Mwaas Githinji Kenyan, b. 1995

MWASS GITHINJI (b. 1995, Kenya) lives and works in Nairobi, Kenya. Mwass Githinji is a contemporary Kenyan artist whose practice is rooted in an intuitive and lifelong engagement with mark-making, material experimentation, and emotional figuration. Working primarily on black canvas, he employs oil pastels, coffee, oils, and mixed media to construct psychologically charged images that probe vulnerability, memory, and the complexity of the human condition.

Githinji’s earliest relationship with drawing emerged outside formal studio spaces, using sticks on soil and chalk on classroom blackboards. This formative experience continues to shape his practice today, informing both his choice of surface and his emphasis on gesture. The black canvas functions as a site of resistance and depth, allowing figures and marks to surface gradually through layers of colour, line, and texture. His compositions fuse expressive anatomy with fluid curves and dense mark-making, creating images that oscillate between strength and fragility.

Although Githinji began formal training at the Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts in 2015, financial constraints led him to pursue an independent path of sustained experimentation and self-directed study. This period of autodidactic development has been central to the evolution of his visual language, which draws on African storytelling traditions, global philosophical thought, and the influence of historical and contemporary artists. Vulnerability sits at the core of his work, with particular attention given to the inner child and the emotions often suppressed within adult experience.

Githinji has exhibited widely across Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Notable exhibitions include his solo exhibition Who We Are at the Nairobi National Museum (2023) and Beasts and Petals, a critically received solo presentation at Red Hill Art Gallery, Nairobi (2025). His work has also featured in international fairs and group exhibitions including Aqua Art Miami (2024), The Other Art Fair, Sydney (2024), CICA Museum, Korea (2024), Clio Art Fair, New York (2024), and the Affordable Art Fair, Singapore (2024 and 2025). In 2022, he was nominated for the Norval Sovereign African Art Prize.

Githinji’s practice has been profiled in publications such as Business Daily Africa and Africa Art News, situating him among a new generation of African artists engaging deeply with questions of identity, emotion, and contemporary life. Through a practice that privileges introspection and material sensitivity, Githinji continues to articulate painting as a space for encounter, reflection, and shared human experience.