Sanaa Gateja, the legendary Ugandan artist and jeweller, is exhibiting at the historic Nairobi Gallery for the holiday season.

His works are part of the gallery’s long-running display of pioneer East African artists like John Odochameny, Francis Nnaggenda, Elkana Ongesa Magdalene Odundo, and the late Expedito Mwebe.

The Gateja exhibition has paintings and wall hangings in contemporary and cultural themes, showcasing his talent as a master craftsman and the “bead king” — he conceived the paper bead from recyclable materials.

Over the years, Gateja, 66, has exhibited internationally, producing aesthetic and functional art including wearable paper jewellery, costumes and handbags.

Most of the semi-abstract three-dimensional pieces on show are crafted onto traditional bark cloth and feature his signature beads. The long, varnished works are made from tightly hand-rolled paper. The round rough beads are of compressed paper, which is naturally dyed and glued together like papier maché.

The rectangular, mask-like face in Dreams, whose features are formed from raffia fibre, is surrounded by long blue and pink beads with a patch of white beads and strips of cowrie shells.

Twins depicts a pair of identical women with large spherical faces of monochrome beads, shoulder necklaces of bead chains, and long robes in red and orange. I liked the piece Guardian, with its disproportionate limbs, gawking eyes, and large, circular mouth on a warped face. It’s the sort of mythical figure you would expect to find safeguarding a secret treasure.

Gateja’s history in Kenya goes back to 1970, when he established Studio Sanaa in Mombasa, focusing on traditional arts, basketry and jewellery of coastal and northern people.

In 1980, he relocated to Nairobi and branched into brass works. Later he trained in jewellery making in Italy, followed by six years in London as an art and jewellery trader.

Returning to Uganda in 1989, Gateja founded the Kwetu Africa Art Centre, which trains rural people, especially women, in environmentally sustainable art as a means of economic empowerment.

This December he was awarded the inaugural Bayimba Honours, which celebrates philanthropy in Ugandan arts and culture.