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"Bisengo", joy, is the key word of the self-proclaimed "universal painter" JP Mika. With his flamboyant paintings, the Congolese artist from Kinshasa triggered the public's enthusiasm during the big exhibition "Beauty Congo" in 2015. Today, at age 39, he presents his first solo show from Saturday, September 7th. outside Africa, at the Magnin-A gallery in Paris.
These boards ? The size of a man, often showing blooming women. With carved characters on floral or animal prints. Her limitless color palette with sparkling tones brings us back to a resplendent beauty.
" My works, I do for everyone," he says at first, after putting on his flower jacket created for the occasion . For that, I am an artist and universal painter. When JP Mika introduces himself, one finds on his face the same smile as on his works: a big honest smile, affirmed, almost smug. " I have this particularity and I always say that God gave me that : joy. It turns out that I have a light in me, and I like to share that with everyone. To find ourselves with this joy, which we call home "bisengo", is not given to everyone. For that, in my works, I represent myself. "
" It's unheard of invention "
His mentor, gallerist André Magnin, is full of praise for JP Mika that he has been taking under his wing for ten years. Magnin, once co-curator of the Magicians of the Earth , the legendary exhibition that opened the history of modern and contemporary art to the non-Western arts 30 years ago, is convinced that the Congolese artist invented something : colored backgrounds on which he reinterprets. It is thought that it is simply a fabric on which he had to paint a character. It's far from just that. It makes penetrate the character in the funds and funds in the character. It's unheard of invention, unheard of beauty and unprecedented precision. He is a very great painter. "
So, not so surprising that his works abound in self-portraits. JP Mika does not hesitate to immortalize, on a canvas of 160 x 120 cm, in the form of a providential man, decked out with glowing slogans: " he who has a big heart ", "to be humble ", " without counting " , " Sacrificing self-interest ", the whole entitled La Générosité : " For me, generosity is very important because at home in Africa, we often live in community. As an artist, I have to be generous. The little that I earn, I like to share that with people who do not earn as much as me. "
Announce the good news
We let ourselves be swept away by the wave of optimism provoked by his creations. JP Mika celebrates Fidelity , Divine Greatness , Lovers , but especially Sango Malamu, the good news : " At home, there can be someone who does not have money, but he is happy. It's really a peculiarity. Me, even if I am in difficulty, I remain happy. With this chart, I say : even if someone has lost hope, good news can always happen. This work announces the good news to everyone. "
And when the difficulties of the world are reflected in paintings such as True Integration or The Course , with its ode to African joy, the Congolese artist JP Mika always seeks to sublimate the existence of human beings. In Migratory Disease , he focuses on the reunion of an immigrant couple, with a baby discovering his father: " I represent the joy of meeting again. I did not want to show all the difficulties behind. I like to give people hope and joy. "
" We were poor, but also rich "
Born in 1980, in Kinshasa, in a poor family, Jean-Paul Nsimbe Mika began very early to cash in his artistic talent. At the age of 13, to make a living, he made murals, billboards, advertisements for bands in his neighborhood: "it fed me, but also my little brothers and sisters. This is my way of doing things. I like helping others. We were poor, but at the same time, we were also rich. "
At that time, he also made his first movie posters: " My first was The Intrepid Hyena of Jackie Chan, the second Bloodsport of Jean-Claude van Damme and the third was for the Suzuki video library, Predator , Arnold Schwarzenegger. That's what taught me the strength of colors and made me the strength to become JP Mika. "
The meeting with Chérie Chérin and Chéri Samba
Thanks to his numerous commercials, one day, in a taxi, he meets Cherie Chérin by chance, the father of Congolese "popular" painting. " He knew my works and he said to me : you make the colors well. Now, we have to start painting. Come to my place ... Thanks to Chéri Chérin, I learned how to compose a painting. "
Through his master, he meets the other star of Congolese painting, Chéri Samba. " I wore a necklace that I always wear, with a pendant adorned with my portrait. And I did another for Chéri Chérin with his portrait. When Chéri Samba saw him, he wanted to know who did it and invited me. At home, I learned how to detail things, how to do things properly. At Chéri Chérin, I learned to compose the idea, to compose the painting. "
Teachers and joy
Very quickly, he also enters the School of Fine Arts in Kinshasa. But the promise quickly turns into a disaster, says André Magnin: " It is 2006. Teachers, Western obediences, want him to make abstraction. He refuses, because abstraction tells him nothing. What interests him is figuration. He wants to be in joy and we see in his paintings of joy and color. For him, that's the beauty he wants to convey to the public, his audience in Kinshasa and his global audience. "
In 2008, JP Mika was selected to accompany Chéri Chérin during an exhibition in Bilbao, Spain. This is the first step towards international recognition. The next very good news comes in 2015, with its participation in Beauté Congo , the pioneering exhibition on Congolese art at the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art.
" Beauty Congo " and JP Mika style
" After this exhibition, the interest in my works has greatly increased. There was success, but also problems [laughs]. Beauty Congo opened me the doors of Europe. Today, Bisengo is the confirmation exhibition. This is the wow effect. "
Each work exhibited dates from the last two years and reflects his own technique. This diversity also allowed him to overcome the image of a painter in the popular style, between Congolese sappers and printed fabrics with floral motifs: " What I'm doing now is the JP Mika style. I created a different way of doing things. Look at me: I'm wearing a flowered jacket, I'm fitting with my paintings. I consider myself a work of art. "
Less political than Chéri Samba and less militant than Chéri Chérin, with his concern for precision and detail, JP Mika is visibly moving towards a pure painting, inhabited by a single message: joy and beauty. For André Magnin, no doubt: " JP Mika is one of the most talented painters on the African continent ".
► Bisengo, JP Mika's exhibition at the Magnin-A gallery, Paris, from September 7 to November 30, 2019.