Rosemary Karuga is an artist who specialises in making collages, which are so intricate they are often mistaken for paintings. Her work has been featured both at home and in the UK, Ireland and at various exhibitions, including the International Francophone Festival in France and the First International Show by Six African Artists in Studio Museum Harlem, New York.

The veteran artist’s first solo show, a great step in any artist’s career, was in 1994 at the Contemporary African Art Gallery where she continues to have her art displayed and sold. Karuga has won various awards such as the Lifetime Achievement Award by the African Voice newspaper. She holds a degree in Fine Art from Makerere University.

Born in Meru in June 1928, Karuga studied mosaic art at the university but later ditched it because materials were costly and often inaccessible. She focused instead on using magazine paper cut-outs to create collages that were mosaic-like.

As a visual artist, a lot of her legendary works have been purchased at auctions, including ‘Untitled’ sold at Circle Art Agency ‘Modern & Contemporary Art Auction’ in 2013. Her work has received good press both locally and internationally.