Please join us for the reception on February 11, 5 - 8 PM at the Off-Broadway Gallery at 1237 Pine Street, Boulder, CO. Exhibit runs February 5 - 27.

Artist Description - Lio Bumbakini
Painter, photographer, performance and mixed-media artist Lio Bumbakini was born to Congolese academics who had fled to Brussels, Belgium from their native Zaire due to political unrest. Growing up in Belgium, Lio was exposed to the European masters, while his mother, a professor of African art history, made sure he knew of his artistic roots. He came to the United States in 2001, further exposing himself to 20th Century Modernism.

Lio’s work expresses our connection with the past through memory while continually creating a new future. His art speaks to cultural and individual identity, as well the impacts of globalization, environmental degradation, and capitalism. Among his many influences, he names Jean-Michel Basquiat, Otto Mueller and Henri Matisse.

“I believe ART provides a window into the ethereal, the space between the societal, the physical, and the immaterial.” ~ Lio Bumbakini

Artist Description - SaToro Tafura
Zimbabwean sculptor SaToro Tafura’s stone sculpture has received international acclaim and he has been recognized as one of the most promising stone sculptors of his generation. Tafura harnesses his unique artistic sensibility to speak to and listen to stone, resulting in distinctly powerful stone sculptures that transcend time and geographical space. His affirms the values and wisdom of Shona culture while reflecting themes that resonate with people from diverse backgrounds.

SaToro’s work has been exhibited in England, Germany, California as well as South Africa and California. In 2008, Tafura settled in Colorado, where he enjoys a studio with a mountain view, reminiscent of the atmosphere at his childhood home near the mountains bordering Mozambique.

“In this sculpture, I am determined to express aspects of my culture that are being discarded in favor of U.S. and European values and ways of life. U.S. and European culture has its own value, but it’s something external – it’s not ours – and we are losing a lot when we abandon the things that give us a sense of identity and self-worth. I’m intent on reclaiming those pieces of who I am as a Shona person and an Afrikan.” ~ SaToro Tafura