2025-04-23 | Jean Katambayi Mukendi: work ‘The Concentrator’ is now a part of the KUL Collection

‘The Concentrator’ by our fellow Jean Katambayi Mukendi is now part of the KUL Collection, the art collection of the University of Leuven, Belgium.

“(...) Katambayi believes in flow, in a human capacity that is beyond all-too-easy linear thinking – to regain something pressing such as a social equilibrium. The Concentrator (2022), the center of this exhibition, is a machine in which he imagines the separation of minerals from the residue and various impurities. As in all Katambayi’s sculptures this one was produced with simple materials at-hand, since the aim to depart into the unknown must start from what’s common. In making an imagined process of separation visible, all the constituent parts have the same weight, in this manner his machine turns into a metaphor for connection. At some point the artist has noted that the simple material his work consists of might decay, but the formulas he employs are for everyone’s use..” (excerpt of exhibition text by Martin Germann accompanying Jean Katambayi Mukendi’s solo exhibition titled ‘f’low’ at Wouters Gallery, in 2022)

Image: installation views at Wouters Gallery (photo credit Luk Vander Plaetse)

The exhibition 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘴! was a co-production of Framer Framed (Amsterdam, NL) and Z33 (Hasselt, BE). The participation of Jean Katambayi Mukendi was made possible by the Thami Mnyele Foundation Residency Award.

On-Trade-Off is an artist-run project initiated by Picha & Enough Room for Space.