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ndebele
Dr. Esther Mahlangu
Born	Esther Nikwambi Mahlangu (1935-11-11) 11 November 1935 Middelburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa

The entrance gate to Esther Mahlangu's homestead

Thokozani Mthiyane (born date month year ) is a visual artist and sculptor known for his abstract works, created using a multitude of materials including, coffee grains and, found items collected on his many journeys throughout the African continent and the world.

Early life

Thokozani Mthiyane was born in Claremont, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa.

His early education was completed at schools

During the early 1990's Thokozani Mthiyane lived in Glenwood, Durban...

Artistic career

Mahlangu's BMW Art Car

Mahlangu's art references patterns found in clothing and jewellery of the Ndebele people. The patterns she uses are typically very colourful and geometric. Her paintings are large in scale.

Mahlangu first gained international attention in 1989 at a European art exposition titled Magiciens de la terre (Magicians of the World). Later in 1991, she was commissioned by BMW to create an art car, as other BMW Art Car creators had done before (including Andy Warhol, David Hockney and Frank Stella). The car, a BMW 525i, was the first "African Art Car" and was painted with typical motifs of the Ndebele tribe. She was the first non-Western person and female to design one of these art cars. The car was later exhibited at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC in 1994. Between 1980 and 1991 she was a resident at the Botshabelo open-air museum, which presents Ndebele culture to visitors.

Her designs were also reproduced in 1997 on the tails of British Airways planes and more recently the same technique was used by the artist to paint on the new Fiat 500 on the occasion of the exhibition "Why Africa?" (2007, Turin).

Mahlangu is one of the African artists whose art is often exhibited internationally. Her works are in major private collections including that of The Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC) of Jean Pigozzi and in many Western museums. Despite being an internationally recognized artist, Esther Mahalangu lives in her village in close contact with her culture.

Themes

Mahlangu follows a local tradition through which this particular type of painting technique is handed down in the family, communicated, learned and transmitted only by women (in the past). These paintings are closely connected with the ancient tradition of decorating the houses on the occasion of the rite of passage for boys. Between 18 and 20 years of age, the youth of the tribe go to "a school of circumcision", the ritual that confirm their passage to adulthood. To celebrate this event the women completely repaint the inside and the outside of their houses with a preparation of cow dung and natural pigments. Brightly coloured acrylic paints are also applied in designs outlined by black lines. Although seemingly simple, the geometric abstraction that is revealed by these paintings is underscored by the constant repetition and symmetry of such simple shapes that make the whole work quite complex.

The art of Esther Mahlangu highlights the tension between local and global, between the anchor and detachment. Despite continuing to use the same "artistic vocabulary" closely tied to her traditions, Mahlangu has applied the designs to various objects including canvas, sculpture, ceramics, automobiles and airplanes. She has also collaborated with various brands like BMW, Fiat, EYTYS, Melissa's, Beleverde and the British Museum.

Present day

Esther Mahlangu's 1991 BMW Artcar was on view at the British Museum as part of 'South Africa: the art of a nation', from 27 October 2016 - 27 February 2017. The new BMW Individual 7 series with unique internal wooden trims painted by her was exhibited at Frieze Art Fair 2016 with accompanying exhibition of work co-curated by BMW and 34FineArt. She recently completed a special edition premium Belvedere Vodka bottle design (50% of all profits to help fight HIV/AIDS in Africa). As an artist in residence, Mahlangu was commissioned in 2014 by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to create two large works of art.

Mahlangu directs a school which teaches young girls not only painting but also the technique of painting designs on particular compositions of beads. The tradition is not a static entity. As the work of the same Mahlangu suggests, "tradition" is a mobile field, future-oriented and ready to incorporate diverse stimuli. In fact, although South Africa is now one of the African States which is able to facilitate and promote the work of their artists both nationally and internationally with the likes of the biennial event in Johannesburg, the work of Esther Mahlangu is even more courageous because she was born and grew up in political and social turmoil.

Esther Mahlangu has worked tirelessly exposing and developing her talent travelling around the world, and she is very passionate about sharing her knowledge with the younger generation so that she leaves a legacy that lives on for generations to come.

