Eyenga Bokamba Paintings

Eyenga Bokamba in the Personal Structures Show @ the Venice Biennale

A bit about my project: My longstanding preoccupation as an artist centers on the power of beauty to enable us to consider issues from another person’s perspective or experience. My installation at the Personal Structures show in Venice is entitled Moments of Beauty, Reframed, Create a Blueprint for Thriving/If We Can Just Learn to Pivot.  This multidimensional installation consists of three cubes of paintings rendered on silk, highlighting detail shots from three series:  “What will I do with all this freedom?” (2018); “Decades in the Making (2008-2018); and “The Great Migration” (2015). 

Moments of Beauty, Reframed, Create a Blueprint for Thriving/If We Can Just Learn to Pivot exists as a personal embodiment of the political act of reconsideration: viewers must literally and physically shift positions in order to see the whole.

To pivot, one must create space for consideration, space for the other, space to contemplate, space to dream.  To pivot, one must shift, move, perhaps turn. To pivot ideologically, one must consider another perspective as equally valid as one’s own perspective. 

I strive to invite, through beauty, the generous reconsideration of the expansion of possibilities for all people.

Artist Statement

I create immersive painterly worlds that function on multiple levels to address our political landscape, cultural myths, and intellectual conundrums. I am fascinated by the dimensionality and sculptural quality of translucence, how it causes a rupture in space and demands consideration.

My work as a painter is also deeply informed by my training as a writer and background in performance art. The most significant aspects of my artistic practice include a constant exploration of boundaries, continual questioning of assumptions, and a desire to apply the laws of alchemy to my work.  

I see my artistic production as a union between abstract expressionism and the critical pedagogy of installation art. I find myself continually reflecting upon the spatial footprint and cultural impact of my artistry.  I position my work within the context of other contemporary artists whose practice lives at the intersection of a desire for social transformation and a commitment to beauty. 

The act of creating inviting, transformative, reflective spaces allows me to inhabit multiple identities in new ways, which amplifies my ability to participate in the current global conversation on race, culture, power and privilege. My greatest desire is to create work that pivots on an axis of understanding and advances our collective consciousness about what it means to be alive, thriving, and empathetic in today’s world. 

Artist website: https://eyenga-bokamba.squarespace.com/

Bascio Tower Exhibition: https://vimeo.com/297703150

Personal Structures @ the Venice Biennale: https://ecc-italy.eu/exhibitions/2019art

The European Cultural Centre (ECC-Italy): 

https://europeanculturalcentre.eu/aboutus

Catalogues: https://europeanculturalcentre.eu/publication/catalogues

Currently,  I am seeking individual and organizational contributions totaling $5,000 by June 30, 2023 to offset my expenses for inclusion in the Personal Structures Show, presented by the European Cultural Centre. My project is entitled Moments of Beauty, Reframed, Create a Blueprint for Thriving/If We Just Learn to Pivot. 

Donations in any amount are greatly appreciated. If you would like to donate directly to me, I appreciate donations in any amount. Donations can be made electronically via  Venmo www.venmo.com/Eyenga-Bokamba  or PayPal http://paypal.me/EyengaBokamba.

To make a tax-deductible donation to the ECC in support of my participation in this show: Please visit the ECC-USA website where you can find the general information regarding this branch and make a donation here: https://ecc-usa.eu/supportus. {Note from ECC-Italy: “Please note that we are still working on the website as our USA sister is the latest project of the ECC”.

Donations in any amount are greatly appreciated. Please note that your donation is for “Eyenga Bokamba - 2019 Personal Structures Show”. In case you might have any questions or would like to have direct contact with the ECC-USA branch, contact Eva Shmiedleitner (eva@ecc-usa.eu) who will be glad to assist in the donation process.

Thank you for your support of my artistry!

Eyenga Bokamba