Esther Mahlangu

Esther Mahlangu (born 1935) is a South African Ndebele artist. She is known for her bold large-scale contemporary paintings that reference her Ndebele heritage.

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Esther Mahlangu

Early life

Esther Mahlangu was born on 11 November 1935 in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa and belongs to the South Ndebele people. Mahlangu began painting at ten years old, following the teachings of her mother and grandmother. A tradition of her native South Ndebele people is for females to paint the exterior of houses. It is in this cultural tradition where Mahlangu began her artistic journey.

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Artistic career

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Mahlangu's BMW Art Car

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

Mahlangu first gained international attention in 1989 at a European artist exposition titled Magiciens de la terre (Magicians of the World). Later in 1991, Mahlangu 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" which 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.

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 few African artists whose art is often exhibited on the international scene. 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.

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Themes

The artist follows a local tradition that states that this particular type of painting technique is handed down in the family, communicated, learned and transmitted only by women. These paintings are closely connected with the ancient tradition of decorating the houses on the occasion of the rite of passage for boys. Between eighteen and twenty years of age, the youth of the tribe went to "a school of circumcision", the ritual which confirmed their passage to adulthood. To celebrate this event the women completely repainted the inside and the outside of their houses with a preparation of cow dung and chalk using a vast repertoire of traditional figures. These designs were characterized by the presence of repeated geometric shapes of bright colors, bound by a thin black border in distinct contrast with the white background, a very clear path. Although seemingly simple, the geometric abstraction that is revealed by these paintings is underscored by the constant repetition of such simple shapes that make the whole work, however, 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 the traditions of her race, Mahlangu has dramatically changed the media and techniques with which they work. The artist, in addition to using industrial pigments and colors, decorates using lines and geometric paintings for sculptures, ceramics, automobiles (Mainly BMW's) and even airplanes.

Present Day

As an artist in residency, Esther 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.

Born 11 November 1935 near Middelburg, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Esther Nikwambi Mahlangu was taught the skill of mural painting by her mother and grandmother. Between 1980 - 1991 she was a resident at the Botshabelo open air museum which presents Ndebele culture to visitors.

Exhibitions and projects

Solo Exhibitions

2015 Esther Mahlangu 80, UCT Irma Stern Museum, Cape Town, SA 2014 Esther Mahlangu: An Artistic Residency, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia, USA 2012 Overlay, 34FineArt, Cape Town, SA 2010 Centro Espositivo St. Art, Calenzano, Italy 2008 Esther Mahlangu: Reacquiring, The Kyle Kauffman Gallery, New York, USA 2007 Esther Mahlangu 2007, 34LONG, Cape Town, SA 2007 Why Africa?, Fiat 500, Turin, Italy 2005 Esther Mahlangu, 34LONG, Cape Town, SA 2003 Esther Mahlangu 2003, UCT Irma Stern Museum, Cape Town, SA 1998 Museum of Oceanian and African Art, Paris, France 1997 BA Airways Tail paintings, UK 1991 BMW Art Cars Commission, Germany

