Sane Wadu, 1954

Sane Wadu was born in 1954 in Nyathuna, Kenya. After completing high school in the early 1980s, he worked as a teacher and later as a court clerk. A poet and writer, he also produced plays and poetry before turning fully to painting.

Wadu began painting professionally in 1985, initially using watercolours and household paints on clothing and sheets of plastic. His unconventional approach drew ridicule from neighbours, who called him “insane” for abandoning a stable career to pursue art. He embraced the insult, adopting **Sane** as his artistic name — a bold reclaiming of identity that became his *nom de plume*.

He later transitioned to oils and moved from clothing and plastic to paper and canvas. Despite having no formal training, his originality and determination quickly earned him national and international recognition. He has held solo exhibitions in New York, and his work has been shown widely in the USA and Europe.

Formally, Wadu’s paintings shift between structured single-point perspective and abstract, dreamlike compositions. His style ranges from tight, impressionistic brushwork to flowing, Surrealistic abstractions — sometimes applied in thick impasto, other times in bright, fluid washes.

His subject matter has evolved over time. Early works often depict the wildlife of rural Kenya — hyenas, buffaloes, leopards, elephants — placed in vast, unpopulated landscapes with soft, muted colours. Though inspired by real sightings, these paintings go beyond description: Wadu imagines the inner thoughts of the animals he portrays.

He paints bush people as solitary figures, much like his animals. Herdsmen, travellers, and workers appear united with their environment, confronting the viewer with a direct, honest gaze — a quality mirrored in Wadu’s own artistic voice.

Many works are self-portraits in the roles of his subjects — the Virgin Mary, the farm worker, the lover — as he seeks deeper empathy with the people he depicts.

Today, Sane Wadu lives in Naivasha, Kenya with his family. His wife, Eunice Wadu, is also an artist, and he regularly conducts art workshops in schools and community centres. Since the 1990s, his paintings have increasingly explored urban themes, with crowded compositions and figures pressing outward in dense, expressive masses.

source: “Contemporary African Art from the Jean Pigozzi Collection,” Sotheby’s; Africa-Can.org; “Contemporary Art of Africa,” A. Magnin