Felelo Nkusu (1914-1995)

Oil on canvas mounted on panel Dimensions of the work: 75 x 99 cm Dimensions with frame: 79 x 103 cm NKusu FELELO, one of the deans of modern "Zairian" painting, was born in 1914, in the enclave of Kabinda. After his primary studies, he returned to the customs service in Matadi. In 1945 following a meeting with a European painter, he followed his vocation. His natural gifts quickly made up for the shortcomings of his training. In 1958, he participated in the Universal Exhibition in Brussels with a shipment. In 1966, his works were presented at the first "World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar". In 1970, he took part in the Exhibition of Zairian Art in Brussels. He organizes a few other individual exhibitions in the country, notably at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa on the occasion of his sixty years, when obtaining the gold palette of the AICA / Zaire in 1978, in the BCZ under the aegis of the AICA in 1980, at the Galerie "Création 3" in 1981 and at the Galerie Van Bever in 1983.