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Fred Kato Mutebi had already carved a niche for himself as a print art powerhouse. He had been, since his graduation from the Makerere School of Art nearly two decades ago, at the apex of printmaking, an art form that was previously unpopular and misunderstood by many. Mutebi, almost single-handedly, made incredible experiments with his gifted hands, cutting lines on wood and printing masterpieces on paper, until he was able to etch his name permanently on the list of who’s who of world-renowned artists. He now spends much of his time traversing American universities and art institutions around the world, sharing his knowledge with aspiring artists. 

“A day in America can change your life; a year in America can change your life completely.” When Mutebi made this statement a few weeks ago, he said it with such conviction that you would not doubt his belief. He has been to America for over a year more than once; first as a Fulbright scholar and later on for similar follow-up programmes.

For a long time now, many observers have dared to aver that Mutebi is probably the most famous Ugandan artist in the world. A Google search for “Mutebi Fred” yields an infinity of options on information about the artist; so much so that even the diminishing ranks of doubting Thomases might be persuaded. Most web pages about him are chock-full of superlatives, made largely by foreigners who have had the opportunity to meet him. With his productivity and international repute, it is not difficult to understand why so many art connoisseurs hold him in such high esteem. His artwork has been featured in exhibitions in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Japan, and the United States.

Mutebi has long used his artistry to convey the fragility of the human condition in Africa and to celebrate the natural beauty of Uganda, his homeland. His personal website provides the following apt description of his work: “Using a vibrant array of colours, the artist creates woodcut prints that depict stories about critical social events in Uganda or that portray images indigenous to the Ugandan environment. The works are made even more authentic by the artist’s use of a special technique called the ‘progressive reduction method,’ which prevents the production of more than 10 woodcut prints of the same composition.” One American enthusiast of Mutebi’s relays her fascination with his works on a website with particular finesse, thus: “I am immediately struck by their luminous beauty. They glow. The colours pulsate, an assemblage of rebellious vibrant colours, begging to bust through the confines of their predetermined arrangement. Sharp lines, deep hues of bright yellow poke through and around orange landscapes, only to be trapped by thick, angry sharp corners. It’s an immediate visual assault that commands my eye.”

Most of Mutebi’s works are about social observation: a comment on polygamy, for example, and how it can affect individuals. Mutebi, himself a child of a polygamous family, has witnessed first-hand what kind of pressures these relationships can face. The artist shared some of these ideas during a recent (November 2008) collaboration with the printmaking department at the University of North Texas in celebration of the partnership between Uganda and USA. He discussed the power of art as an educational tool, and demonstrated to his audience his distinctive style of woodcut printing.

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