George Lilanga

GEORGE LILANGA (Tanzania, 1934 - 2005).
Untitled.
Acrylic on táblex.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 124 x 246 cm.
Attached certificate of Hendrick Lilanga, son of the artist.
One of the most famous African artists of the 20th century, George Lilanga was born in the village of Kikwetu, in southern Tanzania. Like most Makonde youths, he learned woodcarving in the tradition of his village. He first showed his works to Europeans working in the refugee camp during the Mozambique war of independence and, following their advice, in 1970 he decided to move to Dar es Salaam, the most populated city in Tanzania, where there were more opportunities to sell his sculptures. During these years the artist came into contact with the artistic circles of the Tingatinga school and in 1972, after more than ten years dedicated exclusively to wood carving, he decided to focus his career on painting. Only two years later, in 1974, the National Museum of Dar es Salaam presents some of his works. In 1977 he left Africa for the first time and traveled to New York, where he held an exhibition at the Marycoll Ossing Center. He remained for a brief period in Manhattan, selling prints of his work on the street. The following year he would take part in a group exhibition of African artists held in Washington D.C., where of the two hundred and eighty works presented, about one hundred were his. Lilanga's work was considered an important influence on the young American graffiti artists of the time (Keith Haring stated in an interview that his language was influenced by Lilanga's work). At this time he began a long series of exhibitions around the world, achieving increasing success in Africa as well as in Europe, the United States, India and Japan. From the eighties onwards Lilanga will devote himself almost exclusively to painting, representing on boards made of cheap materials figures and scenes starring "shetani", spirits from East African mythology that appear as distorted figures of men, women or animals. In the late 1990s his health problems became more complicated, suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure, and he even lost a leg to gangrene. Lilanga died in June 2005 in Dar es Salaam, in his home workshop in the Mbagala neighborhood.