The Jean Pigozzi African Art Collection

Amani Bodo

Pamba Malonda Bodo aka Amani Bodo

Born 1988, Kinshasa, Zaïre.

Lives and works in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Amani Bodo, a self-taught Kinshasa born artist, grew up in a world of artists beside his father Pierre Bodo, Moké and Chéri Samba who started the now famous Popular School of painting. Amani’s surrealist paintings explore a diverse range of themes from spirituality and sexuality, to the impact and influence of Western culture in Congolese society. He includes strong cosmic elements while also drawing his inspiration from the posters of " Bollywood " cinema with their advertising style.

The particular quality of Amani’s canvasses consists in this technique that just "happened to him" which is to treat them with " Mwangisa " a Lingala term which means to speckle them. Indeed, his paintings are speckled with droplets of colors completely unrelated to the subject matter, but which makes them even more spectacular.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2016

Tambola malembe, Espace Texaf-Bilembo, Kinshasa, RDC

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2019
Congo Paintings, Musée des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie, Vichy, France (05.03 to 10.31 2019)

2013/2014

Kin-Babi, Cécile Fakhoury Gallery, Abidjan

2011

JapanCongo

Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow, Russia

JapanCongo

Magasin Grenoble, France

2009/2010

Africa? Una nuova storia

Complesso del Vittoriano, Roma, Italy

2007

Yambi, Centre Wallonie, Brussels

2005

15 ans de transition

Hotel Memling, Kinshasa

2003

Regard sur la transition

Hôtel Memling, Kinshasa

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2009

Africa? una nuova storia

Exhibition catalogue, published by Gangemi Editore