© Serge Alain Nitegeka. Courtesy of the artist and Stevenson Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Amsterdam. Photo: Thys Dullaart
January 2025—Pearl Lam Galleries is pleased to announce its representation of Johannesburg-based artist Serge Alain Nitegeka across Asia in collaboration with Marianne Boesky Gallery and Stevenson.
Born in Rwanda in 1983 and now living in Johannesburg, Nitegeka is celebrated for his innovative paintings and sculptures, including large-scale and site-specific installations. His artistic practice is deeply informed by his early experiences as a refugee, addressing themes of identity shaped by forced migration and the intricacies of cultural and political borders.
Nitegeka’s work engages with complex notions of survival and identity. He navigates the “mechanics of negotiating survival”, focusing on the Black subject emerging from “dark dust to dust and black to black”. His refugee experience informs a migratory aesthetic that allows him to abstract and formalise his narratives, often distracting audiences from purely biographical readings.
Central to his practice is the idea of “movement and load”—a metaphor for the burdens carried by immigrants, including the mental, physical, and psychological weight of displacement, as well as the historical burdens that accompany one’s cultural narrative. His sculptures serve as a means of negotiating this physical load, embodying a quality of contingency that reflects the precariousness of existence.
Nitegeka’s work fosters a contemplative state, encouraging viewers to engage in a mindset of solitude and reprieve through postponement. His art speaks to the collapsing of space and ties to art historical movements like constructivism and avant-garde, inviting a return to foundational concepts of creation.
The artist operates within two creative trajectories: figure and abstraction, merging performance sculpture with visual art. This liminal quality allows for a “slippage of meanings”, where the artist surrenders control and invites the audience into an intermediary space. His sculptures and paintings provoke narrative readings, questioning what is present and what is missing, ultimately depicting a collective psychological landscape that transcends his individual experience.
Pearl Lam, founder of Pearl Lam Galleries, states, “Serge Alain Nitegeka’s work is a profound exploration of identity and space. His ability to engage viewers in such a meaningful way through various mediums, especially within the realm of abstract art, is what makes his work particularly relevant today. We are thrilled to represent him in Asia and to share his powerful narrative with a new audience.”
The gallery is proud to present his distinctive style, inviting audiences to delve into his artistic vision. We are also thrilled to announce that Nitegeka’s solo exhibition is scheduled for 2026 at our Shanghai gallery, further enhancing his presence in the art world.
SERGE ALAIN NITEGEKA b. 1983, Displaced Peoples in Situ: Studio Study XXVI, 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 133.5 x 133.5 cm (52 1/2 x 52 1/2 in.)
About Serge Alain Nitegeka
Nitegeka was born in Rwanda in 1983 and currently resides in Johannesburg, South Africa. From 2012 to 2022, he held solo exhibitions in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Amsterdam. His work has also been showcased in New York for several years (2020, 2018, 2016, and 2014), at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia (2015), and in Dakar (2012). Throughout his career, Nitegeka has received a number of accolades, including the 2019 Grant Award from the Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation, the 2018 Villa Extraordinary Award for Sculpture from the Claire & Edoardo Villa Will Trust, and the 2010 Tollman Award for the Visual Arts. In 2010, he was also selected for the Dakar Biennale, where he won a prize from the Fondation Jean Paul Blachère.
