The late Paul Kiddo (72) an artist who hails from the small missionary settlement of Bethanie in southern Namibia recently passed away and an outpour of condolences and messages from the local art community.
Frieda Luhl from the Project Room wrote “Today we learned with sadness that Paul Kiddo passed. It was a great honour to have known and worked with you Paul. May your gentle soul rest in peace,”
Christian Goltz wrote “Paul Kiddo is dead. We have lost a gentle soul but he shines brightly from all his wonderful works,”
Director of Arts Mkariko Amagulu wrote, “It is with sadness when I learned the news of the passing of Tate Paul Kiddo. The last time I saw him was at the National Art Gallery’s What’s your Story? Exhibition launch, which he had also participated in. although soft-spoken, Tate Kiddo was a truly unique and talented artist, who used his art to capture the face of mainly rural Namibian communities in their diversity and beauty.
This was in his own distinct signature style. His “reflection of the times”, in a way only he could. He has left us with his legacy through his work. We will always remember him because of the part that he has left us with and his contribution to Namibian art heritage. We offer our sincere condolences to his family during this time,”
Retha-Louise Malherbe Hofmeyr wrote “Paul Kiddo, hugely talented artist and the true gentleman had a unique way of capturing the spirit of Namibian life in his landscapes – always with an artistic and humorous twist. He will be sadly missed. Condolences to his family,”
In 1979 he started experimenting with leftover paint from his contracting jobs, but with no previous or formal artistic experience. While a lack of funding does not allow him to travel too often to promote his art, he recently started inviting visitors into his home studio, a modest room at the back of a friend’s yard. The road to his creative space leads through the lively streets of the same informal settlement on the edge of Windhoek where you’ll find Okahandja Park Shebeen. Here, he not only paints his world-famous acrylic pieces but also house a small framing shop, cooks, sleeps and watches television
