Room 57 Gallery is pleased to present A Time Like This, an exhibition by Joseph Munyao Baraka. The exhibition will be open from March 15th—May 7th 2023 with an opening reception that will take place Wednesday March 15th, from 5—8pm.
Joseph Munyao Baraka draws from the faces and places of Nairobi, Kenya where he resides to create rich, colorful portraits. His subject matter is his social life; friends and family recline and pose against vibrant interiors and natural landscapes. They lounge against poolsides, eat popsicles, play billiards and golf. Drawn to a wildness in a person, Munyao’s subjects are irreverent and unapologetic, either meeting the viewer’s gaze or looking off into the distance, unbothered and at ease. Munyao’s work is as surreal as it is figurative, presenting the physical aspects of his subjects alongside the imagined and perceived reality of their personalities. He decorates the people he paints with smiling dogs, richly saturated clothing, furniture, jewelry, silks, and feathers in caps. Color is a key part of this artists’ practice and although applied instinctively, there is a delicate balance in his vibrant palette which includes blues, purples, hot pinks, yellows, reds and yellows. A feeling of warmth and abundant leisure exists in Munyao’s portraits, even humor and a cartoonish, magical quality.
