Kaloki Nyamai was born in Kenya and currently lives in Nairobi. His painting practice entwines material investigation with a wide-reaching exploration of subject matter. Grounded in hidden narratives, uneasy stories of identity, environment and memory, offering fragments to be pieced together slowly. The lengthy, searching process employed in the making of the works is mirrored in the experience of viewing them.

In early works the artist documented the slum settlement that he grew up in.These charcoal pieces are intended to capture a space in flux, to preserve an impression of these fragile sites. But they were also about adding complexity to widely held perceptions of such environments. His work has developed a lot since these pieces, Kaloki’s subject remains closely connected.

Nyamai explores the parallels between the past and the present through richly-layered, multimedia works. Drawing heavily on the stories of the Kamba people, the works explore how history and identity are intertwined and how this has informed the identities of people living in present day, post-colonial Kenya.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024
'Twe Vaa', James Cohan, New York, United States of America

2023
'Unlimited Dining in Chaos', Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin, Germany
'Dining in Chaos', Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin, Germany

2022
'Moments I Wished I Had', Keijsers Koning Gallery, Dallas, United States of America
'Moments That I Miss', Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin, Germany

2021
'A New Country', Gallery 1957, Accra, Ghana

2019
'What I Won’t Tell You', Septieme Gallery, Paris, France
'Mwaki Nginya Evinda Enge (The Fire Next Time)', Circle Art Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya

2018
'I Am Not My Father', EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town, South Africa

2017
'Changing Room', Kuona Trust Art Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

2015
'Letters from the Other Side', Oriel Plas Glyn Y Weddw Gallery, Wales, United Kingdom

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024
'The True Size of Africa: Transcontinental Perspectives', Völklinger Hütte, Völklingen, Germany

2023
'Filling in the Pieces in Black', Saatchi Gallery, London, United Kingdom
'Filling in the Pieces in Black', Maruani Mercier Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
'Africa Supernova', Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort, Netherlands
'Unlimited II', Gallery 1057, Accra, Ghana

2022
'Layered Histories', with Collin Sekajugo, Gallery 1957, London, United Kingdom
'Masterpiece III', Band of Vices, Los Angeles, Unites States of America
'Maverick Magical', Deli Gallery, New York, United States of America

2020
Stellenbosch Triennale curated by Khanyisile Mbongwa, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, EBONY/CURATED, South Africa

2019
‘Seed-1’ hosted by SAFFCA, Villa Arcadia, Johannesburg, South Africa
Ostrale Biennale O19, Dresden, Germany
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town, South Africa

2018
Kampala Art Biennale, Kampala, Uganda
52Lager Gallery, Windisch, Switzerland
Also Known As Africa (AKAA) Art Fair, EBONY/CURATED, Paris, France
‘Summer Exhibition’, EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town, South Africa

2017
Washa, CreateHub Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Also Known As Africa (AKAA) Art Fair, EBONY/CURATED, Paris, France
‘Changing Room’, Kuona Trust Art Centre Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya
'Miradas', Gravity Art Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya
‘Young Guns’, Circle Art Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya

2016
‘Letters from the Other Side’, March Oriel Plas Glyn Weddw Gallery, Pwllheli, United Kingdom
L’Atelier Art Competition, Absa Gallery, South Africa
Circle Gallery, Lamu, Kenya

2015
'Pleasures of the Gaze', After Nyne Magazine, Exhibitionist Hotel London, London, United kingdom
Millerntor Gallery Festival, Hamburg, Germany
'Portraits Exhibition', Brick Lane Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Apthorp Gallery, London, United Kingdom

2014
Omnibus Art Centre, London, United Kingdom
Nairobi Cultural Festival, Mexican Embassy, Nairobi, Kenya

2013
Manjano Art Exhibition, Village Market Exhibition Hall, Nairobi, Kenya

2012
'Friends of the Arts', International School of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
'High Voltage Roofs', Talisman Restaurant, Nairobi, Kenya
'Paint Me a Future, Vol II', Gazzambo Gallery, Madrid, Spain
'Paint Me a Future, Vol I', Panafric, Nairobi, Kenya

2011
November Gazzambo Art Gallery, Madrid, Spain

2010
Godown Art Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

2006
French Cultural Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

COLLECTIONS

Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Unites States of America
Pérez Art Museum, Miami, Unites States of America
SAFFCA (Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art), Brussels, Belgium
UTA Artist Space, Beverly Hills, Unites States of America

RESIDENCIES

2023
Kamene Art Residency, Kenya

2021
Artist in Residence Program, Gallery 1957, Accra, Ghana

2019
August House, SAFFCA, Johannesburg, South Africa

DOCUMENTARIES

2018
‘Kaloki Nyamai’, CNN, a profile documentary