PRESS RELEASE
“S T R E E T A T T I T U D E” 5/12/2015 - 31/1/2016
KRISTINE TSALA Cameroon – Painting
Out of Africa Gallery – Carrer Major 7 with carrer Nou – 08870 Sitges (Barcelona) www.galeria-out-of-africa.com – sorella@galeria-out-of-africa.com - +34 618 356 351
STREET ATTITUDE Opening from December 5th until January 31st 2016, Out of Africa gallery of Sitges (Barcelona) hosts "Street Attitude", an exhibition of paintings by Cameroon artist Kristine Tsala. Kristine Tsala is one of the most prominent artists of the current contemporary scene in Cameroon. A member of the artistic collective 3Kokorikos, the 36 year-old artist lives and works in Douala. In her paintings she reflects the abundance of life with a proliferation of colour and form, which she labels Street Attitude. In order to highlight and put into context the slender, elegant and athletic figures featured in the artist's work, the gallery will also be showing a collection of traditional Bogolan textiles and ethnic jewellery, carefully sourced during our recent trip to Burkina Faso.
The role of female African artists
Kristine Tsala – 1979 – Yaoundé – Cameroon
Over the last thirty years, the African art scene has experienced an unprecedented development. A new generation of artists has transformed the image of African art, renewed and pushed the boundaries of artistic expression, rivalling with the greatest creators of the occidental world. The role played by women in this change is undisputed. These female artists share the same passion: to create, explore, undertake and defy the codes that often chaff their skin. After having exhibited Cameroon photographer Angèle Etoundi Essamba, the Out of Africa gallery is truly proud to present a second female African artist: Kristine Tsala.
Tsala's artistic vocation Kristine Tsala, (Yaoundé, Cameroon, 1979) is a daughter of the forest. She lived in her village surrounded by majestic trees until she was eighteen. Art resonated in her and she felt the need to depict things in tune to her own sensibility and vision. The figures Tsala paints have replaced the trees.
Kristine Tsala (Cameroon) – Sweet Escal 2 – 2015 - 150cm H x 120cm W – Acrylic on canvas
Her mother played an important role furthering her daughter´s vocation by signing her up for the entrance exam to the Institut de Formation Artistique (IFA) in Mbalmayo Cameroon. Kristine continued her studies at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Here she met Cameroonian Samuel Dallé and Congolese Aza Mansongi and in 2006 they formed the artistic collective, 3Kokorikos. This collective was a source of positive energy that continues even today to provide an important support in her career.
Tsala's source of inspiration
Kristine Tsala (Cameroon) – Photo de famille 2 – 2015 – 120cm H x 120cm W– Acrylic on canvas
The street is Tsala's source of inspiration. There are men and women that the artist comes across daily as they get on with life. The artist is fascinated with the streets of Douala: their colour, what they look like, the sound of the claxons, the spices, the scent in the air... The women she depicts seem to converse as they walk the streets or as they gather round enjoying a drink.
Tsala's vision The paintings are characterised by both soft and bursting colours allowing the viewer to contemplate to a canvas imbued with meaningful messages. The slender and elegant figures with long necks are stretched and blown up in size. Tsala's work thus gains impact. Within a framework that merges mystical signs and masks, Kristine Tsala offers a split vision, that of inner conflict between what is visible and invisible, and also that of the duality of modernism and tradition in these difficult times of social integration.
Tsala's technique
Kristine Tsala (Cameroon) – Sweet Escal – 2015 - 150cm H x 120cm W - Acrylic on canvas
In her current work, Tsala uses loincloth fabric and glues it and binds it to the acrylic paint. She also creates pieces where collage is not present, using oil paint or acrylic. Canvas or wood are her painting surfaces. Kristine Tsala loves to experiment with technique and colour. She is constantly renewing textures and her chromatic "ecosystem". Her influences are many: drawing inspiration from the class displayed by Parisian Jean Gabriel Domergue or the mannerisms of Modigliani's female figures or from masks and African statuettes, flora and fauna.
Exhibitions 2015 – « Street Attitude », Out of Africa, Sitges Barcelona, Spain 2014 – Fondation Valette, Switzerland 2013 – Atelier « La fashion attitude », Institut de formation artistique de Mbalmayo, Cameroon 2012 – Djeuga Palace, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Kristine Tsala (Cameroon) – Ombre mouvante – 2015 – 60cm H x 80cm W – Acrylic on canvas
Kristine Tsala (Cameroon) – Photo de famille 1 – 2015 – 120cm H x 120cm W – Acrylic on canvas
2012 – « From village to town », Centre d’art contemporain Doual’art , Collectif 3Kokorikos, Doula, Cameroon 2010 – Atelier « Trans », Centre d’art contemporain Doual’art, Douala, Cameroon 2010 – Exhibition, Collectif 3Kokorikos, Centre Culturel Français François Villon, Yaoundé, Cameroon 2008 – 80m x 3m fresco, French Lycée Kinshasa, DR Congo, Collectif 3Kokorikos & Belgian artist Arnauld Debal 2008 – « Kinshasa vue d’ici et d’ailleurs », Multi media installation, Collectif 3Kokorikos and Collectif Kabola, Centre Wallonie Bruxelles, Kinshasa, DR Congo 2008 – « Voyage in », Collectif 3Kokorikos, Centre culturel français, Kinshasa, DR Congo 2008 – « Face au temps », Collectif 3Kokorikos, Centre Carter, Kinshasa, DR Congo 2007 – « Regard », Collectif 3Kokorikos, Centre Carter, Kinshasa, DR Congo 2006 – « Under African skies », Sankaranka Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, USA 2004 – « Bayam salam amazone moderne », Residency & exhibition, Galerie Mis’art, Cameroon 2003 - « Let’us rebuild », Collectif Beez’art United Artist, Palais des Congrès, Yaoundé, Cameroon 2002 – Jeune peinture camerounaise – Pinceaux en couleur, Musée National, Cameroon
For more information kindly contact: Sorella Acosta Director, Out of Africa Gallery sorella@galeria-out-of-africa.com +34 618 356 351