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Artists A - Z
George Lilanga (1934 - 2005)
George Lilanga was born in 1934 in Mozambique.
In 1964 when the war started George Lilanga immigrated to Tanzania and in 1972 he moved to Dar Es Salaam where he lived and worked until his death in 2005.
George Lilanga started his training as a wood carver in 1961. He comes from the great centre of Makonde Culture, noted especially for its mapico initiation dances and rich sculptural traditions.
In 1973 George Lilanga became associated with the newly founded ‘Nyumba Ya Sanaa’ (House of Arts) in Dar Es Salaam where he began to study drawing, lithography and painting.
George Lilanga’s paintings were heavily influenced by the traditional Makonde wood carving style and when he in 1980 encountered the paintings of the Tingatinga School which was established by the followers of Eduardo Saidi Tingatinga (1939 - 1972); this had a profound effect on his future work. George Lilanga’s carved wood figures, dressed in modern fashions and using conveniences like radios and telephones, move beyond their traditional roots and become caricature and social criticism of contemporary African culture.
George Lilanga’s break through occurred in 1978, since then he enjoyed international exposure and a continuous and impressive number of exhibitions in Europe, Japan and the United States.
George Lilanga has participated in major group exhibitions, including Out of Africa (1992) in London and Africa Remix (2004 - 2006) in Düsseldorf, London, Paris and Tokyo.
George Lilanga is represented in the Contemporary Art Collection (CAAC), Geneva, which was founded in 1989 by Jean Pigozzi and curated from the outset by André Magnin. It is the largest private collection of its kind and has helped many African artists to show their work in major institutions around the world.
"Art for Africa", Gallery Schönmüller, Munich, 25.10. – 04.12.2002
"Work on Wood", Gallery ZAK, Fürth, Bavaria, 12.07. – 30.09.2002
"Out of Africa", Villa Dessauer, Bamberg, 14.03. – 14.04.2002
"Life Colours", Contemporary art from Africa, SiemensForum Erlangen, 11.01. - 07.03.2002
"Artists of the gallery", Gallery ZAK, Fürth, Bavaria, 07.05. – 31.12.2001
„Blick nach Afrika“, Neue Kunst, Galerien Bittner & Dembinski, Kassel, 21.02. – 20.03.1999
"Eroticism in Contemporary African Art", Gallery ZAK, Fürth, Bavaria, 25.09. – 18.11.1998
"Medicine in Contemporary African Art", Gallery ZAK, Fürth, Bavaria, 13.02. – 13.05.1998
"Time Travel - New Art from Africa", „Siemens informiert“, Erlangen, 19.09. - 16.10.1997
"Afri – Car", Quelle-Lagerhalle next to Hotel-Pyramide, Fürth ,Bavaria, Africa Festival,
„Querschnitt“, Gallery ZAK, Fürth, Bavaria, 20.09. – 21.11.1996
George Lilanga, Gallery ZAK, Fürth, Bavaria, 23.02. - 22.05.1996
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