The Artist Nani Croze in Africa

The Artist Nani Croze in Africa
Nani Croze
Kenya: Nani Croze and Regina Reiling; Nairobi, Kenya: Bizone Printers, 1998
Smithsonian Libraries

The Artist Nani Croze in Africa is a small, 7½”-square book with stiff cardboard covers held together with two metal bolts, fitted into a cardboard slipcase with the cover title Kitengela.

Inside this bolted book is the story of Nani Croze and her life journey from Achlam, Germany, to the Athi plains in Kenya, told by family and friends and illustrated with photographs of her unique enterprise and sanctuary, Kitengela, just outside of Nairobi.  Most of the photographs are black-and-white in keeping with the recycling ethos as well being cheaper.  The book was conceived and designed by Regina Reiling and Chris Payne.  Transparent interleaves of photos or text separate the four sections: About the artist,—Kitengela,—Animals,—Glasswork.  A variety of typefaces are used, including old-fashioned manual typewriter font. 

Colors of Kitengela

The black-and-white photographs in the book are in sharp contrast to the brilliant colors of Kitengela itself.  Kitengela is a hive of artistic activity with glasswork and mosaics at its heart.  “My greatest passion is of course building, be it houses or sculptures.  I am fascinated by materials and their building potential, be it bottles, mud, grass, all can be used to visual and structural advantage,” says Nani Croze.[1]

Recycling glass in eco-friendly ways is the guiding principle at Kitengela.  Croze trains others in glass and mosaic work, using reclaimed and salvaged materials—bottles, window glass, broken household glass.

Her son, Anselm, learned glass blowing and now has his own business.  Her daughter Katrineka oversees the bead-making workshop.  The grounds and gardens are a fantasy land of zoomorphic and organic sculptures and winding shaded paths and archways.  The home, studios, and workshops are Gaudi-inspired structures, studded with kaleidoscopic bits of colored glass, stained glass windows, and mosaic surfaces.

A menagerie fills out the picture of Kitengela.  The dome of the glass-blowing studio, Kitengela Hot Glass, dominates the landscape.

About the Artist

Born in 1943 to a German family of artists, Nani Croze never wanted to be an artist.  But her destiny was otherwise.  An expatriate in Kenya for much of her adult life, she now lives at Kitengela.

Bibliography

Brown, Laurian.   “Dreaming and Doing,” photographs by Jac de Villiers.  House and Leisure (Cape Town) no. 48 (September 1997): pages 74-81.

Della Rosa, Annelise.   “Kitengela.” In Art of Recycling in Kenya, pages 74-85.  Milano: Charta, 2008.

Kitengela Hot Glass web site:  http://www.kitengela.com

Lees, Carol.   “Nani Croze.” In: Thelathini: 30 Faces, 30 Facets of Contemporary Art in Kenya, pages 60, 62-66, 128.  Nairobi, Kenya: Kuona Trust, 2003.

Sjoerds, Larisa.   “From Kitengela, With Love.” Msanii: The Magazine for the Art from Rahimtulla Museum of Modern Art (Nairobi, Kenya) no. 21 (October-December 2007): pages 4-7.