Tabitha wa Thuku
Get up, Sets to Destination
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 44
Tabitha wa Thuku
Get up, Sets to Destination
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
About this Item
signed and dated 97; inscribed with the artists name, the title and medium on the reverse
Provenance
The Artist's Collection.
Notes
Born in the year of Kenya’s Independence, Tabitha wa Thuku began her creative practice as a young, self-taught artist, and one of the only female artists of her generation. Now, with a career of over three decades, Wa Thuku has made a name for herself as a painter unencumbered by convention. Wa artworks, which shift between figuration and abstraction, are distinguished by their earthy, smouldering palettes and intense textural qualities, often creating a strong sense of presence and place.
Tabitha wa Thuku has created and exhibited consistently since 1988. She originally studied textiles and clothing technology at Kenya Polytechnic, then from 1996 to 1999 she attended the Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts. Wa Thuku has undertaken various workshops and residencies to develop a wide range of techniques, demonstrated in her extensive body of work. She has also worked in various organizations as an art educator, teaching and mentoring children and young artists.
Wa Thuku has exhibited regularly throughout her career in Kenya and abroad, including in the Netherlands, Italy, Hong Kong and Denmark, she had a major retrospective, Seasons within a Season, Circle Art Gallery, 2024 and her work is included in private and public collections in Kenya, including those of the National Museum of Kenya, the Safaricom collection, PwC and MMC Africa Law.
Biography courtesy of Circle Art Gallery
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