Playful, considered, joyful, colourful, vibrant — five words artist and architect Kuda Mushangi uses to sum up his work ahead of his debut solo exhibition.
Hailed as one of Tate’s young emerging artists in 2020 and a past winner of the Holy Art Gallery Prize and the New Emergence Art Founder’s Prize, the London-based artist’s career is on the ascent. This month marks the beginning of his debut solo exhibition at Hackney’s Glasshouse Contemporary, on display from 31 January until 1 March.
Mushangi explores the geometry of the everyday, finding beauty in places we often take for granted. Familiar Spaces showcases a series of paintings which celebrate domestic interiors, depicting them as bold, layered compositions made up of different shapes, patterns and colours.
Mushangi told East End Review: “The idea of home is incredibly widespread and personal, yet there are common threads in how people describe it. I wanted to explore domestic settings more deeply than I have before and think about how spaces relate to one another, as well as how individuals shape, personalise and occupy them.”
Fans of David Hockney may well find Mushangi’s work appealing. Rich, feverish colours complement bold patterns reminiscent of textured batiks; warmth and brightness radiate from what would be mundane scenes.
Whether it’s a water jug, a wallpaper pattern or a textured blanket, the small details in Mushangi’s paintings are intended to celebrate the joy in the everyday.
A trained architect, Mushangi has long been fascinated by the question of what defines a home. “For this exhibition, I’ve really enjoyed looking at postmodern interior spaces,” he added.
“I’m particularly drawn to architects who embraced colour boldly to create playful interiors. This approach was especially common from the 1970s to the 1990s, and it’s something I’ve always felt a strong connection to.”
Asked how he balances his two practices, Mushangi said: “I used to think of art and architecture as two completely separate disciplines. However, over the past few years I’ve naturally begun leaning into my architectural background, particularly in terms of my artistic style and my understanding of space.”
Born in Zimbabwe in 1995, Mushangi was inspired from an early age by the eclectic colours in his grandmother's house. “My memories of Zimbabwe are few, but I treasure them,” he said.
“My grandmother’s house was filled with colour – purples, turquoises and more. Every space felt different. Those memories have had a lasting influence on my practice, and I now strongly associate the colour purple with my childhood and my grandmother’s home.
“I began by drawing a lot with standard graphite pencils, long before I ever turned to painting. A fun fact is that I used to spend hours carefully drawing the front covers of PlayStation games before I even played them.”
In his teens, Mushangi started experimenting with acrylics. He said: “I loved the idea that painting gave me a way to express myself and properly connect with my emotions — it really helped with that.” Mushangi describes his creations from that period as “objectively terrible”, but notes that “it was an important step in finding an outlet for my emotions and learning to work with vulnerability”.
While his style may have evolved, some things have remained the same – Mushangi even uses some of the paint brushes he had as a child. “There’s a familiarity I have with some of them – I’ve grown as an artist alongside them and painted some of my best works using them. One painting that ended up on a Tate billboard was painted with those brushes.
“I never want to be someone who has the best tools but can’t do the job. I want people to see that you don’t need the best products to create art. I certainly don’t, and I hope that makes art feel more accessible to others.”
Now, Mushangi uses his skills to address pertinent global issues through art, including love, loneliness, migration identity and the Black experience. “Being a Black artist is wonderfully nuanced,” he added. "My experiences inevitably differ from someone else’s. Having been born in Zimbabwe and having grown up largely in England, I often reflect on ideas of belonging and where I fit. It’s something I find endlessly fascinating to explore through my work.
“All of these themes connect to vulnerability and intimacy in different ways. While my work often depicts interiors, introducing figures into those spaces changes the dynamic and creates a conversation about the relationship between the person or people and the space they occupy.”
One painting, Quiet, shows a lone figure looking out of a window from inside a room. “It’s an idea I’ve had for years,” Mushangi added.
“The painting explores loneliness, but also comfort within an intimate setting. While loneliness often has negative connotations, there can be beauty in finding solace in your own space, and that’s what the painting captures.”
For the artist — who is now based in southeast London — the show at Glasshouse Contemporary is somewhat of a homecoming, “When I first moved to London, east London really made me feel at home,” he told us.
“I love Hackney Wick, especially in the summer. Two More Years is probably my favourite bar, and I also really like Netil360 and Mare Street Market. I often visit Victoria Park too – it’s beautiful year-round and my go-to place when I need to clear my head.
“The underlying feeling of this body of work is joy. I’ve spent a lot of time studying colour and colour relationships, and I hope that when people view the paintings, they find joy in the everyday objects and spaces that usually feel mundane. The world around us, the spaces we move through, and the colours that surround us can be incredibly beautiful if we allow ourselves to notice them.”
Glasshouse Contemporary is an independent gallery that recently celebrated its first anniversary. Of Familiar Spaces, co-founder Johanna Nulley said: “I am so excited to host Kuda's solo exhibition. I really believe him to be a very compelling new voice in contemporary painting and feel immensely proud that this debut show will be held at Glasshouse.”
Familiar Spaces is on show at Glasshouse Contemporary from 31 January until 1 March. Find out more here.
