News

Contemporary artist making waves in his home country and internationally

Ronald Muchatuta 23 Apr 2022 Ronald Muchatuta was homeless after leaving his home in Zimbabwe to Cape Town, South Africa. This weekend he will participate... Read more

Pan African photography exhibition Shifting Narratives currently on at The Melrose Gallery depicts African life in its diversity

By Edward Tsumele 4 Mar 2022 This is an important exhibition that should attract a discerning collector interested in photography that captures Africa’s complexities and diversity.... Read more

Incidentally... The power of praise is wasted on the dead

Sue de Groot - Deputy features editor: Sunday Times 20 Feb 2022 Yes, we are all going to die — and that means you. So spread some love while you can I’m... Read more

Navigating personal memories in my family photo album

By Philiswa Lila 6 Dec 2021 A photo album is an intimate object that plays an important role in the construction and image of family life.... Read more

The Norval Sovereign African Art Prize Inaugural Shortlist Announced

The Melrose Gallery 15 Nov 2021 Cape Town, South Africa – Norval Foundation and The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) today announced the names of 30 artists... Read more

Almine Rech | Dr. Esther Mahlangu

Solo Exhibition | November 20 — December 11, 2021 Paris, Front Space 14 Nov 2021 At Almine Rech, Dr. Esther Mahlangu presents a series of paintings created between 2019 and 2021. She was first introduced... Read more

A rich life of a man behind the big toys

By Kuli Roberts 28 Oct 2021 Johannesburg- Pitika Ntuli is an academic, sculptor, poet, and writer who has contributed immensely to the political and artistic discourse... Read more

Esther Mahlangu Protects Ndebele Artistic Heritage

by Ontlotlile Seemela 25 Oct 2021 September 24th marks the date that South Africa celebrates Heritage Day . South Africa is affectionately dubbed the rainbow nation... Read more

Annual sculpture fair returns for its fourth edition at Melrose Gallery: Craig Mark

SculptX 2021 3 Sep 2021 The annual sculpture fair returns for its fourth edition. The largest of its kind in South Africa, this year it... Read more

Q&A | Craig Marks, founder of SculptX still set on carving out a niche

arts 24 3 Sep 2021 What was the motivation for starting a sculpture fair? Craig Mark: We noticed the growing interest in sculpture with... Read more

A landscape is politicised through events taking place in: Senzo Shabangu’s ‘ Humble Abode’ exhibition

Fadzai Muchemwa Lifang Zhang 11 Jul 2021 Senzo Shabangu’s exhibition Their Humble Abode opened shortly after the suspension of the first round of recent protests in Makhanda... Read more

The Portfolio: Stories of our Soil explores womanhood, nature and exploitation

Ruzy Rusike 11 Jul 2021 Stories of Our Soil is a collection of artworks showing at The Melrose Gallery during Womxn’s Month, August 2021. This... Read more

The Portfolio: Senzo Shabangu on not being scared of colour

Senzo Shabangu 5 Jul 2021 I did this work during lockdown at a time when people couldn’t go to galleries. It affected us big time... Read more

Endless Journey: on Senzo Shabangu’s Landscapes

A feature by Barnabas Ticha Muvhuti 7 Jun 2021 Four lifeless bodies lie on the surface. One is on all fours, either going down or trying to get up,... Read more

LIVESTOCK

Arlene Amaler-Raviv and Dale Yudelman 25 May 2021 LIVESTOCK, a collaboration between painter Arlene Amaler-Raviv and photographer Dale Yudelman was created in 2003 for the Eighth Havana Bienniel... Read more

SA sculptor Pitika Ntuli just won a Global Fine Art Award

Erene Roux 20 May 2021 The South African sculptor, poet and writer, Pitika Ntuli recently walked away with the Global Fine Art People’s Choice “You-2″... Read more

South African poet and sculptor Pitika Ntuli wins a Global Fine Art Award in Paris

Shonisani Tshikalange 19 May 2021 South African sculptor, poet and writer Pitika Ntuli on Tuesday added another accolade to his impressive CV, being awarded the... Read more

Artist Hussein Salim’s journey to find his place in the world

Mary Corrigall 13 May 2021 Very little has been written about the artist Hussein Salim . It is surprising given he has been exhibiting frequently... Read more

Blazer.

