CHRISTINA KIMEZE

On a foundation of suede matboard, Kimeze combines dry chalk, oil pastel and wet paints, crushing and merging her mediums into the fabric ground. The technique gives Kimeze’s paintings an atmosphere of indeterminacy that underscores her subject matter: the shifting, transient nature of memory and shared experience. Recurring motifs, such as abstracted foliage and architectural arches, create delineation within the paintings and are Kimeze’s tools for blurring the lines that exist between the personal and public. In some of her more recent works, Kimeze draws inspiration from the resurgence of roller skating in Black communities in the UK, seeing it as a metaphor for flight and freedom. Through her paintings, she captures the sensation of gliding through space while also reflecting on the tension of existing between two states—both grounded and soaring.

This exhibition follows Kimeze’s first UK solo exhibition at South London Gallery, ‘Between Wood and Wheel’ (31 January – 11 May 2025).