This striking contemporary artwork features a bold, abstract composition rendered in vivid shades of red and black. The central element appears to be a distorted, organic form reminiscent of a creature or organism, with intricate patterns and textures that suggest a sense of energy and movement. The artwork's use of strong, contrasting colors, along with the dynamic composition, creates a visually arresting and thought-provoking piece that invites the viewer to explore its underlying themes and symbolism. The artist's intention may be to challenge perceptions and evoke a visceral response, drawing on the power of abstraction to convey complex ideas about the natural world or the human experience. ...
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. ...
