Bodys Isek Kingelez

Bodys Isek Kingelez (1948-2015) was a Congolese sculptor and visionary artist. Growing up in a period of extreme political and social shifts, Kingelez sculpted fictional cities and buildings that reflect future visions for his country, the African continent and the world. His work has been included in ground-breaking exhibitions as Magiciens de la terre in Paris in 1989, The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945-1994 in Munich and Documenta XI in 2002, both curated by Okwui Enzewor. In 2018, MoMA opened the large-scale retrospective City Dreams.

Solo exhibitions include: Bodys Isek Kingelez: City Dreams, MoMA, New York (2018); Perspectives 145 : Bodys Isek Kingelez, Nina and Michael Zilkha Gallery, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston (2005); Bodys Isek Kingelez, Centre culturel Wolu-Culture, La Médiatine, Brussels (2003); Bodys Isek Kingelez, Munich Villa Stuck (2002); Bodys Isek Kingelez, Kunstverein Hambourg (2001-2).

Group exhibitions include: Christian Louboutin: l'Exhibition[niste], Palais de la Porte Dorée, Paris (2020); Art/Afrique, le nouvel atelier. Les Initiés, un choix d’œuvres (1989 – 2009) dans la collection d’art africain contemporain de Jean Pigozzi. Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (2017); Regarding Africa: Contemporary Art and Afro-Futurism, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv (2016-17); Making Africa - A Continent of Contemporary Design, CCCB, Barcelona (2016); 2050. A Brief History of the Future, Palazzo Reale, Milan (2016).