Following its first presentation at Kunsthaus Bregenz (KUB) in 2025, this travelling exhibition arrives at the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute (NCAI) for its second iteration, extending an intergenerational and transcontinental artistic dialogue between Michael Armitage, Maria Lassnig, and Chelenge Van Rampelberg.
The exhibition unites three distinct, resonant voices whose practices share a sustained engagement with the human condition; corporeality, vulnerability, relationships, and place in the world. Featuring drawings and lithographs by Michael Armitage, drawings by Maria Lassnig, and prints and sculptures by Chelenge Van Rampelberg, the presentation marks the first time works by both Armitage and Lassnig have been shown in Nairobi.
Conceived through conversations between Michael Armitage and Thomas D. Trummer during preparations for his 2023 exhibition at KUB, the project reflects Armitage’s deep regard for Maria Lassnig, whom he has described as one of the most important painters of all time, as well as his long-standing relationship with Chelenge Van Rampelberg, one of Kenya’s most accomplished artists, who is also, to him, a mentor, teacher, and friend. The selection of works shaped by Armitage himself, foregrounds influence, lineage and artistic affinity.
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The three artists share a fascination with the human body and how it exists in the world. Each returns to questions of physical experience—how we feel, connect, suffer and belong—using the body as a way to explore what it means to be human. Though their work has developed in different places and times, they are united by this empathetic focus on our shared corporeal existence. At NCAI, this second iteration of the exhibition offers a renewed context for these converging perspectives, situating the dialogue within Nairobi and extending its relevance to local and global audiences.
The exhibition is presented in partnership with Kunsthaus Bregenz, the Maria Lassnig Foundation, the Federal Ministry of Austria and the Austrian Embassy Mission in Nairobi.
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© Michael Armitage, Untitled (Studies), 2012-2025.
Michael Armitage
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Michael Armitage was born in 1984 in Nairobi, Kenya and lives and works between London and Nairobi. He received his BA in Fine Art from the Slade School of Fine Art, London (2007) and has a Postgraduate Diploma from the Royal Academy Schools, London (2010). In 2022, the Royal Academy of Arts, London, elected him a Royal Academician in the category of painting.
Armitage is the founder of the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute (NCAI), a non-profit platform established in 2021. NCAI hosts exhibitions, curatorial research residencies, libraries and archives, as well as other educational initiatives that enrich the discourse on contemporary creative practices in the region.
Solo exhibitions include: Fragmentos, Colombia (2025); David Zwirner, New York (2025); Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria (2023); White Cube Bermondsey, London (2022); Kunsthalle Basel (2022); Calcografía Nacional, Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid (2022); Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen (2021); Royal Academy, London (2021); Haus der Kunst, Munich (2020); The Norval Foundation, Cape Town (2020); Projects 110, Studio Museum in collaboration and at MoMA, New York, Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney (2019); Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin (2019); South London Gallery (2017); Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK (2017); White Cube, Hong Kong (2017); Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, San Francisco (2016); White Cube, London (2015); and Royal Academy Schools Studios, London (2010).
© Maria Lassnig, Antlitz des Gebirges (Visage of the Mountain), 1993
Maria Lassnig
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Maria Lassnig (1919-2014) created a substantial body of work in the fields of painting and graphics. The key notion which came to characterise Lassnig’s work was above all the concept of Body Awareness: by introspectively discovering the true nature of her own condition, she expressed physical sensations through the use of artistic media. Numerous self-portraits offer evidence of the form of self-analysis.
After studying at the Vienna Academy, Lassnig explored surrealism and then art informel, which she presented in Austria in 1951 after a trip to Paris. During her stay in France (1960-68), Lassnig – confronted with Nouvelle Figuration and Pop Art – refined her own visual language. In New York (1968-80), her interests included (animated) film and the women's movement.
In 1980, Lassnig received a professorship at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and represented Austria at the Venice Biennale. She showed her work at the documenta in 1982 and 1997. From the 1990s onwards, Lassnig exhibited more internationally and received important prizes, including the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2013 Venice Biennale.
Lassnig is regarded as a pioneer of female emancipation in a world of art dominated by men. Her visionary work has had a great influence on subsequent generations of artists.
© Chelenge Van Rampelberg, Mama Kali, 1995
Chelenge Van Rampelberg
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Born and raised in Kericho, Kenya, Chelenge Van Rampelberg (b. 1961) began working in the mediums of painting and sculpture in 1984.
Her upbringing exposed her to a variety of indigenous practices of making, and these formed the foundation of her creative expression. Chelenge added to her skills by participating in artists’ workshops, especially in the early years of her practice when she took part in sculpture and printmaking workshops at Gallery Watatu, Ngecha Artists Association, and the French Cultural Centre in Nairobi.
Chelenge taps into her personal experiences and memories to create works that reflect human behaviour and the fragility at the heart of the human condition.
Today, Chelenge resides and works in Tuala, on the border of the Nairobi National Park. She is renowned as one of the foremost sculptors in Kenya.