Archives: Artists

A featured artist

David Goldblatt

David Goldblatt was born in Randfontein in 1930, he is often seen as one of the most important photographer to come out of South Africa, mainly due to his photography and documentation of South African life during its turbulent period during and apartheid and its recent democratization.

Goldblatt’s work has found critical acclaim internationally as well as domestically, his work was shown at the Photographer’s Gallery in 1974 and 1986, he had a solo exhibition at MOMA in New York in 1998, while during this time was also represented by the two alpha South African galleries; Michael Stevenson Gallery and the Goodman Gallery. His work is included in all the major South African museum collections as well as international collections such as the Victoria and Alfred Museum in London and MOMA in New York.

William Kentridge

Arguably the most famous South African artist, William Kentridge was born in Johannesburg, and studied at the University of Witwatersrand. He originally worked as a theatre actor and director , but later became a full time artist. His work is known to be heavily contextualised by South African society. Despite this, his work was been presented throughout the world, including MOMA in 2007 and 2010, Garage Centre fro Contemporary Culture in Moscow, 2011, while he is one of the very few African artists to have gallery representation at a major international gallery, in this case Marion Goodman Gallery in New York. Despite his success, Kentridge continues to develop his creative output as most recently he has taken to directing opera.

El Anatsui

El Anatsui was born in Anyako in Ghana, but has spent most of his career working in Nigeria. He is one of the leading African artists, emerging from the post-independence art movements of 1960s and 70s West Africa. His sculptures often cross reference Ghanaian culture and rituals. He has gained major international recognition with his work having been shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the 2007 Venice Biennale. His work is included in many collections such as the British Museum, Centre Pomidou and the Smithsonian Institution.

Cheri Samba

Cheri Samba was born in Kinto M’Vuila in the Deomcratic Republic of Congo. With a background in sign painting and comic strips, Samba’s vibrant work uses techniques from both of them to portray Congolese society in a playful, yet revealing way. He was invited in 2007 to be part of the 52nd Venice Biennale, while his works are included in the MOMA, and the Centre Pompidou collections.

Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu

Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu (1921-1994) was born in Ontisha, and he was introduced to sculpture by his father. This tutorage helped shape his style which displays qualitites of West African tribal and especially mask art. Enwonwu was commissioned in 1956 by the British court to produce a portrait bust for Elizabeth II. His work is included in the National Museum of African Art, and was part of a group show; “The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa, 1945 – 1994”, which travelled to MoMA and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.