Our Daily Bread

Mhlenga Kabwe, "Our Daily Bread", 2025, Mixed media on canvas, 23.6 x 31.5 in. (80 x 60cm)

Framed in wood.

Though I was unable to meet Mhlenga during a recent trip to Lusaka, we were able to have a phone call and exchange several messages on WhatsApp. I prefer discussing captivating works by artists in person, but Mhlenga described this piece to me on WhatsApp as his portrayal of the pressure of everyday strife and desperation that, in this painting, is neither urban nor rural. He chose to simplify, if not reduce, the hardship of subsisting through a combination of red and orange: intense colors that immediately draw your attention. The subjects are in black and red, radiating an essence of forlorn disquietude. Yet, looming large and above the subjects, as a symbol of hope, is a voluminous cloud speckled with patches of white.