BIO My interest in art began as a small child mostly doing pencil sketches. I was greatly influenced by the beautiful art found in the catholic churches I attended which were ardoned by religious paintings, sculptures and stained windows. In primary school, I mostly sketched from story books and comics. I extended the sketching into high school where my interest in portraiture began. I joined University of Nairobi in 2016 to study Architecture fascinated by its ability to express art in built form and structures that interact with humans whilst influencing their experience throughout the interaction. Throughout my studies I continued to create art with a special interest in pencil portraiture while taking on commisions. NJERI KAGIMA JAMES
ARTIST Personal Information
Date of Birth 10th May 1998 Phone +254706350620 Email james.kagima43@gmail.com Behance James Kagima Instagram @kagima_art
In 2018-2019, I joined Studio Soku as a mentee in the Safari Mentorship Arts Program where I got to experiment with different media while seeking to extend my artistic expression. I picked up interest in creating portraiture with mixed midea to give my creation a personaI and human feel. I became a member of the studio collective and got chance to showcase in open studio exhibitions organised by the studio. I had the chance to exhibit in different exhibitions around Nairobi while persuing the architectural discource with a keen interest in product design. In 2020,I graduated from the University of Nairobi with a degree in architectural studies.
Education
Hard Skills
UNIVERSITY University of Nairobi (Bachelors degree in architectural studies)
Pencil Aclyric painting Gouache Charcoal
ARTIST STATEMENT My creations draw inspiration from my experiences as a young, black and african youth. In the quest to achieve my “dreams”, I have experinced different feelings and emotions. I have made obseravtions biased by myown point of view, perspective and experience which I intend to bring out in my creations. I also realised that my experiences are not only unique to myself only but also resonate and are similar to that of other humans that experience life. The dominant theme in all my works is documenting black people and the experiences that they go through with the mission of playing a role in future the emergence of more black and african artists and act as a template or footprint in the documentation of the black and african experience.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS AND SHOWS EXHIBITION/SHOW NAME VENUE
DATE
2021 Art in Isolation
National Museum of Kenya
10th May- 30 June 2021
National Museum of Kenya
23rd Oct- 1st Nov 2020
ADD building(Arch studio)
19th - 23rd February 2020
2020 The Affordable art show ASA In Studio culture week 2019 8th November 2019
Beyond Architecture
ADD building(Arch studio)
Nolstagia
Studio Soku
Studio Soku Open Studio
Studio Soku
The Affordable art show
National Museum of Kenya
26-27th March 2019
Harakati(2nd Day)
Studio Soku
16th December 2018
Harakati(Opening Day)
BSQ studio
15th December 2018
Listening to my Soul
Studio Soku
13th October 2018
8th November 2019 4th May 2019
2018
SELECTED WORKS
Title: ALTERNATE POSSIBILITIES II Medium: Digital artwork Year: 2021
Title: ALTERNATE POSSIBILITIES Medium: Digital artwork Year: 2021
SELECTED WORKS
Title: FALLING Size: 52cm x 36cm Medium: mixed midea Year: 2021
Title: Father Stretch My Hands I Size: 52cm x 36cm Medium: mixed midea on paper Year: 2021
Title: Father Stretch My Hands II Size: 52cm x 36cm Medium: mixed midea on paper Year: 2021
Title: Black Boy Flourish II Size: 76cm x 52cm Medium: mixed mideaon paper Year: 2021
Title: Black Boy Flourish I Size: 76cm x 52cm Medium: mixed mideaon paper Year: 2021
SELECTED WORKS Title: KING HOVA Size: A4 Medium: Glass pencil and acrylic paint on paper Year: 2019
Title: KING KENDRICK Size: A4 Medium: Glass pencil and acrylic paint Year: 2019
Title: KING SIMONE Size: A4 Medium: Glass pencil and acrylic paint Year: 2019