Indigo Arts represents a collection of paintings from the influential painting workshop in Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi) in the colony of the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The workshop, L'Academie Congolaise d'Art Populaire, generally known as "Le Hangar" was founded in 1946 by the French painter and former colonial soldier, Pierre Romain-Desfossés. Several of the "le Hangar" artists, such as Bela, Pilipili Mulungoy and Mwenze Kibwanga proved very influential on the next generation of artists in the Congo, and later on other African art movements such as the Tinga Tinga painters in Tanzania. The work of several of the artists was featured in the groundbreaking 2015 exhibit Congo Beauté 1926 - 2015 Congo Kitoko, at the Fondation Cartier in Paris. The work in our collection is by two of the artists who studied under Pilipili Mulungoy - Kabinda Kunkulu Victor and Mwila. Painted in 1958 and 1959, these paintings came from the collection of the late Belgian art collector and dealer, Max Berkovitch.
I will be out of the country for about six weeks, from May 1st to June 17th, and so will not be shipping orders or open for visitors at the gallery after April 27. The Indigo Arts website will be active as always. Because I will be traveling in a remote area I will not have email or phone access for most of the time. I will respond to messages as soon as possible. I will be able to process and ship orders after June 17th, 2026. Thank you for your patience.
Namaste!
