Fred Kato Mutebi is a native
of Uganda who is active in print making. His work has traditionally
celebrated Uganda’s natural beauty and also focuses on the
need to preserve that beauty. Mutebi creates works that carry
social and political messages as well as relying in anecdotes
and stories to capture those messages. His primary mediums are
printing and painting. He has found a method that combines the
two to his satisfaction, namely relief painting.
Since his graduation from
Makerere School of Industrial and Fine Arts, Mutebi has pursued
a freelance career as an illustrator, graphic and textile designer.
His favorite medium is multi-color woodcut-print on paper. Using
his particular method, known as the 'progressive reduction method',
he is unable to produce more than ten prints of the same composition.
He developed an unmistakable technique with a wide pallet of blues,
reds, browns, greens, and grays. Through the exaggeration of natural
forms in his prints he is able to reveal their drama and beauty.
Some of his subjects can be very disturbing--such as his rendition
of figures revealing humanity's fragility in the face of catastrophes,
in particular those faced by Africans in recent years. However,
the tenderness by which these topics are treated always leave
room for hope.
Mutebi exploits the narrative qualities of the graphic medium,
telling stories about important social events that happen in Uganda
as well as recording characteristic images of his environment,
creating a sort of visual history of his surroundings.
"We have come for our wives"
18 x 24 wood block print
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