Het meest geliefde schilderij van Moké is Warm night in the city (1999). Untitled (Night Seen, Kin Bar) (1995) en Madame Bomengo (1998) volgen daarna in de lijst met doeken die lezers het beste kennen. Onze catalogus bevat 5 werken van Moké: hier zijn de 5 bekendste, elk met het jaartal, het museum en wat het werk zo bijzonder maakt.
Gerangschikt op basis van onze populariteitsscore, die de zoekopdrachten, bezoeken en bestellingen voor elk werk combineert. Bijgewerkt in november 2026.
Seen rightly as a “painter reporter” of city life, Moke (born 1950, Ibe, Bandundu Province, Belgian Congo, died in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2001) was among the leading artists of the school of popular painting that sprung up in Kinshasa in the first decade of Zaïre’s independence. He arrived in Kinshasa at the age of ten, living hand to mouth and day by day. Discovering that there was…
Seen rightly as a “painter reporter” of city life, Moke (born 1950, Ibe, Bandundu Province, Belgian Congo, died in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2001) was among the leading artists of the school of popular painting that sprung up in Kinshasa in the first decade of Zaïre’s independence. He arrived in Kinshasa at the age of ten, living hand to mouth and day by day. Discovering that there was…
Seen rightly as a “painter reporter” of city life, Moke (born 1950, Ibe, Bandundu Province, Belgian Congo, died in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2001) was among the leading artists of the school of popular painting that sprung up in Kinshasa in the first decade of Zaïre’s independence. He arrived in Kinshasa at the age of ten, living hand to mouth and day by day. Discovering that there was…
Seen rightly as a “painter reporter” of city life, Moke (born 1950, Ibe, Bandundu Province, Belgian Congo, died in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2001) was among the leading artists of the school of popular painting that sprung up in Kinshasa in the first decade of Zaïre’s independence. He arrived in Kinshasa at the age of ten, living hand to mouth and day by day. Discovering that there was…
Seen rightly as a “painter reporter” of city life, Moke (born 1950, Ibe, Bandundu Province, Belgian Congo, died in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2001) was among the leading artists of the school of popular painting that sprung up in Kinshasa in the first decade of Zaïre’s independence. He arrived in Kinshasa at the age of ten, living hand to mouth and day by day. Discovering that there was…
De gedateerde doeken van Moké op deze pagina beslaan slechts 6 jaar, van 1995 tot 2000: volg ze jaar voor jaar, in hun eigen licht.
Seen rightly as a “painter reporter” of city life, Moke (born 1950, Ibe, Bandundu Province, Belgian Congo, died in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2001) was among…
Seen rightly as a “painter reporter” of city life, Moke (born 1950, Ibe, Bandundu Province, Belgian Congo, died in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2001) was among…
Seen rightly as a “painter reporter” of city life, Moke (born 1950, Ibe, Bandundu Province, Belgian Congo, died in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2001) was among…
Seen rightly as a “painter reporter” of city life, Moke (born 1950, Ibe, Bandundu Province, Belgian Congo, died in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2001) was among…
Seen rightly as a “painter reporter” of city life, Moke (born 1950, Ibe, Bandundu Province, Belgian Congo, died in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2001) was among…
Warm night in the city (1999), gevolgd door Untitled (Night Seen, Kin Bar) (1995) en Madame Bomengo (1998).
Moké, geboren in 1950, was 49 jaar oud: Warm night in the city dateert uit 1999.
5 werken van Moké zijn opgenomen in onze catalogus, gedateerd van 1995 tot 2000.
In 2000, die 2 van de 5 werken op deze pagina vertegenwoordigt, waaronder Joy in Kinshasa.
Het oudste canvas hier is Untitled (Night Seen, Kin Bar) (1995); het nieuwste is Joy in Kinshasa (2000).
Known widely by his moniker Moke, Mosengo Kejwamfi was far more than a mere creator of images; he was a "painter reporter" who captured the very heartbeat of Kinshasia. Born in Ibebjué, Democratic Republic of the Congo, his journey to the bustling metropolis began at the age of ten. Arriving in the city with little more than the will to survive, he lived hand to mouth, navigating the daily struggles of urban life. It was through this intimate, raw connection to the streets that Moke discovered his calling. In a remarkable display of self-taught brilliance, he learned to render vibrant landscapes and bustling scenes upon discarded pieces of cardboard, turning the refuse of the city into a canvas for its soul.
His artistic ascent was marked by a pivotal moment in 1965, when he painted a depiction of General Mobutu waving to crowds during an Independence Day parade. This composition, which he would return to many times throughout his career, served as the launchpad for his professional life. Settling his studio at the crossroads of Kasa Vubu and Bolobo avenues—a district teeming with billboard and advertising artists—he immersed himself in the rhythmic pulse of the city. His work became a window into the social fabric of Zaïre, documenting the energy of a nation finding its footing in the first decade of independence.
Moke’s aesthetic was deeply rooted in the conventions of commercial art, yet he elevated these techniques to create something uniquely profound. He possessed a singular ability to use bold outlines for his robust figures, eschewing traditional concerns for perspective or exact likeness in favor of a more expressive, painterly truth. His palette was rich and inviting, used to animate compositions that felt as alive as the streets they depicted. Unlike some of his contemporaries who focused on social friction, Moke’s work was characterized by a sympathetic and often humorous lens.
His canvases served as a joyous chronicle of Kinshasa's diverse social strata and cultural phenomena, including:
Through his eyes, the viewer does not merely see a city; they feel its warmth, its noise, and its unyielding spirit. Moke’s legacy remains etched in the colorful, lively depictions of a Kinshasa that continues to pulse with the very life he so lovingly recorded.
