VELAPHI MZIMBA
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LOVERS II Mixed media on canvas 170 x 170 cm |
| MATSAKANE |
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THULANI Mixed media on canvas 150 x 150 cm |
| NOZISHADA |
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APPLE Mixed media on canvas 100 x 100 cm |
BORN: 19th September 1959 in Dube, Soweto, South Africa EDUCATION: 1978-80 Studied at the Johannesburg Art Foundation under the late Bill Ainslie 1975-76 Studied art at the Mofolo Art Centre, Soweto Velaphi Mzimba paints portraits, figures, abstracts, street scenes, township life and he also sculpts in bronze. His colourful paintings reflect the vibrance and rapidly evolving environment of South Africa’s black townships. Although he was deeply involved in the struggle for liberation against apartheid, his work shows no hint of angst or pain. Instead, his paintings have an infectious optimism that warms all viewers. This richness of spirit combined with an extraordinary technical virtuosity has no doubt led to the success that he has experienced over the last few years. Mzimba’s huge faces, young boys with heads made out of squashed cans and complex mixed media landscapes grace many public, corporate and private collections worldwide. This success is not built upon clever marketing or the vagaries of fashion. Mzimba’s work constantly surprises and challenges his followers. Huge brooding and richly painted portraits of proud tribesmen and women are painstakingly painted in his studio. These monumental works which drain his energies are interspersed with impish, playful works that are often created from a myriad of seemingly unconnected found objects. Somehow, in Mzimba’s hands, they are joined together to form intelligent and wonderfully decorative comments on everyday life in South Africa. Mzimba has also taught children at the Thusong Art Centre in Alexandra and at the Open School in Johannesburg EXHIBITIONS: SOLO 2002 One man exhibition - Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg 2000 One man exhibition - Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg 1999 One man exhibition showing concurrently at Everard Read Gallery Johannesburg and Cape Town 1996 The Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg 1995 ‘African Spirits’ - The Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg LFK Gallery, Hong Kong 1994 ‘Unity from Diversity’ - Natalie Knight Gallery, Johannesburg 1993 ‘The Spirit of Africa’ - Natalie Knight Gallery, Johannesburg 1987 Windhoek, Namibia 1986 Washington, USA Leephy Studios, Johannesburg 1985 Shell Gallery, Johannesburg and Cape Town Swaziland 1984 First solo international exhibition at Groomsport, Northern Ireland 1981 ‘South African Art’ - First solo exhibition at the Carlton Hotel GROUP 2000 Art London Fair, Chelsea, London with Everard Read Gallery 1999 Art London ‘99 group exhibition, Everard Read Gallery 1996 ‘Vita Art Now’ - Johannesburg Art Gallery 1994 ‘Windows on the New South Africa’ - Knight Galleries, World Trade Centre, Toronto 1993 ‘Cultural Diversity’ - Natalie Knight Gallery, Johannesburg ‘South African Art’ - World Trade Centre, Toronto. Designed poster for the exhibition and visited Toronto 1992 Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg 1991 Natalie Knight Gallery, Johannesburg 1990 ‘African Encounters’ - Knight Galleries International, Toronto COLLECTIONS: PUBLIC Fort Hare University African Museum Sanlam Sancorp EMI Anglo American Hunt Lascaris SA Merill Lynch SA JCI SA Alexander Forbes Ernst & Young INTERNATIONAL The Dallas Museum HRH King Letsie of Lesotho USA Canada Australia UK Japan National Art Museum, Frankfurt, Germany PUBLICATIONS: ‘Images of Man’ - SA Artists’ Diary |
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