Goodman Gallery Now Represents Kenyan Artist Chemu Ng’ok, ‘I Feel Like the Body is a Fertile Ground for Contemplation, for Ideas’
GOODMAN GALLERY announced its representation of Chemu Ng’ok (b. 1989) last week. Ng’ok’s paintings and drawings feature abstracted figures and figurative forms entangled in a web of linework. The images explore the physical, psychological, and political aspects of the body and the complexities of human interaction, occupying space, and simply being. “I am thrilled to...
South African Artist Neo Matloga: ‘I Am Hoping the Audience Will See Their Emotions, Their Experiences, Their Spirits Living on My Canvases’
THE SCENES AND SITUATIONS in Neo Matloga‘s collage paintings are familiar. He captures small groups gathered in living rooms and around dining tables, couples engaged in intimate conversations, and individuals in the midst of introspective moments. Combining images cut from books and magazines with ink and charcoal line drawings, Matloga creates compelling characters...
Koyo Kouoh Named Executive Director and Chief Curator of Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town
THE LARGEST CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM in Africa has hired a new leader. The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) announced the appointment of Koyo Kouoh, who will serve as executive director and chief curator of the Cape Town, South Africa, museum. An international curator and cultural producer, Kouoh brings two decades of...
Latest News in African American Art: Hank Willis Thomas Designing King Memorial, History of Racism at MICA, Ghana and South Africa at Venice Biennale & More
Rendering of “The Embrace” designed by Hank Willis Thomas with MASS Design Group. | Courtesy King Boston The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related black culture: Hank Willis Thomas Selected to Design King Memorial in Boston “The Embrace,”...
At the Art Institute of Chicago, Kemang Wa Lehulere Mines South Africa’s History, Imagines Its Future
Kemang Wa Lehulere’s first American museum exhibition, “In My Wildest Dreams” at the Art Institute of Chicago, is on view through Jan. 16, 2017. | Video by Art Institute of Chicago LIKE COUNTLESS OTHER NATIONS, South Africa has an uneven history. Unlike its African neighbors, its recent past has garnered sustained international attention—from apartheid-era...
South African Artist Nicholas Hlobo Joins Lehmann Maupin
SOUTH AFRICAN ARTIST Nicholas Hlobo, whose multidisciplinary practice spans painting, drawing, sculpture, performance, works on paper, and video installation, has joined Lehmann Maupin in New York. Recognized for his innovative use and mix of materials, Hlobo’s first U.S. solo show opened at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston in 2008 and, later that year, he...
Remembering Nelson Mandela: Statesman, Revolutionary, Artist
THE WORLD LOST a legendary statesman this week. After spending 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) defeated generations of white minority rule when he was elected South Africa’s first black president, serving from 1994 to 1999. A standard-bearer for peace and reconciliation, Mandela died on Dec. 5 at the age of 95. Following a...
