Cheri Samba : dans la collection Jean Pigozzi

From the streets of Kinshasa to the walls of the world’s most famous cultural institutions, Chéri Samba’s work carries with it his ‘signature’ and his universal message. The artist’s gaze and the voice of the people come to life in unique colourful compositions that are sometimes narrative, sometimes denunciatory, sometimes meditative. It is through part of Jean Pigozzi’s exceptional collection of contemporary African art, and its history, that the public will (re)discover and begin to cherish Chéri Samba. A true figurehead of Congolese “popular art”, the artist uses ingenuity and humour to attract the attention of passers-by and visitors, who in his audience are one and the same.
This book, which accompanies the retrospective exhibition at the Musée Maillol curated by Jérôme Neutres and Elisabeth Whitelaw, sheds light on a body of work that is as singular as it is fascinating, transcending all geographical and artistic boundaries.