AiR: Ricardo Kapuka - Studio Exhibition

Since mid-November Ricardo Kapuka, from Catumbela, Benguela, Angola, has been in residence at the AVA Salon studio. Meticulously cutting stencils in the first few weeks, Kapuka rendered scenes of daily life in Africa in acrylic spray paint to canvas and wood, sometimes also to traditional African fabric. The scenes invoke the other medium in which the artist excels: stop motion animation. As if frozen in a moment, two slip-slopped teenagers cross….a street, we imagine. Because only the curved bodies, turned up or down faces, remain. Then a background emerges. Far removed from the original street scene, Kapuka finds rectangles, circles and other strikingly flat surfaces that emanate from the breathing and moving bodies. The contrast is as much conspicuous as surprisingly organic. The colours bright yet soothingly nuanced. Kapuka takes stencil art, still or in animation, to yet another level.

Kapuka, a self-taught artist skilled in freehand drawing, animation, graphic design, painting, and other mixed media, has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in Angola and Portugal (where he lived from 1994 - 2009), as well as in Paris (AKAA 2019).

The residency project is a collaboration between Association for Visual Arts, ELA - Espaço Luanda Arte and Worldart.