural style to convey what words express in verbal communication. His paintings, usually large in scale, have at their root a pictorial commentary on Sapeur culture which is centred in the two Congos, and which is reminiscent of Dandy and Rudeboy cultures found elsewhere. In his creative process, Bakambana borrows from various sources that allow him to venture in a chromatic universe, at once philosophical and historical, intertwining pictorial finds from ancient Egypt to Jazz, and parsing them through the expressionist worldview of the Sapologues.

Bakambana’s signature is his mastery of colour, often rendered together in seemingly unworkable yet sublime unions on canvas. Thus, fluorescent apple greens, tango reds, royal blues, sunshine yellows, and pale gold hold together with a gestural freedom, skill and effortlessness that is rare to find.