Michael Armitage, a Kenyan British artist based in Bali since 2022, is the subject of a major survey exhibition titled "The Promise of Change" at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, organized by the Pinault Collection and curated by Jean-Marie Gallais. The show, running through January 2027 and coinciding with the Venice Biennale, features 45 paintings and some 120 studies and works on paper created since 2014. Armitage's visionary works draw on East African and Balinese history, politics, mythology, and landscape, often using lubugo bark cloth as a distinctive painting surface. The article also highlights his studio in Nairobi, where he founded the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute in 2020 to promote East African art, and his recent move to Bali with his Indonesian wife and daughter.
This exhibition matters because it represents the largest survey to date of Armitage's career, placing him at the forefront of contemporary painting that bridges African, Asian, and Western art traditions. His use of bark cloth—a traditional Ugandan textile—as a painting ground is a significant material innovation that grounds his work in East African cultural practices. The show's thematic organization, addressing contemporary political issues like Kenya's 2017 elections and migration alongside mythological and landscape subjects, demonstrates how Armitage's work engages with both specific histories and universal human conditions. The exhibition's timing with the Venice Biennale amplifies its international visibility, reinforcing Armitage's growing influence in the global art world.