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 Urban Interpretation, Graffik Gallery, London, UK 2013 FourWalls, 34FineArt, Cape Town, SA 2012 Art Drive! Exhibition, Great Eastern Street Car Park in Shoreditch, London, UK 2012 Urban Interpretation, 34FineArt, Cape Town, SA 2012 Blend, 34FineArt, Cape Town, SA 2011 Durban Tourism Indaba, Durban, SA 2011 Ensemble, 34FineArt, Cape Town, SA 2011 ArtMonaco'1 1, Monaco 2011 Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA 2010 Africa. Objetos y Sujetos, Teatro Fernan Gomez, Centro de Arte, Madrid, Spain 2010 ATASA Trust Southern Africa Handcraft & Ndebele Art Exhibition, Newtown, SA 2010 La mostra sulla Regina d'Africa Esther Mahlangu, Napoli, Italy 2010 Museum of Arts and Design, New York City, USA 2010 FIFA Official Artist, Italy 2009 Sortileges, Fondation pour L'art Contemporain, Claudine et Jean-Marc Salomon, Alex, France 2009 3rd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia 2009 - 2010 Africa? Una nuova storia, Complesso del Vittoriano, Rome, Italy 2008 The Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, USA 2008 Denver Museum of Art, Denver, Colorado, USA 2008 Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA 2007 Why Africa?, Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Turin, Italy 2007 Painted the New Fiat 500 - "Why Africa?", The Pigozzi Collection, Italy 2007 SA Art—Signs, Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia 2007 Berlin and Beyond Art in Public Places, Florida, USA 2007 Durban Art Gallery, Durban, SA 2007 Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, USA 2007 The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, USA 2007 Tacoma Museum of Art, Tacoma, Washington, USA 2006 100% African; The Jean Pigozzi Contemporary African Art Collection, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain 2006 Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA 2006 Memory Innovation Tradition, 34 LONG, Cape Town, SA 2006 Roppongi Hills Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 2006 Beyond Lilith: The Sacred Feminine, Scuderie Aldobrandini Frascati, Roma, Italy 2005 Arts of Africa, Grimaldi Forum, Monaco 2005 Yokohama Triennial, Japan 2005 New Identities Contemporary Art from South Africa, Pretoria Art Museum & Johannesburg Art Gallery, SA 2005 Galleria Spacia, Italy 2005 South Africa-USA Native American Exchange Project, Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, USA 2005 Project Row Houses, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA 2005 African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA 2005 National Museum of African Art, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., USA 2004 New Identities Contemporary Art from South Africa, Museum Bochum, Germany 2004 New Orleans Jazz Festival, South African Stage, New Orleans, USA 2003 Dentro e Fuori le Mura, Fabbrica Eos, Milano, Italy 2002 Passport to South Africa, Centro Culturale Trevi, Bolzano, Italy 2002 The Art of Colour, Knysna Fine Art Gallery, Knysna, SA 2001 Arte Africana Contemporanea, Galleria d'arte Spazia, Bologna, Italy 2001 Galleria Cavellini, Brescia, Italy 2001 South Africa Today, The Helsinki Fair Centre, Finland 2000 5th Biennale of Contemporary Art, Lyons, France 2000 Dialogue of Cultures, EXPO 2000, Hannover, Germany 1999 The Three Rivers Art Festival, Pittsburgh, USA 1999 <<REWIND>>FAST FORWARD.ZA, Van Reekum Museum, Apeldoorn, Netherlands 1998 Solo Exhibition, Musee des Arts d'Afrique et d'Oceanie, Paris, France 1998 Africa Africa: Vibrant New Art from a Dynamic Continent, Tobu Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan 1997 Exhibit Gallery, Philadelphia, USA 1997 York College, Los Angeles, California, USA 1997 Mural for National Museum of Woman in the Arts, Washington D.C., USA 1997 Ndebele Images - Then and Now, National Arts Club, New York, USA 1997 Oog op Zuidelijke Afrika, Het Afrika Museum, Berg en Dal, Netherlands 1997 Portal to America, Installation, Spoleto Festival, Charleston, South Carolina, USA 1997 African Immigrant Folklife Festival, Washington D.C., USA 1996 Parish Gallery, Georgetown, USA 1996 Exhibition for the Congressional Black Caucus, Washington D.C., USA 1996 Armour J. Blackburn Centre, Howard University, Washington D.C., USA 1996 World Bank, Washington D.C., USA 1996 Mural - Ministry of Finance Building, Pretoria, SA 1996 Mural - Alexandra Township Stadium, Johannesburg, SA 1995 BMW Art Cars and Paintings Exhibition, Sydney, Australia 1995 Group Exhibition, Market Theatre, Johannesburg, SA 1994 BMW Art Cars Collection, National Museum of Woman in the Arts, Washington D.C., USA 1994 Mural - National Museum of Woman in the Arts, Washington D.C., USA 1994 Mural - Ndebele College of Education, KwaNdebele, SA 1994 Mural - African Festival, Lisbon, Portugal 1994 Mural - European Inventive Business Travel Meetings Exhibition, Geneva, Switzerland 1994 Out of Africa, Musee des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, France 1993 La Grande Verite, Les Astres Africains, Nantes Fine Arts Museum, Nantes, France 1993 European Inventive Business Travel Meetings Exhibition, Lisbon, Portugal 1993 Geneva International Exhibition, Geneva, Switzerland 1992 Comme des Garcons, Tokyo, Japan; New York, USA; and Paris, France 1992 Out of Africa, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK 1992 Fire Screen, Civic Theatre, Johannesburg, SA 1992 BMW Art Cars, Documenta 9, Kassel, Germany 1992 Africa Hoy, Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands 1992 Africa Hoy, Cultural Centre of Contemporary Art, Mexico City, Mexico 1991 BMW Art Cars, Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, SA 1991 Painting columns in Building, Tokyo, Japan 1991 Fashion Collection, Tokyo, Japan 1991 Ny Afrikansk Billedkunst, Copenhagen, Denmark 1991 Africa Hoy, Centro Atlantico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas, de Gran Canaria, Spain 1990 Caravan Auto Show, Lavante, France 1990 Bordeaux Festival, Bordeaux, France 1990 Mural Painting, Rosebank Shopping Centre, SA 1990 Mural Painting, Johannesburg School, SA 1989 Centre de la Villette, Paris, France 1989 Fine Arts Museum, Angoulême, France 1989 Mural Painting, Musee des Beaux Arts, France 1989 Les Magiciens de la Terre, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France

