Georges Lilanga

Georges Lilanga (1934-2005) was a Tanzanian painter and sculptor, internationally renowned. Nicknamed the Picasso of Africa, Lilanga is a major artist of the contemporary African scene.

George Lilanga accorded as much importance to sculpture as to painting and deployed a very homogeneous artistic universe. The small brightly colored figurines evoking the characters and legends of Makondé mythology. He was doted with inexhaustible creativity and fantasy.

Lilanga originated  from the  Makondé Highlands, a neighboring region between Tanzania and Mozambique, and a major center of Makonde culture, famous for its Mapico dance, linked to male and female initiation rites and for its art of sculpture.

The latter, as well as the Mapico dance, with its masks and costumes, convey a strong social criticism and a keen sense of caricature. The sculptures in particular express a wide range of feelings ranging from humor to anguish.

His work is loaded with the spiritual universe of his community, including Mapico dances, Shetanis – good and bad spirits representing the qualities and faults of men, parties and social conflicts – and the symbolism Ujamaa, reflection of human solidarity. Each of his paintings is populated by very expressive characters who seem in perpetual motion.

Nicknamed “the Picasso of Africa”, George Lilanga fed on all these traditions, which he renewed in a contemporary context.

He used a very contemporary, personal and innovative aesthetic.

His artworks have marked the art world and he quickly enjoyed a successful international career and seduced collectors.

He has exhibited in many countries, Tanzania, Kenya, Austria, Japan, France, United Kingdom, Senegal and Italy, among others. He has exhibited in prestigious museums such as the Pompidou Center or the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

In addition to his comparison with Picasso, Keith Haring said he found the formula of his little humanoids by discovering the works of Lilanga.