Faces Blue

Geoffrey Mukasa was born in 1954 in Mulago, Uganda. He grew up in the palace of Kabaka, the King of Buganda at the time, and went to school in Kampala. As a young man Mukasa wanted to become a doctor but his father’s death during Idi Amin’s military coup brought many drastic changes to his life, one of which was leaving Uganda and studying art rather than medicine. In 1984 Mukasa completed his fine arts studies in Lucknow, India. After his return to Uganda, he worked as a graphic artist for the Ministry of Information and became a full-time painter. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Mukasa was active in the movement for the revival of cultural life in Uganda. Seen as a unifying force and an inspiration for the nation’s recovery from years of military dictatorship, it was carried out by Ugandan artists who were returning from exile or emerging from oblivion at home.
Mukasa makes his statements through bold colors, sharp contrasts, rich textures and imposing forms. His paintings, drawings and collages are charged with so much energy that it is impossible to pass by them indifferently. His style is a tribute to both Africa’s cultural legacy and the modernists’ take on it. Mukasa commented on his artistic credo: “The philosophy of my artwork lies mainly in the human figure and the head reflected in different settings of various colors, semi-abstract surroundings with an inner light that consolidates the feeling of depth and the fourth dimension of time.”