Solomon Luvai

Presentation

Solomon Luvai is a Kenyan artist based in Nairobi who, for eight years, has made public work that addresses social issues such as mental health, contemporary life, and music. Self-taught artist Solomon was trained as a painter but to reach a broader public, he has utilized forms such as charcoal, junk paper, mixed media, and chalk. He often collaborates with specific persons to produce relatable characters and issue-specific projects that are relevant to a unique set of conditions. Through these public works, he has drawn on recycled strawboard paper and put it into gold, given liking to formerly fanatics of his previous works, and mentored young female emerging tattoo artists as a side skill. Solomons’ work has been exhibited and collected throughout Kenya, featured at institutions such as Goethe Institute, Buruburu Institute of Fine Art, Mckinsey and Co., and the Nairobi National Museum, among others. He has received broad support for his work, most notably from Mckinsey and Co. Solomon has taught at Karen village a group of young emerging female tattoo artists how to capitalize their craft rather than just painting and working collectively to make ends meet to better their chances of accessing supplies without having to get scammed over unknowingly. In 2023 he started a new collective with two other artists at the Two Rivers Mall and plans to stay and work there for a long time