Artist Profile

Meek Gichugu was born in Ngecha, Kenya’s ‘Village of Artists’ and so grew up enveloped in the bright embrace of artistic expression. He began painting at the age of 14 and his work swiftly caught the eye of one of the fathers of contemporary East African Art: Sane Wadu. Under Wadu’s guidance, Gichugu’s unique surrealistic visions took firm hold of his canvases. His compositions morphed into unexpected, and sometimes startling, marriages of machinery, human limbs and elements of nature. In 1991, at just 22 years old, Gichugu burst onto the international scene with the enormous success of his first solo exhibition—“Forward with the Past” at Gallery Watatu—which sold out entirely. Since that time, Gichugu has remained a formidable figure in East African art by continuing to create compelling pieces that call on the viewer not only to admire, but to think about and question what they see.

Artists Portfolio

Gallery Watatu Ltd
Standard Street, Lonrho House, Ground Floor
P.O. Box 41855
Nairobi, Kenya.
Tel: +254(0)738501838