Born in 1978, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lives and works in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Houston Maludi has been drawing since childhood, first using watercolors scavenged from an uncle and a piece of wood as a makeshift brush. He studied at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Kinshasa, graduating in 1997 from the painting department. Inspired by the Cubist masters Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, and after years of experimentation and aesthetic research, Maludi developed in 2008 a personal form of Cubism, which he calls “Monochromatic Symbiotic Quantum Cubism,” achieved through a “symbiosis of forms.”
Maludi primarily works in black and white—or in other sharply contrasting bichromes—using a single, continuous, sinuous line to define multiple levels of interpretation within the same work. He seeks to achieve “a perfect and discreet unity of elements.” A single curve may delineate a character’s shoulder in the foreground and simultaneously outline the edge of a crowded road in another plane of the composition. Everything is contained within everything.
The line expresses life in its constant dynamism, appearing infinite as it fills the canvas with an horror vacui that may evoke both the congestion of a city like Kinshasa and the absence of emptiness in the universe itself. His restrained palette enhances the graphic quality of his work. Viewed from afar, his paintings resemble hazy monochromes, only to reveal vibrant urban landscapes upon closer inspection. “In symbiotic cubism, error does not exist; if you know how to use it, it becomes a new line, seamlessly integrated into the composition,” he explains.
For Maludi, art is a quest—a search for truth within the infinite universe. His name, “Maludi,” means Freedom. He believes that he does not create his paintings; rather, they shape him, leaving a mark on his being. Once a work is complete, he feels transformed, more mature, evolving in step with his artistic production: “I search for truth in form because matter is an obstacle to vision; I pierce through it to discover the infinite universe. This is my approach and my philosophy.”
Collections
Société Générale, Paris, France
Fondation Francès, Senlis, France
CAAC, The Jean Pigozzi Collection, Geneva, Switzerland
Collection Farida et Henri Seydoux, Paris, France
Fondation d'Entreprise Francès, Senlis, France
Fonds de dotation agnès b., Paris, France
Museo Sa Bassa Blanca, Alcudia, Spain
The Jorge M. Perez Art Collection, Miami, USA
