Installation view of “Christina Kimeze: Between Wood and Wheel,” South London Gallery, London, UK (Jan. 31-May 11, 2025). | Photo: Andy Stagg
THE FIRST UK SOLO EXHIBITION of Christina Kimeze (b. 1986) presents new and recent paintings, works on paper, and a new tapestry commissioned by Dovecot Studios in Edinburg. Blending figuration and abstraction, Kimeze’s captivating paintings generally picture lone female subjects immersed in natural landscapes and interiors with isolated architectural elements, mysterious environs defined by brilliant color and rhythmic and abstracted patterns.
A London-based painter, Kimeze has had an extraordinary start. After earning an undergraduate degree in biological sciences from the University of Oxford, she completed the postgraduate program at The Royal Drawing School (2021-2022). White Cube Paris presented a solo show of Kimeze in 2023. Her residency experiences include Palazzo Monti in Brescia, Italy (2022), and Black Rock Senegal (2024-25). In January 2025, she joined Hauser & Wirth, one of the largest and most influential galleries in the world.
The title of Kimeze’s exhibition at South London Gallery (Between Wood and Wheel) is a line from “Night at the Roller Palace” (2012), a poem by January Gill O’Neil, a professor at Salem State University in Salem, Mass. At the center of the show are new paintings inspired in part by the joy and communal nature of roller skating.
“I became intrigued by the way people describe feelings of freedom and flight when they talk about roller skating.” — Christina Kimeze
“Through my research, I became intrigued by the way people describe feelings of freedom and flight when they talk about roller skating. That really interested me, because I’m often looking for some sort of anchor to visually represent what it is to explore oneself and one’s inner life,” Kimeze said in a conversation with Alayo Akinkugbe that is published in the exhibition catalog and excerpted in the gallery guide.
“Freedom obviously means different things to different people, but there’s something about roller skating which seems to engender these feelings of freedom and of flight. This has led me to research folklore about women, specifically, who fly. Roller skating, as a subject, was a gateway into the larger paintings, which are more to do with flight.” CT
“Christina Kimeze: Between Wood and Wheel” is on view at South London Gallery in London, UK, from Jan. 31-May 11, 2025
FIND MORE about Christina Kimeze on her website and Instagram
Christina Kimeze in her studio, 2024. | Photo by Lily Bertrand-Webb, Courtesy Hauser & Wirth
Writer and broadcaster Emma Dabiri tours Christina Kimeze’s exhibition at South London Gallery and explains the meaning and symbolism of the artist’s work. | Video by South London Gallery
CHRISTINA KIMEZE, “Soaring (I),” 2024 (oil, pastel and oil stick on suede matboard, 210 x 165 cm). | © Christina Kimeze, image courtesy of the artist. Photo: Matthew Hollow
CHRISTINA KIMEZE, “Screen (I),” 2024 (oil, pastel and oil stick on suede matboard, 110 x 90 cm). | © Christina Kimeze, image courtesy of the artist. Photo: Matthew Hollow
Installation view of “Christina Kimeze: Between Wood and Wheel,” South London Gallery, London, UK (Jan. 31-May 11, 2025). | Photo: Andy Stagg
Installation view of “Christina Kimeze: Between Wood and Wheel,” South London Gallery, London, UK (Jan. 31-May 11, 2025). | Photo: Andy Stagg
CHRISTINA KIMEZE, “Arches,” 2024 (oil, pastel and oil stick on suede matboard, 110 x 90 cm). | © Christina Kimeze, image courtesy of the artist. Photo: Matthew Hollow
CHRISTINA KIMEZE, “Soaring (III),” 2024 (oil, pastel and oil stick on suede matboard, 210 x 165 cm). | © Christina Kimeze, Image courtesy the artistPhoto: Matthew Hollow
Installation view of “Christina Kimeze: Between Wood and Wheel,” South London Gallery, London, UK (Jan. 31-May 11, 2025). | Photo: Andy Stagg
BOOKSHELF
A new catalog was published on the occasion of Christina Kimeze’s exhibition at South London Gallery. The volume documents the show, explores key themes of her practice such as interiority, her use of materials, connections to her father’s Ugandan heritage, and the influence of Black feminist writers. Contributors include Ekow Eshun, Alayo Akinkugbe, Margot Heller, and exhibition curator Eleanor Nairne.