Ronald Muchatuta 24 Apr 2021 In the last twenty years, Muchatuta has emerged as a fiery, passionate and undaunted visual artist who is determined to... Read more

Book Club Sessions and Children's Show

Ronald Muchatuta 8 Apr 2021 The artists who will represent Zimbabwe at the 59th International Art Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia in 2022 have... Read more

Celebrating Women in the Arts

French Embassay 7 Apr 2021 On 31 March 2021, Ambassador of France to South Africa, Aurélien Lechevallier, hosted an art viewing event to celebrate women... Read more

Top Zimbabwean artists up for Venice Biennale

By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka 26 Mar 2021 Zimbabwean contemporary artists Ronald Muchatuta, Kresiah Mukwazhi, Terrence Musekiwa and Wallen Mapondera are up for Venice Biennale showcase beginning in... Read more

Zim quartet for Italian exhibition

Ronald Muchatuta 26 Mar 2021 BY WINSTONE ANTONIO TOP four Zimbabwean artists’ crafts will be showcased at the 59th edition of the La Biennale di... Read more

ARTIST ADEJOKE TUGBIYELE ON YORUBA PERFORMANCE AESTHETIC, WEAVING A NEW BROOM AND QUEERING THE TRADITIONAL

An Interview with Wana Udobang 2 Mar 2021 Artist Adejoke Tugbiyele creates these sculptures that combine her signature material, the African broom along with wire and fabric. The... Read more

THIS SOUTH AFRICAN ARTIST’S HOUSE IS LIKE NOTHING YOU’VE SEEN BEFORE

Willie Bester culled diamonds from detritus to build his dream home east of Cape Town. 18 Feb 2021 By ATHI MONGEZELELI JOJA AND PRODUCED BY CHARLES CURKIN FEB 17, 2021 South African artist and activist Willie Bester ’s... Read more

Highlights from R & Company’s Ambitious Design Exhibition 'OBJECTS: USA 2020'

Adejoke Tugbiyele 16 Feb 2021 By Osman Can Yerebakan At the tail end of the 1960s, the Museum of Contemporary Craft (currently Museum of Art... Read more

From an artist, to an artist: Pitika Ntuli remembers Sibongile Khumalo

By Pitika Ntuli 31 Jan 2021 In June 2020, South African poet, professor and sculptor Pitika Ntuli completed a collection of sculptures made mostly of bones.... Read more

A group show at kó art space Joseph Obanubi, Stephen Tayo, and Edozie Anedu Investigate their Hometown Lagos

Experimenting with new ideas and techniques, the artists' new bodies of work presented in this exhibition, exploring the social and architectural fabric of Lagos. 22 Jan 2021 Landscape Mode is Edozie Anedu’s first foray into what he describes as “imaginative cityscape paintings.” Rather than a complete departure... Read more

Melrose Gallery pan-African group exhibition at Sandton City's Diamond Walk extended

21 Jan 2021 The Melrose Gallery is currently showcasing the Introspection - Art Of Contemporary Africa group exhibition, which features established and emerging... Read more

The Legendary 85-Year-Old Artist Esther Mahlangu Is Collected by Oprah and Trevor Noah—See Her Breathtaking New Work Here

Artnet Gallery Network, December 18, 2020 18 Dec 2020 An exhibition celebrating the artist is on view now at Melrose Gallery in Johannasburg. Esther Nikwambi Mahlangu is a woman... Read more

Prizim Art Fair 2020

December 1 - December 21 9 Dec 2020 Prizm is pleased to present a dynamic fair with layered programming that is sure to capture the eyes and minds... Read more

Renowned artist Esther Mahlangu urges Africans to hold onto their traditions

By Jason Burke Africa correspondent 23 Nov 2020 Pioneering Ndebele artist fears young people are losing a sense of their roots One of Africa’s best-known artists has made... Read more

Queens of Africa

Hussein Salim 21 Nov 2020 Sudanese-born artist Hussein Salim similarly captures that elusive juncture between the fleeting and the eternal in the radiant dreamscapes of... Read more

Celebrating 85 years of Dr Esther Mahlangu

By Mila Crewe-Brown (editor-in-chief) 18 Nov 2020 The doyenne of modern Ndebele art is about to open her largest ever solo, and it’s happening right here on... Read more

The Medium is the Message, exhibition in London

Edozie Anedu 2 Nov 2020 The Medium is the Message we can therefore say finds purpose in curating nuanced work. It contains work from a... Read more

What I Buy and Why: TV Producer Mfundi Vundla on His Fateful First Purchase, and Missing His Chance to Collect Jack Whitten

by Naomi Rea 2 Nov 2020 Vundla is best known for his work on the long-running South African soap opera 'Generations.' When he’s not at his... Read more

