BELA

Originally from Chad, Bela (1920? -1968) from the Sara tribe, is an artist discovered in the 60s. It was alongside Pierre Romain-Desfossés (1887-1954) that Bela discovered painting. Romain-Desfossés is a former French officer who set up an art centre in 1946: Le Hangar. This studio is a creative space where the idea is not to learn how to paint like they do in the West. Bela conveys the beauty of nature in its purest form. The artist’s flora and fauna defy any perspective, and the colours glorify the subjects that they represent. Bela’s fish fly into the abyss of the sea, while his antelopes swim in the African bush. Unrivalled in his use of colour, Bela juggles with bright, contrasting shades, fearlessly reinterpreting reality. Bela’s world is one in which none of the pictorial laws taught in the history of Western art exist anymore. Quite the contrary, the Chadian rewrites the rules and, encouraged by Romains-Desfossés, hones his technique using his fingers, giving his work a unique finish. The work of Bela and his fellow students would probably never have been recognised without the interest and curiosity of certain passionate admirers. Artists such as Pilipili Mulongoy, Mwenze Kibwanga, Buya, Ilunga, Kabeya, Raphaël Kalela and Bela were thus brought out of the shadows, partly thanks to art dealers who saw in these Congolese works, something that was as unique as it was talented.