"Condemnation without Trial"
Chéri Samba
Congolese, born 1956
1989-90
A large alkyd-enamel and glitter-on-canvas painting in sequential panels, Chéri Samba stages a satirical, comic-strip indictment of flattery, corruption, and the broken promises that push people to seek fortune abroad.
Your eye moves like reading a poster—bright, varnished panels show a man packing a suitcase, crowds begging at an airport, an intimate scene of a wounded sleeper, and a monumental close-up of glossy sunglasses shedding metallic teardrops, all pulled together by bold lettering and a graphic, streetwise palette.
Samba fused popular sign-painting aesthetics with text and social reportage to make outspoken, accessible critiques of postcolonial politics and global migration, helping bring Congolese urban painting into the international art conversation.
Medium
Alkyd enamel and glitter paint on canvas
Dimensions
58 3/8" x 6' 7" (148.3 x 200.7 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Evan and Vanessa Tawil
Accession
272.2002
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
