Pilkington Ssengendo
Untitled (Abstract with Faces and Figures in Red)
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 62
Pilkington Ssengendo
Untitled (Abstract with Faces and Figures in Red)
About this Item
signed
Provenance
The Artist's Estate.
Notes
Born in 1942 in Kampala, Uganda, Pilkington Ssengendo studied visual art and sculpture at Makerere University, eventually culminating in his PhD degree in Fine Art which he was awarded at the age of 70. He began lecturing at the University in 1983 and was the Dean of the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Art between 1992 and 2005. Ssengendo broke away from the British teaching syllabus that focused on European Modernity to focus on creating artworks that celebrated his people and his cultural identity.
Ssengendo used natural materials including jute, bark cloth and beads in a unique style, critically exploring East African cultural themes through western techniques using colour, perspective, line and pattern in his paintings.
Professor Pilkington Ssengendo died in 2015 leaving behind a rich legacy of paintings and sculptures and the thriving art institution that he was instrumental in shaping.
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