TOSKAGO
Martin Mbuguah (b.2001) also known as TOSKAGO was born in Ol’Kalou, Kenya, raised in Indiana, and currently lives and works in Baltimore, MD, where he studies painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art (2024). Born to a family of farmers and laborers, Martin’s formative years were characterized by a deep sense of anxiety due to rising tribal tensions and growing financial instability. Martin and his family won the coveted “green card lottery” and were offered the chance to move to the United States. After arriving in the states, he attempted to reconcile his inherited Kikuyu culture with his new adopted culture in the U.S., where he began to acclimate to his new racial identity as a “black man.” Martin’s work is a dialog on the nature of identity and the human condition. Taking from his ancestral Kikuyu practice of storytelling he constructs narratives through painting and film in order to illustrate themes of race, violence, and addiction. Private and public collections include: the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, the St. Claire Collection, the Sherman Collection, and the Timmons Collection. He was a recipient of the Gold Award from the National YoungArts Foundation, as well as a semifinalist for 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars.
Available for:
Painting, Drawing
