And so it is 3,200.00

2015 - Painting (Painting)

195.5 x 149.5 cm

Michael Armitage


In “And so it is” shows the image of a faceless man before a microphone, ready to deliver an important message. The viewer is faced with the familiar image of political power seen in our homes on the television, yet this time located in a whimsical abstract landscape. The speaker appears as a shadow in front of a crowd that is responding to him by holding bubbles containing images of animals and plants. While sensual in its aesthetic, the painting’s political overtones question the structures and centralisation of political power and its constituencies that construct society. The style and composition of the piece refer to Gauguin and Matisse and the idea of a terrestrial paradise sought by the two painters. Yet, the artist interrogates the romantic idea of a preserved Africa and the idea today of a lost paradise. “And so it is” is an enquiry into the complex political and artistic history between the Global North and the Global South.


Michael Armitage (b. 1984, Nairobi, Kenya) examines different perspectives of reality in his large figurative paintings that reference current affairs, Internet gossip and exchanges and his history and memories of Kenya. Painting with oil on traditional Ugandan canvases, Lubugo, made from trees whose bark is used as blankets, the artist at once dislocated this tradition from its roots and locates his history in the painting itself. In applying the painting in successive layers, Armitage’s figures merge some into others, and disappears others completely—a technique employed to interrogate constructed truths that we are told. The landscape—the urban, rural and colonial—remains a central theme in his work. Using the landscape as a location but also a metaphor, the artist traverses sites of social and political trauma, specifically wealth disparities, violence and the harsh legacy of inequality between men, women, Black and White.


Colors:



Related works sharing similar palette

Météo des forêts
© » SLASH PARIS

Météo des forêts — La MABA — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook Météo des forêts — La MABA — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Météo des forêts Exhibition Film, installation, mixed media Upcoming Julien Prévieux et Virginie Yassef, L’Arbre, 2009 — Image : Élie Godard Film Super 8 transféré sur DVD — 7 min 18 — Ed 4 + 2 Courtesy des artistes Météo des forêts In about 1 month: January 18 → April 7, 2024 La MABA présente, du 18 janvier au 7 avril 2024, Météo des forêts : une exposition collective réunissant des travaux d’artistes de diverses générations travaillant différents médiums (dessin, photographie, vidéo, sculpture, installation…)...

Newly Discovered Oil Sketch By John Constable Fetches £200,000
© » ARTLYST

An newly attributed oil sketch by the renowned 19th-century English landscape painter John Constable has gone under the hammer in Guernsey...

Radcliffe Bailey, an artist who examined Black American experience, has died at 55.
© » ARTSY

Radcliffe Bailey, an artist who examined Black American experience, has died at 55...

A Warehouse Full of Art: What Will Happen to Silvio Berlusconi’s Collection? - via The Art Newspaper
© » LARRY'S LIST

Italy’s controversial former prime minister, who died in June, amassed tens of thousands of works—of varying quality...

Art Collector to Plant 299 Trees in a Stadium to Protest Inaction About Climate Change - via Hyperallergic
© » LARRY'S LIST

The idea was inspired by a 1970 drawing depicting a forest entrapped in a big city soccer stadium....

Mysterious Magritte Painting Could Fetch $63M at Auction
© » HYPERALLERGIC

Mysterious Magritte Painting Could Fetch $63M at Auction Skip to content René Magritte, “L’ami intime (The Intimate Friend)” (1958), oil on canvas, 28.5/8 x 25.1/2 inches (image courtesy the Gilbert and Lena Kaplan Collection and Christie’s London) In a centenary celebration of the artistic and literary movement spawned by André Breton’s Surrealist Manifesto (1924), Christie’s London will host its Art of the Surreal evening sale on March 7 with a leading highlight that hasn’t been shown since 1998...

Caroline Polachek gets festive with Bimba y Lola
© » DAZED DIGITAL

Caroline Polachek gets festive with Bimba y Lola | Dazed ⬅️ Left Arrow *️⃣ Asterisk ⭐ Star Option Sliders ✉️ Mail Exit Fashion Q+A Shot by Petra Collins, the singer is the face of the Spanish label’s latest Christmas campaign Bimba Y Lola 11 December 2023 Text Dazed Digital Bimba y Lola by Petra Collins featuring Caroline Polachek 6 Last year, Bimba y Lola enlisted photographer Petra Collins for its AW22 campaign...

