Rhode Makoumbou is a Congolese artist, born on August 29, 1976 in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, whose practice spans painting and sculpture. Initiated to art at an early age by her father, the painter David Makoumbou, she began her artistic path in 1989, developing a visual language rooted in both technical discipline and cultural continuity.

Her work is centered on the representation of everyday life in African contexts, with a particular focus on the social and cultural role of women. Through scenes of rural life and collective activities, Rhode Makoumbou constructs images that preserve and transmit traditions, emphasizing the dignity, strength, and centrality of women within African societies. Her paintings, often executed using a palette knife, are characterized by a structured and volumetric approach, combining elements of realism with a cubic formal synthesis.

Alongside her pictorial practice, since 2002 she has developed a significant body of sculptural work using composite materials such as sawdust and wood glue. These sculptures, some exceeding three meters in height, extend her visual research into three-dimensional space, maintaining a coherent focus on human figures and social narratives.

From 2003 onwards, Rhode Makoumbou has established an extensive international presence, exhibiting widely across Europe, Africa, and beyond. Over the course of her career, she has participated in a large number of solo and group exhibitions, presenting her work in countries including France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Luxembourg, as well as in the United States, Canada, Qatar and United Kingdom in addition to numerous exhibitions across the African continent.

Her artistic contribution has been formally recognized at a national level. In 2012, she was awarded the Grand Prix des Arts et des Lettres by the President of the Republic of Congo. The following year, on July 13, 2013, she was decorated with the Order of Congolese Devotion with the rank of Officer by President Denis Sassou N’Guesso, on the occasion of the opening of the Pan-African Music Festival (FESPAM).

Rhode Makoumbou currently works between Brussels, where she maintains her studio, and Brazzaville, where she continues to spend part of each year, sustaining a direct connection with the cultural context that informs her practice.