Roger Munns’ paintings are influenced by the architecture in Eritrea, writes Nick Elvin

Eritrea is a country few of us can claim to have visited; but Roger Munns has made the trip to the east African country ten times during the last three years.

The 62-year-old may have travelled there through his work in international development, as an education advisor, but there is something else that has captured his attention on his visits to the capital Asmara.

Also a trained, accomplished artist, Roger has taken advantage of his journeys to produce a series of watercolours depicting the city’s colonial doors, and this work forms part of his latest exhibition Doors to Landscapes, which comes to The Radlett Centre next month.

Roger has just returned from his latest visit to Eritrea, a country which gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, having formerly been an Italian colony until 1941.

“It had a long war with Ethiopia for independence,“ says Roger. “It’s poor but it’s supported by its diaspora; I think nearly 50 per cent of its income comes from its diaspora – there are Eritreans living all over the world – in Germany, America and London.

“It has some of the finest modernist architecture outside Italy, although it’s quite run down now.“ While Roger says he has sometimes had the time to sit and paint the doors in the streets, most of his paintings are based on photos he has taken. After all, he adds, he is “there to do other work“.

“Doors are fascinating subjects, open or closed,“ he says. “If you can take a door and hang it on the wall of a gallery, you’d have a painting. They are weathered and have so much history. They’re canvases in their own right that have captured years of experience. They show their life.“

Born into a farming family in the Cambridgeshire Fens, Roger is the youngest of nine children, and the only one to pursue art. His formal art training began at Burnley School of Art. He went on to complete a diploma at Stoke College of Art, specialising in ceramics before starting his teaching career at Bradford College of Art. His professional work over time moved into education and international development, but he continued to paint.

Also on show at this, his third Radlett Centre exhibition, will be landscapes from much closer to his Chigwell home – such as rapeseed fields, the Fens and views of Epping Forest.

“I never tire of those places,“ Roger says.

Doors to Landscapes is at The Radlett Centre, Aldenham Avenue, Radlett, from Tuesday, March 1 to Saturday, March 26. Details: 01923 859291 www.radlettcentre.co.uk