Kimathi Donkor’s installation for Gate Curate features his ‘Stretch and Bar’ paintings, which re-arrange abruptly the conventional positions of canvas and stretcher bars in order to evoke a new series of significations. If fresh portraits of the Gate’s current cast are visible on the ‘reverse’ of the canvas, then what might still be concealed on the, now hidden, ‘correct’ side? Also on display will be ‘Debruised’, a mural that improvises playfully on Zimbawean national motifs.
Donkor’s recent solo exhibitions include ‘Daddy, I want to be a black artist’ at Peckham Platform (London, 2013) and ‘Queens of the Undead’ with Iniva at Rivington Place (London, 2012). Group shows include, ‘What's Going On’ at the Usher Gallery (Lincoln, 2014) and the 29th São Paulo Biennial (Brazil, 2010). His PhD thesis at Chelsea College of Art explores African identity in Tate’s British collection.
