Michael Armitage's 'The Promised Land' at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo

Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin presents 'The Promised Land', a solo exhibition by Kenyan-born artist Michael Armitage (b. 1984, Nairobi). The show takes its title from the 2019 painting 'The Promised Land', which depicts a moment from recent Kenyan elections where a young girl is fatally shot as the crowd collapses. Armitage's work addresses social issues such as homosexuality, child brides, and healthcare corruption, rooted in African memory and hope. His paintings are executed in oil on Lubugo bark cloth, a labor-intensive material that resists the artist, echoing the tensions in the content. Notably, the exhibition features no explanatory labels, a deliberate choice by Armitage to allow direct, subjective engagement. Key works include 'Antigone' (2018), portraying a black woman who chooses rather than being chosen, challenging mass morality. Armitage gathers raw reality from Kenya and reworks it in his London studio. The exhibition is described as welcoming, provocative, and frank, with vibrant color application belying unsettling themes.