Bodysuits Isek Kingelez

Bodys Isek Kingelez (* 1948 in Kimbembele Ihunga , Belgian Congo ; † March 14, 2015 in Kinshasa ) was a sculptor from the Democratic Republic of the Congo , who was known for cardboard models of fantastic cities.

life and work

Kingelez was born in 1948 in Kimbelele Ihunga in the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and was called Jean-Baptiste. Kingelez lives with his two wives, Madam Bodys and Madam Kingelez , as he calls them, and his children in a neighborhood in the hills of the capital Kinshasa .

In 1970 he moved to Kinshasa and studied part-time while teaching and restoring traditional African masks at the National Museum of Kinshasa . During this time he began to create his first own artistic work.

He is self-taught and has been working exclusively as an artist since 1985. In 1989 Kingelez was invited by André Magnin , curator of the Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC) by Jean Pigozzi , to take part in the exhibition Les Magiciens de la Terre - Wizard of the Earth in Paris . Thanks to the commercial support from the Parisian gallery owner Jean Marc Patras , he was able to pursue his artistic work from then on. Since then his work has been shown internationally in numerous exhibitions and is in several collections such as B. Jean Pigozzi and the Museum of Sète in France .

Kingelez was best known for his models of fantastic, utopian cities made of cardboard, paper and plastic. Sometimes Kingelez also uses found objects such as crown caps , corrugated cardboard and tinfoil in his works. They are incredibly detailed and colorful works similar to architectural models. They reflect the roaring life in the metropolis of Kinshasa and other African megacities and summarize them in a futuristic vision .

Kingelez has now created several hundred such models, which initially represented individual architectural units and became more and more complex. Since 1992 it is no longer just individual buildings, but streets, parks, stadiums and monuments that are embedded in a large number of buildings. Kingelez always works true to scale and pays attention to the balance of the proportions of his multi-part structures. Based on his idea that people should live in a community and help each other, he usually creates his model buildings as shared buildings that are tailored to people's needs. He named his first model Kimbembele Ihunga after the town where he was born . Outstanding works are Ville Fantôme (1995), Kin 3ème millénaire (1997) and La Ville du Futur (2000)

In his manifesto The Art of the Model - A Learned Art , Kingelez sums up the quintessence of his work:

“I do this deeply imaginary, polished, and thoughtful job so that I can better impact life. As a black artist, I have to act in this way in order to be able to set an example and to be able to receive the light that ignites pure art, this vital human instrument, for the benefit of all. Thanks to my deep hope for a happy tomorrow, I also strive for quality improvement, where the better becomes the wonderful at the same time. I show an expression that is completely tailored to me and declare that I am a different artist. "

- Quote Bodys Isek Kingelez

Exhibitions (selection)

Solo exhibitions

• 2002 Bodys Isek Kingelez Villa Stuck , Munich
• 2000 Bodys Isek Kingelez Art Association in Hamburg , Hamburg
• 1996 D´autres ajouts d´été Musée d´Art Moderne et Contemporain , Geneva , Switzerland
• 1995 Bodys Isek Kingelez Fondation Cartier pour l´Art Contemporain, Paris, France
• 1992 Bodys Isek Kingelez House of World Cultures , Berlin

Group exhibitions

• 2014 (not) possible! Artist as architects MARTa Herford , Herford
• 2014 Making Africa in the Vitra Design Museum , Weil am Rhein
• 2010 Dreamlands Center Pompidou , Paris
• 2006 Africa Remix Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
• 2005 The Theater of Art Museum Ludwig , Cologne
• 2005 Africa Remix Center Pompidou, Paris, France
• 2005 Africa Remix Hayward Gallery , London, Great Britain
• 2004 Afrika Remix Museum Kunstpalast , Düsseldorf
• 2004 Unbuilt Cities Bonner Kunstverein , Bonn
• 2002 Documenta11 , Kassel
• 2002 Biennale de Sao Paulo Biennale of Sao Paulo , Sao Paulo, Brazil
• 2001 The Short Century House of World Cultures, Berlin
• 2000 Vision du Futur Grand Palais , Paris, France
• 1999 The 1999 Carnegie International Carnegie Museum of Art Pittsburgh, USA
• 1999 Un monde réel Fondation Cartier pour l´Art Contemporain, Paris, France
• 1999 Arts-Worlds in Dialogue Museum Ludwig, Cologne
• 1999 Time Turns KunstHausWien , Austria
• 1998 Africa Africa Tobu Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan
• 1998 Unfinished Story Walker Art Center , Minneapolis, USA
• 1997 Project 59: Architecture as Metaphor Museum of Modern Art New York, USA
• 1997 Africus Biennale of Johannesburg , Johannesburg , South Africa
• 1996 New Art from Africa House of World Cultures, Berlin
• 1996 Wall and Space Reality and Utopia Bodys - Isek Kingelez´s Architectural Visions Oksnehallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
• 1995 Big City Serpentine Gallery , London, Great Britain
• 1993 Home and the World Architectural Sculpture by two African Artists , Museum for African Art , New York, USA
• 1992 Out of Africa Saatchi Gallery , London, Great Britain
• 1992 Groninger Museum , Netherlands
• 1991 Africa Hoy Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno , Las Palmas de gran Canaria, Spain
• 1989 Magiciens de la terre Center Georges Pompidou -
• 1989 La Grande Halle de la Villette , Paris, France

Individual evidence

1. ↑ L'artiste congolais bodys isek kingelez est mort
2. ↑ CaacARt Bodys Isek Kingelez , accessed on September 15, 2013 (English).
3. ↑ magnin-a: André Magnin ( Memento from May 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on September 15, 2013 (French)
4. ↑ MAGNIN-A: Bodys Isek Kingelez ( Memento from May 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on February 11, 2016
5. ^ Dynamic Africa , accessed September 15, 2013.
6. ↑ culturebase Extreme models ( Memento of the original from October 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 15, 2013 
7. ↑ art magazine Artist Bodys Isek Kingelez dies ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. accessed on August 29, 2015