A painting that makes people laugh first, and then think."
Chéri Samba (b. 1956, Kinto M'Vuila, DRC) is the most celebrated painter of the Congolese popular school and one of the best-known African artists in the world. His works, distinguished by clear lines, bold colours and the signature use of text and speech bubbles, depict scenes of everyday life to address political, economic and cultural issues, local and global, with an irony that seduces the viewer before confronting them. Frequently placing himself at the centre of his compositions, Samba embodies a half-innocent, half-activist observer transmitting what he deems crucial messages. From "Magiciens de la Terre" (1989) to the Venice Biennale (2007) and the retrospective at the Musée Maillol, Paris (2023-2024), his work has entered the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Centre Pompidou, Paris. He lives and works in Kinshasa.