Bouvy Enkobo Congo/France, b. 1981

Much like the German expressionist Ernst Kirchner's dystopian street scenes, Enkobo's paintings are a thoughtful exploration into the anxieties of urban life.  Enkobo's vivid brushstrokes and melee of colors, shapes, and collages all come together in a cohesive explosion of energy that represents his glimpses into urban living in Kinshasa - but which are seemingly representative of all urban dweller's lives.

 

Eschewing the figurative style of some of his famous Congolese predecessors, such as Cheri Samba or Camille-Pierre Pambu Bodo, Enkobo adopts a style that is decidedly abstract and distinctive in the Congo - forging a new path for abstraction in Kinshasa. Instead of featuring key figures in his works, the subject or subjects are often swept up into the landscape of each city scene - with only suggestive tokens of their existence - further expressing the power of the city and the environment to shape and overpower our independence,  making us simply patches in the tapestry as opposed to central heroes.

 

Enkobo has exhibited widely in DRC and Belgium, taking part Maendelo exhibition in at the Walloon Parliament and Walloon Contemporary Art Centre in 2013 in Brussels and becoming the winner of the European Union special prize at Yango Biennale in Kinshasa in 2014. His work is found in numerous international private collections, as well as part of the collection of the Delegation of the European Union in DRC and Fondation Hirondelle.