Godwin Champs Namuyimba

Known for his arresting, intricately layered portraits, Ugandan artist Godwin Champs Namuyimba uses the human form to explore identity, race and individuality in the context of postcolonial Africa. Depicting his friends, family and acquaintances with striking insight and humanity, he challenges and critiques stereotypical depictions of Black people. “I try to approach the subjects from a point of empathy,” says Namuyimba. “I am interested in what happens when the subject is transformed into the content.”

Born in Masaka, Uganda in 1989, Namuyimba earned his BFA from Kyambogo University in Kampala in 2017. He credits his formal training with offering a platform for his art, but notes that his professional discipline is largely self-taught. In 2019, Namuyimba had his first European solo exhibition at Gallery Steinsland Berliner in Stockholm; since then, he has exhibited around the world in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Brussels. In recent years, paintings by Namuyimba have regularly outperformed estimates at auction, signaling rising demand for the artist’s work. He currently lives and works in Entebbe, Uganda.