Monet makes the world go round

Kateregga told me, “I thought it would be a challenge to concentrate on form through light and shade and for once leaving out colour, which can be a distraction.”

It was the bones of the pictures he admired, more than the colours which had danced before him in the reproductions he had seen.

Until then he had built a reputation based on his shimmering flickers of urban life, classily composed and painted with a sure touch which owe more than a passing debt to the Impressionist master.

These paintings for which he is best known are also at the Tulifanya.

Any casual visitor can spot why they are so popular … colourful, capable, painted in a style that is fully accepted and not too challenging to the eye.

Typical is the largest picture in the exhibition, a view of Kikuubo Lane in downtown Kampala.

Bustling, bursting with life, alive with colour, yet disciplined and coherent. Not surprisingly it has already sold.

There are many more like it on the walls.

Lovely though they are, I think Kateregga’s move into monochrome is an excellent thing.

More disciplined, and underpinned by rigorous draughtsmanship these paintings point a way forward — away perhaps from the superficial sugary delights of Monet but more towards the master’s underlying structural brilliance.

By going back to basics, Kateregga will hopefully move more towards himself.

Frank Whalley runs Lenga Juu, a fine arts and media consultancy based in Nairobi. Email: fwhalley@gmail.com