Maurice Bazungula was born in the village of Mpasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1942.

In 1965, he met Bala Jean, a landscape painter who employed him as a sales assistant to sell his art. He allowed the young man to observe the creative activity in the workshop.

Soon after, Bazungula began to discover how to use his own creative talents. In 1967, he began to paint.

The following year, master painter, Ngusu Jelelo invited Bazungula to work with him and paid for an exhibition at the Albert College.

In 1969, Bazungula’s first one man show was organized at the faculty club of the University of Louvain. As a result, Maurice Alhadeff contracted Bazungula to paint and supplied the material.

Mr. Alhadeff then founded the Allhadeff School in Kinshasa. Bazungula was under Mr. Alhadeff’s direct instruction. It was with Alhadeff that he learned the use of color, the very catalyst that he prides his work with and has since developed his original style with.

In 1985, The Center of Orientation and Education (COE), an Italian organization funded by Francesco Pedretti, sponsored an exhibition tour to Italy.

In 1966, COE introduced Bazungula’s work to Italy by supporting a retrospective exhibit of his paintings. The artist stayed in Italy for 3 months, having continuous exhibitions there.

The Italians appreciated his vibrant use of colour, and the time here provided Bazungula with international recognition.

Bazungula is considered one of the fathers of Congolese art and his career spans more than 48 years. He has participated in numerous exhibitions starting from the 1960s in France, Italy, New York, USA and Kinshasa, DRC.