Embodying a Queer, Pan-Africanist Approach to Spirituality

With Hybrid Spirit, Adejoke Tugbiyele proposes a visual language that explores the intimate connections between queerness, Indigenous African spirituality, and feminism. 29 Oct 2020 Alexandra M. Thomas October 29, 2020 Adejoke Tugbiyele manifests a “hybrid spirit” in her work, creating soulful, resilient sculpture-costumes, some... Read more

Carol Bouwer Bags and Dr Esther Mahlangu connect fashion and art with new luxury collaboration

By Afika Jadezweni 27 Oct 2020 Collaboration in fashion has become a key player for heightened brand awareness and success. It can even be said that... Read more

Turning inwards, infinitely: A Q&A with Adejoke Tugbiyele

Creative Feel 21 Oct 2020 Exhibited at the Melrose Gallery from 15 October – 15 November 2020, the artworks on the show were produced in... Read more

In conversation with Ronald Muchatuta

by Barnabas Muvhuti Ticha 6 Oct 2020 Black lives have always mattered through colonialism, the Atlantic Slave Trade, the Jim Crow era, apartheid, and currently, with the... Read more

Yoko Ono & Esther Mahlangu lined up for art exhibit in Johannesburg

Nirox Sculpture Park 27 Sep 2020 Experimental artist Yoko Ono - John Lennon's widow - will exhibit her work alongside controversial sculptor Nandipha Mntambo and legendary... Read more

Regi Bardavid’s Abstract Paintings Spotlight South African Domestic Spaces and Landscapes

The artist grapples with color, line and texture in “Universal Rhythms.” 1 Sep 2020 Regi Bardavid is one of the few painters in South Africa who has championed abstraction in her works for many... Read more

Masterclass unpacks ethics of sustainability within African fashion

26 Jul 2020 May introduced the theme by posing a multifaceted question to the audience and panellists: What does the ideal future of... Read more

Pitika Ntuli’ hailed for his bone exhibition at National Arts Festival

Pitika Ntuli 3 Jul 2020 Click here to enter the online exhibition Pitika Ntuli’s 45 bone sculpture exhibition receives high praise at the Virtual National... Read more

Native Exclusive: Meet Edozie Anedu, The Benin Based Artist Behind Drb’s ‘Pioneers’ Cover Art

12 May 2020 I think my story is special. I have the role to break boundaries and connect more people, especially here in... Read more

Artists opt for virtual exhibitions

26 Apr 2020 Visual artists are swapping gallery exhibitions and showcases for virtual ones, as most of the world remains on lockdown. Visual... Read more

Adejoke Tugbiyele Hybrid Forms And Second Skins

Decorating Dissidence 4 Apr 2020 Adejoke Tugbiyele (b.1977, New York, USA) is an award-winning, queer, black artist. Her work often comments on human rights issues... Read more

Meet Artist Ndabuko Ntuli, Making Art Out Of Gomora Trash

Ndabuko Ntuli 26 Mar 2020 The streets of Gomora might be littered with trash but Ndabuko Ntuli is turning it all into works of art.... Read more

Stellenbosch Triennale, a Bold Experiment | The New York Times

Ronald Muchatuta 25 Mar 2020 STELLENBOSCH, South Africa — For tourists, this prim colonial town is the gateway to a spectacular mountain region dotted with... Read more

An engagement with Dr Mahlangu’s contemporary art practice by Percy Mabandu

Dr. Esther Mahlangu 18 Mar 2020 Thinking and writing about Dr Esther Mahlangu’s work may finally catch up with the quality of her 75-year long contribution... Read more

Oliewenhuis Art Museum permanent collection exhibition

Noria Mabasa 18 Mar 2020 Selected artworks are displayed from Oliewenhuis Art Museum’s Permanent Collection to contemplate and converse on themes associated with gender, identity,... Read more

Absa Art Gallery

Philiswa Lila 21 Feb 2020 Watch Philiswa Lila give us her take on the future of visual arts and a new generation of trail-blazing African... Read more

CHRIS THURMAN: A Swirl Of Bodies In The Age Of Digital Reproduction

Philiswa Lila 21 Feb 2020 When it comes to Philiswa Lila’s exhibition Skin, Bone, Fire, a virtual experience is not quite the same as being... Read more

CELEBRATED ARTIST DR. ESTHER MAHLANGU PAINTS UNIQUE ARTWORK FOR ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM GALLERY

Dr. Esther Mahlangu 13 Feb 2020 Rolls-Royce’s flagship, Phantom, has within it, an interior space which spans the dash facia and which is enclosed by a... Read more

