This abstract artwork features a bold splash of vibrant purple amidst a monochromatic, textured background. The predominant shapes are organic and asymmetrical, creating a sense of movement and energy. The artist's expressive brushstrokes and the interplay of light and shadow suggest a raw, emotive quality. The piece appears to be a powerful exploration of contrasts, both in terms of color and technique, inviting the viewer to contemplate the interplay between the tangible and the intangible. The artist's intention seems to be to evoke a deeply personal, even subconscious, response through this visually captivating and conceptually engaging work. ...
Kura Shomali’s work is instantly recognizable for its dynamic lines, ink splashes, and vibrant energy, reflecting the bustling, chaotic life of Kinshasa that inspires him at every turn. His practice captures the city’s rhythm and disorder, translating its sounds, movements, and textures into vivid, layered visual compositions. Although he has experimented with video, installations, puppetry, and found materials, Shomali ultimately refined his signature style through drawing. Working primarily on paper, he combines gouache, ink, felt-tip pens, charcoal, and collage, creating pieces with distinctive textures and a lively, expressive quality. His early drawings, made with urgency and immediacy, drew inspiration from the circulation of hand-to-hand magazines and the energetic pulse of the city, embodying Kinshasa’s vibrant megacity life. In recent works, Shomali reinterprets iconic images from African photographers such as Samuel Fosso, Malick Sidibé, and Jean Depara, infusing them with humor and a contemporary perspective. He also continues to create puppets from found objects, animating them in videos to comment on corruption, conflict, and social issues, blending critique with playfulness. Across the media, his work combines spontaneity, satire, and observation to portray the vitality, contradictions, and resilience of contemporary Congolese life. ...