People Can Be Prescribed “Photography” as a Mental Health Treatment in the UK
© » MODERN MET PHOTOGRAPHY

People in the UK Can Be Prescribed Photography to Treat Mental Health Home / Science / Health People Can Be Prescribed “Photography” as a Mental Health Treatment in the UK By Margherita Cole on December 6, 2023 Photo: olhovyi_photographer/ Depositphotos Creative outlets like drawing and painting are great ways of exploring your emotions and relieving stress...

The Costume Institute’s ‘Women Dressing Women’ Exhibit Is Long Overdue But Also Lacking
© » OBSERVER

Review: ‘Women Dressing Women’ at the Met’s Costume Institute | Observer When it comes to fashion, we tend to celebrate male designers...

Rubber Man
© » KADIST

Khvay Samnang

2014

The video Rubber Man continues exploring issues related to land use, also noticeable in his Untitled series (2011)...

Come In From the Blizzard: Outsider Art Fair
© » ARTREPORT

Come In From the Blizzard: Outsider Art Fair – Art Report News ARTISTS Artist Highlights Artist Interviews Studio Visit VIDEOS ART+ Community Listicles No Result View All Result News ARTISTS Artist Highlights Artist Interviews Studio Visit VIDEOS ART+ Community Listicles No Result View All Result No Result View All Result Come In From the Blizzard: Outsider Art Fair by December Projects Jan 27, 2016 in NEWS 0 Cai Dongdong, Klein Sun Gallery...

Timur Merah Project II; The Harbor of Restless Spirit
© » KADIST

Citra Sasmita

2019

The work Timur Merah Project 2, the harbour of restless spirit is stretched out on a full cow’s hide, replicates the Kamasan Balinese painterly language that Citra Sasmita has developed in her recent works...

Météo des forêts
© » SLASH PARIS

Météo des forêts — La MABA — Exposition — Slash Paris Connexion Newsletter Twitter Facebook Météo des forêts — La MABA — Exposition — Slash Paris Français English Accueil Événements Artistes Lieux Magazine Vidéos Retour Météo des forêts Exposition Film, installations, techniques mixtes À venir Julien Prévieux et Virginie Yassef, L’Arbre, 2009 — Image : Élie Godard Film Super 8 transféré sur DVD — 7 min 18 — Ed 4 + 2 Courtesy des artistes Météo des forêts Dans environ un mois : 18 janvier → 7 avril 2024 La MABA présente, du 18 janvier au 7 avril 2024, Météo des forêts : une exposition collective réunissant des travaux d’artistes de diverses générations travaillant différents médiums (dessin, photographie, vidéo, sculpture, installation…)...

Mr. Shadow 2
© » KADIST

Nontawat Numbenchapol

2018

The series of prints titled Mr...

Watch a Bay Area Hip-Hop Game Show
© » KQED

Watch a Bay Area Hip-Hop Game Show | KQED Skip to Nav Skip to Main Skip to Footer That's My Word Watch a Bay Area Hip-Hop Game Show Gabe Meline Dec 1 Save Article Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Facebook Share-FB Twitter Share-Twitter Email Share-Email Copy Link Copy Link It started as an improbable idea: What if KQED hosted a game show about Bay Area hip-hop? What if we pulled contestants out of the crowd to test their knowledge on Mac Dre, Andre Nickatina and Too Short? Like Jeopardy meets Name That Tune , but make it player? The result was That’s My Word: A Bay Area Hip-Hop Game Night , starting at about 23:30 in the video above...

Karina Sharif gives Black femmes a voice through her art
© » I-D VICE ART

Karina Sharif gives Black femmes a voice through her art advertisement...

Weekly Picks: Malaysia (29 Oct – 4 Nov 2018)
© » ARTS EQUATOR

Weekly Picks: Malaysia (29 Oct – 4 Nov 2018) | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Weekly To Do October 29, 2018 Man Bai , at No Black Tie, 30 Oct, 9pm The award-winning singer songwriter Man Bai is best known for his hit single and karaoke staple, Kau Ilhamku ...

Deck Painting I
© » KADIST

Alexandre da Cunha

2005

His Deck Painting I recalls the simplistic stripes of conceptual artist Daniel Buren, or the minimal lines of twentieth century abstract painting, but is in reality a readymade, fashioned from repurposed fabric of deck chairs...

Billionaire Congolese Art Collector Sindika Dokolo, Who Championed the Restitution of African Art, Has Died at Age 48 - via artnet news
© » LARRY'S LIST

The billionaire art collector Sindika Dokolo, who was facing serious corruption charges in Africa, died in a scuba diving accident in Dubai....