Tomorrow There Will Be More of Us: Art as a Contact Zone

by Sven Christian 5 Feb 2020 The title of the inaugural Stellenbosch Triennale, Tomorrow There Will Be More Of Us (2020), reads like a proclamation—a statement... Read more

Sir Richard Branson Finally Meets His Portrait

Paul Blomkamp 21 Nov 2019 'The man meets the painting! 10 years ago I was really young (60), fired up and full of wild enthusiasm.... Read more

BISO 2019: Ouagadougou, capitale de la sculpture africaine jusqu’au 15 novembre

Adejoke Tugbiyele 15 Nov 2019 The Burkinabe capital has been hosting the 1st edition of the International Sculpture Biennial of Ouagadougou (BISO) since October 8... Read more

Arts plastiques : le dilemme du sculpteur

Adejoke Tugbiyele 31 Oct 2019 The first international sculpture biennial in Ouagadougou highlights the questions of contemporary creators, heirs to a long tradition. How to... Read more

Getting to know Willie Bester

Willie Bester 15 Aug 2019 Read more

Department launches books about Noria Mabasa and Dr Esther Mahlangu

Noria Mabasa and Dr Esther Mahlangu 11 Aug 2019 JOBURG – The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture honours sculptor Noria Mabasa with a launch of a book about... Read more

The Washington Post | The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art

Adejoke Tugbiyele 18 Jul 2019 About five years ago, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art determined that only 11 percent of the artists with... Read more

Dr. Esther Mahlangu receives France’s top cultural award

Friday 12 July 2019 - French Embassy, Pretoria Johannesburg 12 Jul 2019 During the 2019 Bastille Day celebration at the Residence of France in Pretoria, Ambassador of France to South Africa, H.E.... Read more

Pitika Ntuli Speaks To ART AFRICA In An All-Encompassing Conversation

2 May 2019 The 77-year-old artist spoke to ART AFRICA in an all-encompassing conversation that touched on his origins as an artist, his... Read more

Anedu Edozie: Giving The Art A Name & Meaning

Tush Magazine 8 Mar 2019 “Something just keeps telling me to place the next stroke, to pick up a brighter hue and then fast forward... Read more

Freshpak 80s Limited Edition Esther Mahlangu Tin

26 Sep 2018 Freshpak rooibos, in collaboration with internationally acclaimed Ndebele artist Dr Esther Mahlangu , has created a limited-edition tin. Dr... Read more

BMW 7 Series Individual by Esther Mahlangu now in South Africa

Dr. Esther Mahlangu 18 Aug 2018 “I am so glad that BMW brought my art back to South Africa, it is a beautiful car to be... Read more

Esther Mahlangu 'honoured' to be celebrated on New York boulevard

21 Sep 2017 Traditional artist Esther Mahlangu is 'excited and honoured' to have her bold Ndebele artwork brighten up the streets of New... Read more

Gerald Chukwuma: the ex-hawker who turns drinks cans into works of art

9 May 2017 In neon orange shorts, Gerald Chukwuma approaches me, smiling, beneath the glittering chandeliers in the lounge of Accra’s dazzling Kempinski... Read more

BMW Art Talk held at Soho House on the occasion of the fourth edition of BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors BMW as partner of Frieze London to present Art Talk about Esther Mahlangu and South African art.

26 Sep 2016 London/Munich. From October 6 to 9, 2016, Frieze London will open its doors in Regent’s Park for the 14th time.... Read more

How John Legend And A World-Renowned Ndebele Artist Joined Forces To Beat AIDS

31 Aug 2016 Esther Mahlangu hands me a chicken feather. She teaches me how to strip it and save a little tuft at... Read more

Artist’s work is fired by deep spirituality

By Atiyyah Khan 1 Mar 2016 Spirituality is what fuels the work of Zimbabwean-born artist Ronald Muchatuta. The soft-spoken artist has been working in Cape Town... Read more

Artist Esther Mahlangu @VMFA

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 30 Jan 2015 South African Ndebele artist Esther Mahlangu discusses the early years of her paining practice, her designs and pigments, and the... Read more

Ndebele artist Mahlangu uses bold colors, striking graphics to honor African heritage

The Washington Post 3 Oct 2014 RICHMOND — Esther Mahlangu is barely taller than the third-grade students who gathered around her for a photo op in... Read more

Impressions of Rorke’s Drift exhibition launch at DAG

9 Oct 2013 An exciting new exhibition, Impressions of Rorke's Drift – the Jumuna Collection, curated by Thembinkosi Goniwe, which looks at the... Read more