Chelenge Van Rampelberg: The Long Way Home

Best known as a sculptor and printmaker, Chelenge Van Rampelberg has, in a career spanning almost four decades exceptional works in painting, printmaking, engraving, and sculpture. The Long Way Home marks the first-ever exhibition to cover the entirety of her career, inviting attention to Chelenges artistic methods and the subjects with which she has been preoccupied all through the concept of home; our connection with the natural world; motherhood and family; and the position and power of women in our society.

This exhibition chronicles the evolution of Chelenge practice, commencing with her initial forays into painting with oil on paper, and wood sculpture in the early to mid 1980s. This phase was succeeded by her exploration of printmaking, a transition that began after her participation in a printmaking workshop at the French Cultural Centre in Nairobi, organized by Gallery Watatu in 1992. This, in turn, paved the way for her embrace of engraving, a technique for which she has gained recognition.

A masterful storyteller, Chelenge weaves narratives that are deeply rooted in her own life experiences. Her artistic approach shuttles effortlessly between keen observation and abstract interpretation, enabling her creations to serve not only as personal chronicles but also as profound reflections on the circumstances of our being in the world.