Bodys Isek Kingelez

Kimbembele Ihunga

1994

Paper, colored paper, printed paper, cardboard, paperboard, printed commercial packaging, wood, acrylic, plastic, aluminum foil, metallic foil paper and cardboard, rubberfoam, Styrofoam, foamcore, ink, pencil, crayon, marker, paint, adhesive tapes, stickers, fabric, yarn, string, thread, twine, beads, balls, straws, wire, grommets, toothpicks, pins, nails, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, caps, mirrors, figurines, slide mounts, ballpoint pen shafts, circuit-board diodes, and electric lights

Not on view

This imaginary place is based on the village the artist grew up in. In the artwork, he tried to improve it by giving it a stadium, a shopping center, a railway station, and skyscrapers. In reality, his village has none of these things. If you could reimagine your hometown, how would you make it different?

Kids label from

2019

Medium Paper, colored paper, printed paper, cardboard, paperboard, printed commercial packaging, wood, acrylic, plastic, aluminum foil, metallic foil paper and cardboard, rubberfoam, Styrofoam, foamcore, ink, pencil, crayon, marker, paint, adhesive tapes, stickers, fabric, yarn, string, thread, twine, beads, balls, straws, wire, grommets, toothpicks, pins, nails, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, caps, mirrors, figurines, slide mounts, ballpoint pen shafts, circuit-board diodes, and electric lights
Dimensions 51 3/16" × 72 13/16" × 10' 5" (130 × 185 × 320 cm)
Credit Promised Gift of The Jean Pigozzi African Art Collection
Object number PG130.2019
Department Painting & Sculpture

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Bodys Isek Kingelez

Bodys Isek Kingelez

Congolese, 1948–2015 4 works online

Visionary artist Bodys Isek Kingelez created dazzling, intricate architectural sculptures that he called “extreme maquettes.” Born in the agricultural village of Kimbembele Ihunga in the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1948, he came of age in a period of enormous political and social transformation.

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