With the emergence of a generation of young artists, contemporary art is fast gaining recognition. Jean Baptiste Mpungirehe is a renowned painter, and one of the country’s most promising contemporary artists. I visited the artist at Ivuka Arts Centre, Kigali, where I found him busy working on his latest paintings to exhibit early next month as part of his 2016 collections.

Born in Musanze District, where he lives and works, Mpungirehe is a self-taught artist, who started practicing art at Ivuka Arts Centre in Kigali. Today, he is widely praised for his mesmerizing works that offer unique approach to art as a space of power that tackles worrying issues in society.

His most recent work is focused on the representation and the visual consumption of passing social messages in today’s world.

One of the finished pieces is titled- The Time for Everyone and lies on a giant 2mx1m canvas. With this abstract piece, there are a total of 98 similar square boxes depicting different facets of life; people busy performing their daily chores, some moving in different directions and while others are enjoying the bounty of life.

A remarkable style he uses is the rich use of different colours to show different moods and emotions of everyone involved. For example, white stands for good while dark stands for bad to show the polar opposition of the good and the bad in his paintings. Red stands for vivacity of his characters.

All in One is predominately a black and white painting on a smaller canvas that shows the virtue of unity and reconciliation. It echoes the song by the late pop icon Michael Jackson "It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white,” where the singer extols the value of seeing one another as one humanity but not under the spectrum of colours.

"In a world where some of its regions are still under racial prejudice, it’s important that we bring out the message that all of us were created in the image of God and an art is a powerful medium through which we can bring this out,” he explains.

In another 120x100cm untitled piece, Mpungirehe uses the same technique and style to pass salient social message. Every square box has its own distinctive message with the painter explaining that "everyday life is changing and this painting depicts the changing nature of life.”

"I have passion for everything I do. Without passion, ambition is dead. And my ambition is to provide the best for my family. By the end of the day, everybody should have worked hard not only to build themselves but also to build the nation."

Mpungirehe says that he is in the process of constructing another house that is going to act as a personal gallery from where he will exhibit his art pieces.

His passion for art started when he was a little boy. He has also taught art at different schools.

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