- Norman Grindley/Staff Photographer
"The Agony" by Kayiga
Sana Rose, Contributor
'A JOURNEY', the collection of over 50 works by the accomplished prolific artist and professor, Kofi Kayiga, is currently on view at The Mutual Gallery.
The experienced artist offers us pieces on paper with a seemingly childlike simplicity infused in them.
Although they are small in scale, the works are not intimate. They are to be viewed from a distance. Standing a few paces away, we note that formally, Kayiga is not inclined to venturing too far from representation, since he presents us with semi-abstract compositions, which utilise an almost illusionary space. The hazy shapes of images such as boats, seas and figures come slightly into focus, bidding us to align them with their representative counterparts.
GESTURAL STROKES
Upon closer inspection, we see active surfaces rendered mainly in the combined media of paint, charcoal and pastel that are layered with scumbles and glazes that mix visually.
In Kayiga's art, we sense the speed at which the gestural strokes were made to produce the interplay of warm colours and implied texture and acknowledge the precedence of diagonal and horizontal lines and shapes, which, despite their geometric leanings, are not rigid due to their softened edges.
One expects a fluidity of expression from a practising artist with many years of experience; the kind of work that evolves out of a creative process infused with critical thinking, investigation and confident mark marking. Regardless of the visual form the work takes, the maturity of thought, process and creativity will be evident.
LACKS REFINEMENT
The works in this exhibition lack this refinement. Although it is apparent that the artist has decided on a simple visual structure from which to work, critical thinking becomes buried beneath marks, which belie any real conceptual framework that the artist may have set up to give his presentation gravity.
The pieces, most of which are dated 2002, reveal that the earliest year is 1981 and the latest 2003, spanning 22 years. With this realisation, a marked sameness emerges across Kayiga's collection which points to questions of search versus repetition. While their titles give us clues to their individual meanings, the works never really draw us into experiencing concrete ideas.
The show is somewhat of an anticlimax for an artist of such great repute. It has left us hanging on to technique, the most interesting aspect of the show as we anticipate Kofi Kayiga's final ingredient in his journey - conceptual depth. 'A Journey' continues until May 16.
