Munana Gatera

I am a Belgian painter of Rwandan origin. I was born in Burundi and work between Brussels and Lisbon. Self-taught, I have worked for more than twenty years in painting, tapestry and cut paper, between the abstract and the figurative.

Toast Gallery represented me early on, in Paris and then in Brussels. My work is held in private collections in Belgium and abroad. I make everything by hand, in the atelier.

My work

I take the canvas out of the frame and weave it like a totem; I want to extend the line, stretch it into infinity. Paper continues this search: I sculpt it without ever framing it, and the pieces often take up entire walls. Some paintings become rugs in wool, viscose and bamboo, in numbered editions of seven.

The atelier

Since 2021 I have worked and shown my work at INZU — "home" in Kinyarwanda — my atelier and showroom in Brussels, by appointment. Each edition is documented and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

BIOGRAPHY

I was born in Burundi and raised between Rwanda, Congo and Belgium. Today I work between Lisbon and Brussels. I don’t call myself a designer or a painter: I work with whatever crafts and techniques each project needs.

At twenty-five I interrupted my career as a model and stylist to teach myself to paint. Those first canvases, abstract and figurative, were shown by Toast Gallery in Paris and then in Brussels, and led to my first textile work.

I collaborated with Didden & C° on a collection of art rugs, Walk on Art, and with “Mais il est où le soleil ?” on a collection of scarves. For a year, Le Méridien in Brussels showed my work throughout its spaces (UnLock Art).

In 2014 I created my own brand, the Atelier d’Art et Couture, with collections of stoles, scarves and hand-made kimonos. Since 2020 I have worked mainly in cut paper and tapestry. In 2024 LKFF Art Projects in Beersel presented my cut-paper installations.

EXHIBITIONS & COLLECTIONS

IN THE ATELIER