A selection of work by Congolese painter Zemba Luzamba. Contending with the contemporary African social and political landscapes, his colorful paintings emphasize the colonial lifestyles of post-colonial elites, walking the line between satire and realism and prompting viewers to ask themselves: “Is this pure observation, aspiration, or critique?”

Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luzamba later moved to South Africa to pursue his career as an artist — an experience which has allowed him an intimate and sympathetic view of migrant communities and informed many of his works over the last 15 years. His paintings interrogate and satirize social and political power structures in a way that feels simultaneously specific and universal. He paints his subjects in bold fields of color, intentionally disassociating them from concrete spaces or times, and giving his viewers the freedom to interpret these scenes with relevance to their own contexts. 

See more from Zemba Luzamba below!