Cyrus Kabiru
Big Cat, from the C-Stunners series
About the SessionNAIROBI – Following their successful collaboration in 2025, Strauss & Co, Africa’s leading auction house, and Danda Jaroljmek, Director of Art Auction East Africa, will present Art Auction East Africa | Strauss & Co, a 67-lot sale bringing together modern and contemporary art from East Africa and the wider continent. The live-virtual sale will be held at Circle Art Gallery in Nairobi on Wednesday, 28 October, 2026, 7pm EAT. The catalogue spans a diversity of East African countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda, alongside works by artists from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Nigeria. Works on paper, photography and sculpture complements the strong painting consignment. “The selection invites collectors to discover East Africa’s diverse modernist histories, particularly those beyond the Anglophone world,” says Susie Goodman. “In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in East African modernists, with artists associated with the Khartoum School shown in museums and fairs globally. Our work as an auction house rooted in Africa is ensuring this rediscovery is not temporary. We are delighted to partner with Danda Jaroljmek in cultivating a sustainable secondary market for East African modernists active during the era of decolonisation and independence.” A preview exhibition will be held at Circle Art Gallery, Victoria Square, Riara Road, Nairobi, during the two weeks preceding the auction on Wednesday, 28 October 2026.
LOT 30
Cyrus Kabiru
Big Cat, from the C-Stunners series
About this Item
signed, numbered 2/10 and inscribed with the title on a label adhered to the reverse
Provenance
Private Collection.
Notes
Cyrus Kabiru was born in Nairobi, Kenya, where he still lives and works.
In 2013, Kabiru was a fellow at TED’s The Young, The Gifted, The Undiscovered conference in Los Angeles. In 2016, he was selected as one of Quartz’s Africa Innovators in Nairobi, Kenya; he was a featured artist in the Gestalten publication titled Africa Rising: Fashion, Design and Lifestyle from Africa; and he was the resident artist at the Han Nefkens Foundation in Barcelona, Spain. He participated in the Zeitz MOCAA Artist in Residency Programme in Kenya in 2018 and in the Africa First residency in Israel in 2019.
Kabiru has exhibited frequently in solo and group shows, both internationally and on the African continent, including Upcoming in 2010 at the Kuona Trust in Nairobi, Kenya; C-Stunners & Black Mamba at SMAC Gallery in Cape Town; Beyond Borders, the 5th Beaufort Triennial in West Flanders Belgium; Lumières d’Afriques at the Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris, France; and The Shadows Took Shape at The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York.
Kabiru’s work is included in the Zeitz MOCAA permanent collection and in numerous other notable public and private collections in Europe, the United States of America, Kenya, and South Africa.
Biography adapted from information courtesy of Africa First.
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