Exhibitions and projects

Solo exhibitions

• 2016 Esther Mahlangu Individual 7 series BMW and accompanying exhibition co-curated by BMW and 34FineArt, Frieze Art Fair, London, UK

Selected exhibitions

• 2015 Imibala Gallery, Somerset West, SA
• 2015 Sneaker design with Swedish Company Eytys, Paris Fashion Week, France
• 2015 40 years of BMW Art Cars, BMW Museum, Munchen, Germany
• 2014 Traditional African Murals, Museum of African Art, Belgrade, Serbia
• 2014 Look Mickey!, 34FineArt, Cape Town, SA
• 2014 Les Magiciens de la Terre, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
• 2014 Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
• 2014 Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, SA
• 2013 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK
• 2013

Collections

• Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia
• The Pigozzi Collection, Geneva, Switzerland
• Johnnic Communications Management Services Collection, Johannesburg, SA

Awards

• 2018 Honorary doctorate from the University of Johannesburg
• 2015 The Lilizela Tourism Award, Roots and culture, SA
• 2015 South African Traditional Music Achievement Awards, Life Time Achievement Award, SA
• 1988 Radio Ndebele Award, SA

Selected publications and references

• "In conversation with Esther Mahlangu", ARTsouthAfrica (2015)
• Cantz, H. (2005), New Identities, Zeitgenossische Kunst Aus Sudafrika, Museum Bochum, Germany, ISBN 978-3-77571 489-1
• Courtney-Clarke, M, (1986), Ndebele, London: Thames & Hudson, ISBN 0-500-28387-7
• de Jager, F. R., & A. G. Loots (2003), Esther Mahlangu 2003, Vgallery, Cape Town, ISBN 0-620-30600-9
• de Jager, F. R., & A. G. Loots (2015), Esther Mahlangu 80, 34FineArt, Cape Town, ISBN 978-0-620-67031 -9
• Duke, L. (1994), "The Living Art of Esther Mahlangu: On a D.C. Street, a South African Master Paints in the Tradition of Her Tribe", The Washington Post, 4 September 1994
• Grenier, C. (2013), Multiple Modernities: 1905-1970, Centre Pompidou, France, ISBN 978-2-84426-653-8
• Guggenheim Bilbao Museum TF Editores & FMGB (2006), '100% Africa' [Exhibition Catalogue]
• Hansen, L. (1995/1996), 'Memory and Amnesia: Transformation of the Vernacular Architecture of the Southern Ndebele in South Africa' [Unpublished Thesis], Post Graduate Centre for Human Settlements, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
• James, D., & C. J. van Vuuren (1998), "The Ndebele", in Magubane, P. (ed.), Vanishing Cultures of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik, ISBN 978-0-847-82097-9
• Loubser, A, (1994), "Recent Changes in Wall Painting amongst the Ndzundza as an Indication of Social Changes amongst AmaNdebele Women" (unpublished Honors Dissertation), The University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
• Magnin, A., & J. Soulillou (1996), Contemporary Art of Africa, London: Thames & Hudson, ISBN 0-500-01 71 3-1
• Magubane, P., & S. Klopper (2001), African Heritage, Arts and Crafts, Cape Town: Struik, ISBN 1 -86872-51 6-2
• Martin, J.-H. (1989), Les Magiciens de la Terre, Paris: Editions du Centre Pompidou, ISBN 978-2858504985
• Martin, J.-H., & A. Cohen-Solal (2014), Les Magiciens de la Terre: Retour sur une exposition legendaire, Editions Xavier Barral, Centre Pompidou, Paris, ISBN 978-2-84426-693-4
• Magnin, A., de Lima Greene, A., & A. J. Wardlaw (2005), African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection (exhibition catalogue), Merrel, ISBN 978-0890902950
• McGlone, P., "South African muralist Esther Mahlangu keeps traditions alive", The Washington Post, 8 October 2014
• Mountain, A. (1995), Ndebele Artist Nation, Cape Town: Struik, ISBN 1-86825-848-3
• Orford, M. (ed.), (2006), Life and Soul: Portraits of Women who Move South Africa, Cape Town: Double Storey
• Parise, A. (2010), Esther Mahlangu La Regina d'Africa, Colognola Al Colli
• Powel, I., & M. Lewis (1995), Ndebele: A People and their Art, Cape Town: Struik, ISBN 978-1 86825691 4
• Rousset, J. M. (1996), Contemporary Art of Africa: Esther Mahlangu & Francina Ndimande, Magnin, A., & J. Soulillou (eds)
• Africa Africa: Vibrant New Art from a Dynamic Continent [Exhibition Catalogue], Tobu Museum of Art, Tokyo
• Williamson, S. (2009), South African Art Now, Harper Design, ISBN 978-0061 34351 3

External links

• esthermahlangu.co.za latest info
• Esther Mahlangu 80 Exhibition online 2015
• Esther Mahlangu 80 Exhibition catalogue 2015
• Contemporary African Art Collection, Geneva
• Esther Mahlangu 2003 Exhibition catalogue 2003
• Mam' Esther Mahlangu: the Ndebele Picasso, Ayiba Magazine, December 2015