Congo artists are creating some really exciting work | CNN

Steve Bandoma/Florian Kleinefenn

Steve Bandoma studied at the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Kinshasa before co-founding the avant-garde collective, Librisme Synergie. Bandoma's painting-collage hybrids reflect the energy and violence of the contemporary world. (Pictured: Je suis jeune, Cassius Clay series, 2014)

Ambroise Ngaimako/ Andre Morin

Ambroise Ngaimako fled war in Angola and settled in Kinshasa where he eventually opened Studio 3Z. He mainly photographed young men -- athletes or sapeurs -- but became known for his innovative photography. He often printed two negatives onto the same paper, or duplicated images using the same negative -- a novel approach at the time. (Pictured: Euphorie de deux jeunes qui se retrouvent, 1972)

JP Mika / Antoine de Roux

Born in 1980, Jean Paul Mika is the youngest of the 'Popular Painters' included in The Foundation Cartier's Beaute Congo exhibit. His characters are modeled after the type of studio portraits popular in 1960's Kinshasa. (Pictured: Kiese na Kiese, 2014)

Kiripi Katembo

Kiripi Katembo uses photography and video to explore the urban environment. In 2009, he made the photographic series Un Regard, which depicts gritty Kinshasa through puddles. (Pictured: Subir, 2011)

Cheri Samba / Andre Morina

Cheri Samba earned a living as a billboard painter and comic book artist before opening his own studio in 1975. He is often one of the subjects in his paintings, and often weaves in text in French and Lingala. (Pictured: Oui, il faut reflechir, 2014)

Jean Deoara

Jean Depara captured the glamor of 1950s Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) in his photographs. He was the designated photographer for the the musician Franco, and enjoyed nightclubs in the late hours to snap people as they left. He also followed the Bills -- the term for young Congolese men from working class neighborhoods who styled themselves after actors from American Westerns. (Pictured: Untitled, c. 1955-65)

Jean-Bosco Kamba/ Michael De Plaen

A graduate of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, Jean-Bosco Kamba was famous for his rich, meticulous landscapes. He was particularly drawn to fishing scenes. (Pictured: Untitled, 1958)

Albert Lubaki/ Fabrice Gousset

Albert Lubaki was one of Congo's earliest contemporary painters, creating works in the mid-1920s when Congo was still a Belgian colony. His is known for framing his images with an irregular frame, that help draw the eye to the scene at hand. (Pictured: Untitled, 1927)

Sylvestre Kaballa/ Michael De Plaen

Sylvestre Kaballa was one of a dozen Congolese artists who achieved international fame in the 50s. A student of Frenchman Pierre Romain-Desfosses, Kaballa exhibited in Belgium, Paris, Rome, London at at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). (Pictured: Untitled, c. 1950)

CNN —

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) used to bring to mind images of civil war and conflict. Lately, the country is conjuring another image: that of trendsetters. The sapeur fashion movement has inspired designers from around the world, including, most recently, British designer Paul Smith, and homegrown musicians, like Papa Wemba and Koffi Olomide, have become global sensations. Now, the international art world is also turning to the DRC.

Paris’ Fondation Cartier is currently hosting Beaute Congo, one of the largest retrospectives of contemporary art from the DRC to date. The exhibit, which ends November 15, spans 90 years, 350 works and 41 different artists who have mastered mediums ranging from comic books to collage. The exhibit was curated by Andre Magnin, a Frenchman whose commitment to connecting contemporary African art with European audiences is unwavering.

“These artists, who had begun as billboard painters, decorators and illustrators, had set up their studio on the busy streets of Kinshasa so that their canvases would be seen by everyone,” he says about his draw to the artwork he chose.

“I was struck by the freedom, variety, humor, and beauty of the paintings that were passing before my eyes.” His message to the public, he says, is:

“Here are wonders. Look at things we’ve never seen.”

A bitter-sweet display?

Some artists, however, have expressed frustration that their success in the international arena seems dependent on the efforts of Western enthusiasts.

“We want to combat stereotypes of African artists,” says Steve Bandoma, one of the exhibition’s emerging artists who incorporates found objects in his paintings.

“Though we travel and are exposed overseas, there are always limitations. We don’t have access to the market. Why did we have to go to Andre Magnin to get this space?”

Other artists expressed the need for those in the art world to experience African art from within the continent. In a brochure for the exhibit, Magnin interviewed self-taught sculptor Bodys Isek Kingelez, who noted that:

“Most often art critics and western or even African curators neither see nor understand Africa from Africa’s perspective. They work with their ears. They need to go to Kinshasa.”

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