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A Local Lad Doing Well
When Formont Kalumba Nseko walked into my office early March, I took
him to be just another one of the many artists that come to me to
publicise and possibly sell their paintings, sculptures, models etc.
He showed me his portfolio of the many pieces he had done and while
flicking through them I noticed a letter from the African
Renaissance Gallery in Notting Hill, London as well as photos from
an Exhibition held there towards the end of last year.
Formont comes from and still lives in the north-east of Zambia on
the border with Tanzania and uses oil on acoustic boards which makes
for a very vivid three dimensional effect. He uses colour to produce
the shape of the image and subtle pastel colours in the ‘clints’ to
provide the background. He has no formal training as an artist but
was fortunate enough to have caught the eye of WSO Director Sloane
Campbell-Ffoyle who was on a fact finding tour in the Northern
Province a couple of years ago. Campbell-Ffoyle purchased a few of
his paintings and on return to the UK was astonished by the interest
shown in these paintings. So much so that he paid for and organised
a three month Art course in London for Formont. One thing lead to
another and before he knew it Formont was part of an Exhibition in
London which gave him the break that most artists dream of. From the
newspaper clippings, pictures and sales slips pasted in his
portfolio it seems that his paintings sold from a mere £200 to an
impressive £4000.
He has been commissioned to paint a large mural in the entrance of
the WSO Head Office in London and is currently working on a private
exhibition that will take place in London at the beginning of next
year. This months cover is a copy of the print that sold for more
than £3000(K26,000,000). Not bad for a local lad. The Lowdown wishes
him the very best of luck!
For more details visit his
web site or by email at formont@pumula.com. If you wish to purchase some of his works, I will be
arranging an exhibition at the Lusaka Museum shortly on a date that
will be advertised. |
April 2004