A Chronicler of Kinshasa: The Life and Art of Joseph Kinkonda (Chéri Chérin) Joseph Kinkonda, universally known as Chéri Chérin, is a pivotal figure in Congolese contemporary art, a painter whose work serves not merely as aesthetic representation but as a vibrant chronicle of life in Kinshasa. Born in 1955 within the burgeoning megacity – then still Léopoldville, under Belgian rule – Chérin’s artistic journey began amidst a period of profound social and political transformation. The Democratic Republic of Congo, even before its independence, was a crucible of cultural energy, and Kinshasa pu…