Assembly Line - 2002

21.7 x 29.5 x 63 cm
Metal sculpture and various materials

Cité des étoiles - 2006

315 x 306 x 306 cm
Steel, aluminium, plastic, wood, glass and electrical components

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Cité des étoiles [detail] - 2006

315 x 306 x 306 cm
Steel, aluminium, plastic, wood, glass and electrical components

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Cité des étoiles [detail] - 2006

315 x 306 x 306 cm
Steel, aluminium, plastic, wood, glass and electrical components

Photo © Luc Boegly

Cité des étoiles [detail] - 2006

315 x 306 x 306 cm
Steel, aluminium, plastic, wood, glass and electrical components

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Cité des étoiles [detail] - 2006

315 x 306 x 306 cm
Steel, aluminium, plastic, wood, glass and electrical components

Photo © Luc Boegly

Drone extraterrestre - 2023

425 x 380 x 170 cm
Metal, wood, plastic, electric components and salvaged materials

Robot Factory (Usine Robotisée) - 2003

97.2 x 123.2 x 328.9 cm
Iron, steel, aluminium, copper, rubber, cardboard, wood and glass

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Robot Factory (Usine Robotisée) [detail] - 2003

97.2 x 123.2 x 328.9 cm
Iron, steel, aluminium, copper, rubber, cardboard, wood and glass

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Robot Factory (Usine Robotisée) [detail] - 2003

97.2 x 123.2 x 328.9 cm
Iron, steel, aluminium, copper, rubber, cardboard, wood and glass

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Robot Factory (Usine Robotisée) [detail] - 2003

97.2 x 123.2 x 328.9 cm
Iron, steel, aluminium, copper, rubber, cardboard, wood and glass

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Station Vampires - 2013

321 x 138 x 158 cm
Iron, aluminium, plastic, found material and electric material

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Station Vampires - 2013

321 x 138 x 158 cm
Iron, aluminium, plastic, found material and electric material

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Station Vampires - 2013

321 x 138 x 158 cm
Iron, aluminium, plastic, found material and electric material

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Station Vampires - 2013

321 x 138 x 158 cm
Iron, aluminium, plastic, found material and electric material

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Station Vampires - 2013

321 x 138 x 158 cm
Iron, aluminium, plastic, found material and electric material

Station Vampires [detail] - 2013

321 x 138 x 158 cm
Iron, aluminium, plastic, found material and electric material

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Station Vampires [detail] - 2013

321 x 138 x 158 cm
Iron, aluminium, plastic, found material and electric material

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Station Vampires [detail] - 2013

321 x 138 x 158 cm
Iron, aluminium, plastic, found material and electric material

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Station Vampires [detail] - 2013

321 x 138 x 158 cm
Iron, aluminium, plastic, found material and electric material

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Venus - 2001

147 x 177.3 x 164.4 cm
Iron, steel, aluminum, copper, plastic material, and electrical materials

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Venus - 2001

147 x 177.3 x 164.4 cm
Iron, steel, aluminum, copper, plastic material, and electrical materials

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Ville Intergalactique - 2005

112 x 172 x 510 cm
Metal, aluminium, plastic, light bulbs and electrical materials

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Ville Intergalactique [detail] - 2005

112 x 172 x 510 cm
Metal, aluminium, plastic, light bulbs and electrical materials

Ville Intergalactique [detail] - 2005

112 x 172 x 510 cm
Metal, aluminium, plastic, light bulbs and electrical materials

Photo © Maurice Aeschimann

Rigobert Nimi

Born 1965, Tshiela, Bas-Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Lives and works in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Living in the midst of the chaos that is contemporary Kinshasa, Rigobert Nimi brings an engineer’s idealism to his commitment to better the world through his art. For Nimi, imagination and creativity are tools to relieve suffering and the difficulties of life. He has commented on his work: “To conceive and construct these machines with rigor and precision is a way for me to make my dreams become concrete realities, to forget everyday life and its difficulties. It is courage, primarily, that has allowed me to succeed. Young artists here are an ignored resource. We are not valued by those who should be encouraging and helping us.”

Nimi has acknowledged that cartoons and science-fiction movies were an early inspiration, and since the year 2000 he has produced a remarkable series of intricate space ships and robot factories. Each work requires careful planning; Nimi calculates and sketches every step of the machine’s construction in advance. He employs recycled materials—industrial detritus, plastic, sheet metal, aluminum, electric components—that he finds in Kinshasa. Cutting, transforming, and molding with his own hands, Nimi employs only five tools: a pair of scissors, a customized knife, universal pliers, bent-nosed pliers, and a ruler. General conception, method, and technical precision are constants in the execution of these monumental works which take more than fifteen months to complete. For Nimi, movement, sound and light are an integral part of the work; the mechanism must be simple, robust, and perform like clockwork.

For many years Nimi has been satisfied to sell his “toys,” yet he dreams of finding the means to realize projects which will astonish the world. He defines himself as a searcher who aims to create extraordinary, impressive works, beyond what people have seen or imagined. Writing to André Magnin, the artist has declared: “To accomplish one’s dreams requires patience and tenacity. What I am producing today has in fact a long history. . . . It has been necessary for you to find me and for you to acknowledge my talent in order for me to finally see a chance to believe in everything that was in my head.”

In July 2023, on the occasion of his first solo exhibition Rigobert Nimi - Oeuvres in situ at the MAMO Art Center, the artist was bestowed with the Medal of Honor of the City of Marseille by Mayor Benoît Payan, who praised the singularity of his work and his openness to the world.

2023

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2020

Alpha Crucis, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Norway (01.22 to 09.30 2020)

2017

Art/Afrique. Le NouvelAtelier, Fondation Louis-Vuitton, Paris, France

2015

L’art et la machine, Musée des Confluences, Lyon, France

2015

Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko, Fondation Cartier, Paris, France

2014

Luminós/C/ity.Ordinary Joy: From the Pigozzi Contemporary African Art Collection, Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

2013/2014

Kin-Babi, Cécile Fakhoury Gallery, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

2011

JapanCongo, Magasin Grenoble, France

2006

"100% Africa", Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain, Oct 2006- Feb. 2007

2005

Arts of Africa, Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, France

2005

African Art Now : Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection, Museum of Fine Art Houston, USA

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

2017

"The Insiders", a selection of works (1989 to 2009) from the Jean Pigozzi collection of African art, Fondation Louis Vuitton Exibition Catalogue, Editions Dilecta

2015

L’art et la machine, Musée des Confluences, Exhibition catalogue, Lienart publishers, Paris

2006

"100% Africa", published by the Guggenheim Bilbao

2005

African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection

Exhibition catalogue. Published by Merrell.