Collections

Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia The Pigozzi Collection, Geneva, Switzerland Johnnic Communications Management Services Collection, Johannesburg, SA Museum Bochum, Bochum, Germany South African National Gallery, Iziko Museums, Cape Town, SA BROKER Art Collection, Belgium BOE Bank, Cape Town, SA Musee des Arts d'Afrique et d'Oceanie, Paris, France Botshabelo Museum, Botshabelo, SA BMW Art Cars Collection, Germany World Bank Collection, USA Museum of Modern Art, Equatorial Guinea BHP Billiton Collection, Johannesburg, SA Roppongi Hills Art Museum, Japan Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia, USA Museum Bochum, Germany Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, SA RE:CM Collection, Cape Town, SA National Museum ofWoman in the Arts, Washington D.C., USA Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France Musee des Beaux Arts, France University of Cape Town, SA

Esther's work is also represented in numerous public and private collections.

Awards

2015 The Lilizela Tourism Award, Roots and culture, SA 2015 South African Traditional Music Achievement Awards, Life Time Achievement Award, SA 2013 1st Mbokodo Award, SA 2012 1st Mbokodo Award, South African Women in the Arts, SA 2010 Increasing Access to the Arts Award - 13th annual BASA Awards, SA 2007 The Heritage Award for Preservation and Promotion of South African Heritage and Culture, The Premier of KZN, SA 2006 The Order of Ikhamanga (Silver), Government of South Africa, SA 2006 National Arts and Culture Trust, Lifetime Achievement Award, SA 2001 Arts and Culture Award, Art Promotion, SA 2001 Pan African Broadcasting, Heritage and Achievement Award (PABHA), SA 2001 Radio Ndebele Award, SA 1999 Mpumalanga Arts and Culture Award, SA 1997 Nassau County Commendation, New York, USA 1997 Incorporated Village of Hempstead Citation, Hempstead, New York, USA 1997 Ministry of Culture and Communication, Centre de la Villette, France 1996 Mpumalanga Sport Premier's Culture Award, SA 1988 Radio Ndebele Award, SA

Selected publications and references

ARTsouthAfrica, (201 5), 'In conversation with Esther Mahlangu', Available at: http://artsouthafrica.com/220-news-articles-201 3/2460-the-painting-s-not-dead-issue-in-conversation-with-esther-mahlangu.html Cantz, H, (2005), New Identities, Zeitgenossische Kunst Aus Sudafrika, Museum Bochum, Germany, ISBN 978-3-77571 489-1 Courtney-Clarke, M, (1 986), Ndebele, Thames & Hudson, London, ISBN 0-500-28387-7 de Jager, FR & Loots, AG, (2003), Esther Mahlangu 2003, Vgallery, Cape Town, ISBN 0-620-30600-9 de Jager, FR & Loots, AG, (201 5), Esther Mahlangu 80, 34FineArt, Cape Town, ISBN 978-0-620-67031 -9 Duke, L, (1 994), '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 1 994 Grenier, C, (201 3), 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, (1 995/1 996), '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 & van Vuuren, CJ, (1 998), 'The Ndebele', in (ed.) Magubane, P, Vanishing Cultures of South Africa, Struik, Cape Town, ISBN 978-0-847-82097-9 Loubser, A, (1 994), '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 & Soulillou, J, (1 996), Contemporary Art of Africa, Thames & Hudson, London, ISBN 0-500-01 71 3-1 Magubane, P & Klopper, S, (2001 ), African Heritage, Arts and Crafts, Struik, Cape Town, ISBN 1 -86872-51 6-2 Martin, J-H, (1 989), 'Les Magiciens de la Terre', Editions du Centre Pompidou, Paris, ISBN 978-2858504985 Martin, J-H & Cohen-Solal, A, (201 4), '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 & Wardlaw, AJ, (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 201 4, Available at: www.gale.cengage.com Mountain, A, (1 995), Ndebele Artist Nation, Struik, Cape Town, ISBN 1-86825-848-3 Orford, M (ed.), (2006), Life and Soul: Portraits of Women who Move South Africa, Double Storey, Cape Town Parise, A, (201 0), 'Esther Mahlangu La Regina d'Africa', Colognola Al Colli Powel, I & Lewis, M, (1 995), Ndebele: A People and their Art, Struik, Cape Town, ISBN 978-1 86825691 4 Rousset, JM, (1 996), Contemporary Art ofAfrica: Esther Mahlangu & Francina Ndimande, (eds.) Magnin, A & Soulillou, J '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 www.esthermahlangu.co.za

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