Artist pays tribute to Wangari Maathai at Talisman

The Butterfly by Nani Croze. Photo/FILE

What you need to know:

  • The wrought iron silhouette of her face and khanga ‘crown’ is framed with a four-pointed transparent cross that’s attached to an over-arching iron second frame.

Quietly yet consistently, the Talisman restaurant in Karen has become one of the most sought-after venues among both Kenyan and international artists who want to exhibit their work in a public space that has a track record for producing healthy sales for the artists.

One reason the eatery’s got such a good track record is its atmosphere or ambience.

The restaurant itself as an old colonial home transformed into a cosy, elegant and open-air space that allows one to appreciate Kenya’s temperate climate even when, as in recent times, there’s a chill in the air.

To remedy the cooling consequences of global warming, Talisman has multiple fire places and any number of artsy mobile heaters to keep their customers warm even when there’s pouring rain and wind outside.

Another reason the place is filled to the gills during daylight (as well as evening) hours is due to its lush and leafy garden, which is where most of Kitengela Glass’s Leaves exhibition of dalle de verre (or faceted) glass and wrought iron sculptures are dispersed.

The free-standing multi-shaped and sized green glass leaves both blend in with and beautify the garden, as if they were designed to fit into that specific garden.

But Croze, who founded Kitengela Glass and also helped spawn her son Anselm’s complementary glass blowing business, was actually inspired not by that specific garden but by all the trees she sees between Nairobi’s Central Business District and her home and glass gallery at Kitengela.

The truth of her commitment to both conservation and Kenya’s first (and only) female Nobel laureate is reflected in the 10 foot tall glass memorial to Prof Maathai which currently stands at the restaurant’s main entrance.

The wrought iron silhouette of her face and khanga ‘crown’ is framed with a four-pointed transparent cross that’s attached to an over-arching iron second frame.

It’s well worth looking out for the silhouette before you head inside the restaurant since it will enable you to see that there’s a linkage between Kenya’s leading freedom fighter for Mother Earth and Croze’s leaves.

Also situated on or near the restaurant’s veranda, Croze’s glass and metal creatures—from her life-size cheetah and crow to her miniature dog are also stunning examples of what Croze and her team of experienced glass artisans can do with recycled glass bottles.

Quick to give her Kitengela team of glass artisans credit for translating her original ideas into full-fledged 3D sculptures, Croze notes that they are nearly as fast as she is at coming up with fresh new design ideas.

Meanwhile, just as Croze’s Leaf sculptures are outside in the garden or on the veranda, inside Rahab Njambi Shine’s landscape paintings are filling every bit of free wall space with her impressionistic renderings of places she knows well but which may not be as familiar to most Talisman clients.

BEAUTIFULLY BLENDED HUES

That doesn’t matter, however, since Rahab’s 2D paintings complement Croze’s 3D glass and metal art very well. Her semi-abstract ‘scapes are contextualized with beautifully blended hues, suggesting that her paintings don’t refer to specific places, yet t they actually do.

Not many Karen residents may have even heard of Mlolongo, Kiamumbi, Thurgunui or Kongasisi villages. But they may have heard of the Syokimau Demolition which took place not long ago when the Government approved the clearing of Syokimau village of squatters to pave the way for some so-called development project.

Rahab’s painting of the site captures the feeling of devastation and destruction. Yet her art doesn’t need historical or social knowledge of the places she paints since her magical mixtures of blended colours, textures, light and terrains elicit appreciation in and of themselves.

Rahab’s paintings range from Sh18,000 to Sh150,000 while Nani’s glass art goes for between Sh700 and Sh120,000 (although the cheetah is a ‘steal’ at Sh300,000).

Both of their exhibitions run through to the end of the month. According to Talisman’s Christine Nguli, the walls, verandas and garden spaces are already booked solid by busy visual artists halfway through next year.

STORY sourced from the Business Daily