Base King

Body Isek Kingelez wrote that his art was his way to contribute to a decolonized Africa, with his urban cityscapes serving as a vehicle for reimagining Africa’s collective future. He built small models of futuristic, utopian cityscapes fashioned from repurposed, found materials. The dynamic energy centered in the sprawling urban center of Kinshasa inspired Kingelez’s work, though many of his detailed structures were his own invention.

From his early urban building to his vibrant cityscapes, Kingelez envisioned a progressive way of living—a way of regeneration. Over the course of his prolific career, Kingelez created more than 300 sculptures ranging from individual structures to entire cities boasting colorful skyscrapers, stadiums, parks, monuments, waterways, and wide avenues. A representation of a single address in a cityscape, in its idealized architectural forms and meticulous details Base King is consistent with the artist’s more expansive cityscapes.

Colorful mixed media sculpture featuring a tall skyscraper rising above smaller urban buildings fashioned from cardboard, plastic, pins, pen and paint. Green, red, silver, and blue hues predominate.

Bodys Isek Kingelez (1948-2015), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; acquired under unknown circumstances by private collection, Paris, by 2018; acquired under unknown circumstances by private collection, by 2018; sale, "Modern and Contemporary African Art," Sotheby's, London, March 28, 2018, lot 11, to the National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C.

Beauté Congo, Fondation Cartier, Paris, 2015-2016, p. 253

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