Rasto Cyprian is a Nairobi-based mixed media artist whose practice explores process, material experimentation, and the atmosphere of everyday life. Born in Busia and raised in Kibera, Nairobi, Cyprian began his artistic journey in 2013 at the age of twelve through an arts programme at the Uweza Foundation. Encouraged by the experience, he began painting on canvas and later sought out artist-led spaces within his community to further develop his practice, including working closely with mixed media artist Onyis Martin, who remains an important mentor and influence.
Cyprian’s work is deeply shaped by observation; of landscapes, objects, architecture, music, literature, and the changing environments around him. Reeds growing near the river where he spent time as a child have become a recurring visual motif, alongside references drawn from craft traditions, domestic spaces, fashion, design, and classical painting. He is particularly interested in how details, textures, and patterns come together to create mood and atmosphere.
Working primarily with paint, drawing, collage, and more recently fibreglass mesh, Cyprian’s current practice is increasingly process-oriented and experimental. His recent works focus heavily on the possibilities of black paint: its fluidity, speed, density, and capacity for contrast. Moving away from heavily layered surfaces and textured backgrounds, he has begun using thinner applications of paint to create flatter compositions that resemble prints or images seen through a screen. In some works, fibreglass mesh is placed over the surface, creating a subtle barrier between image and viewer, recalling storefront glass or protective screens.
Rather than creating direct social commentary, Cyprian approaches art as a way of observing and recording the world around him. Influenced by the idea of l’art pour l’art (art for art’s sake), he prefers to leave room for viewers to encounter the work on their own terms, without fixed narratives or explanations. At the same time, his work remains grounded in lived experience, shaped by memories of frugal living, handmade structures, woven baskets, fire pits, and the resourcefulness of everyday life in both rural and urban settings. Alongside his studio practice, Cyprian has recently begun experimenting with clothing and recycled materials, reflecting his growing interest in sustainability, transformation, and the changing life of objects.
Cyprian is a graduate from Presbyterian University of East Africa where he studied Education Arts with a major in English and Literature. Solo exhibitions include Flowers, Sun and Rain, Oneoff Contemporary Gallery, Nairobi (2024); Liminal Spaces, Unseen Nairobi (2020). Group exhibitions include Held High – Held Back, House of Friends, Kibera (2026); The Middle Ground, Kofisi Art, Nairobi (2025), African Identities, AKKA Project Venice, Italy (2022), Shifting Tides, Kobo Trust, Nairobi (2022); Unbound, Village Market, Nairobi (2022); Art fairs include ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair with ArtCN Gallery, Shanghai (2023); WopArt 2022 with AKKA Project, Switzerland, (2022). Prizes include the Mask Art Prize in the Promising Artists under 25 in Kenya category (2017). Publications include the 2022 edition of the GIDA Journal.
