Michael Armitage's 'The Promise of Change' Opens at Palazzo Grassi

Michael Armitage, 42, presents a monographic exhibition titled 'The Promise of Change' at Palazzo Grassi in Venice, running until January 10, 2027. The show features 46 large paintings and nearly 100 sketches, surveying his work over the past decade. Armitage, born in 1984 in Kenya to an English father and Kenyan mother, blends East African and Western European influences. His artistic education began in Kenya, influenced by artists like Chelenge Van Rampelberg and Meek Gichugu, and later at the Byam Shaw School of Art, the Slade, and the Royal Academy. He uses lubugo bark canvas from Uganda, which he discovered in 2012. The exhibition includes works inspired by Jak Katarikawe, Titian, and Ousmane Sembène. Recent paintings from 2025 depict Indonesian landscapes, where he now lives. The show is held at Palazzo Grassi, owned by François Pinault since 2005, and includes a catalogue designed by Irma Boom with an essay by Salman Rushdie. Armitage's first major breakthrough came after a 2016 exhibition at White Cube in London.