Esther Mahlangu

Esther Nikwambi Mahlangu
Mahlangu painting on a wall.
Born (1935-11-11) 11 November 1935
Middelburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa
StyleNdebele house painting
Websiteesthermahlanguart.com
The entrance to Esther Mahlangu's homestead in Mapoch, South Africa

Esther Nikwambi Mahlangu (born 11 November 1935) is a South African artist known for her bold, large-scale paintings inspired by her Ndebele heritage. Raised on a farm in the Mpumalanga region, she began painting as a child but did not receive critical recognition until the late 1980s. She is one of the most prominent contemporary practitioners of Ndebele house painting and has brought international attention to the art form by adapting its style to alternative materials such as canvas, metal, and clothing.

Her work has been exhibited internationally and has appeared in collaborations with global brands including BMW and Rolls-Royce. In addition to her artistic work, Mahlangu has been involved in teaching and cultural preservation, and opened an art school in her hometown to pass on traditional Ndebele painting techniques to younger generations. She is one of South Africa's most well-known artists.[1]

Early life

Mahlangu was born on 11 November 1935 on a farm outside Middelburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa. She is the eldest of nine children, with six brothers and two sisters, and is a member of the Southern Ndebele people.[2] She began painting at the age of 10, having been taught by her mother and grandmother in accordance with Ndebele tradition, in which adolescent girls learn to paint in preparation for decorating the exterior of their homes after marriage.[3][4]

Career

Between 1980 and 1991, Mahlangu was a resident at the Botshabelo Historical Village, an open-air museum dedicated to educating visitors about Ndebele culture.[5][6] She first received global recognition in 1989 at the Magiciens de la terre (Magicians of the Earth) group exhibition, held at the Centre Pompidou and Grand halle de la Villette in Paris.[1][3][7][8] She was invited after researchers from the French Embassy, including associate curator André Magnin,[1] visited South Africa in 1986 and saw the paintings on her home.[9] Upon arriving in Paris, she found that exhibition organizers had constructed a full-scale replica of her house,[1] which she painted before an audience of thousands.[10] The exhibition aimed to challenge Eurocentrism in the art world by presenting contemporary art from non-Western countries,[1] and its success brought Mahlangu's work to an international audience.[9][11] During her two-month stay in France, she also completed a mural inside the Angoulême Museum of Fine Arts.[10] By 1990, she had received invitations to paint murals internationally and to exhibit her work in more than 12 countries.[1]

Mahlangu's BMW Art Car

In 1991, Mahlangu was commissioned by the car manufacturer BMW to create an art car, joining earlier contributors such as Andy Warhol, David Hockney, and Frank Stella.[3] She was the first non-Western artist and the first woman to design a BMW Art Car.[3][7][12] The collaboration, intended to mark the end of apartheid,[13][14] came five years after BMW opened a plant in Rosslyn, South Africa, and one year after Nelson Mandela was released from prison.[1] Her design, painted on a BMW 525i, featured traditional Ndebele motifs and was her first work created on a surface other than a wall.[14] The car was later exhibited at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., in 1994, and was featured in the exhibition South Africa: The Art of a Nation at the British Museum in London from October 2016 to February 2017.[15]

Great Court, British Museum, November 2016

In 1992, Mahlangu was commissioned to paint a five-story mural for the Johannesburg Civic Theatre.[16]

In August 1994, Mahlangu travelled to the United States for the first time,[17] where she created a mural at the National Museum of Women in the Arts to mark the opening of her solo exhibition, Esther Mahlangu, South African Muralist: The BMW Art Car and Related Works.[18] The mural was painted on a vacant building that would soon become a new wing of the museum.[19][20] To complete the mural, Mahlangu was assisted by her son Elias, American muralist Rachel Cross, volunteer Marion Levy, and another painter.[16] She began painting on 25 August and continued until the exhibit opened on 15 September.[17] During this period, pedestrians and motorists gathered daily to watch the artists at work.[16] The exhibit ran until 13 November and included paintings on canvas, photographs of wall paintings, and her BMW Art Car.[17]

In 2014, Mahlangu completed a one-month residency at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia, during which she created two murals for the museum's African art gallery.[3] Her work has been exhibited internationally, and her pieces are included in major private and institutional collections, including the Contemporary African Art Collection of Jean Pigozzi.[8]

Other collaborations

In 1997, Mahlangu was commissioned to paint the tail fins of several British Airways planes.[21][22] In 2007, she painted a Fiat 500 for the Why Africa? exhibition in Turin, Italy.[23] In 2016, she designed a Product Red bottle for Belvedere Vodka, with fifty percent of the proceeds donated to the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.[24][1] That same year, she collaborated with Swedish fashion brand Eytys to design a pair of sneakers featuring traditional Ndebele designs, marking the first use of embroidery in her work.[25][26] She has also collaborated with Brazilian shoe brand Melissa as well as Japanese fashion label Comme des Garçons.[27]

In 2016, Mahlangu painted the interior of a BMW 7 Series sedan which was exhibited at the Frieze Art Fair in Regent's Park, London, as part of a collection co-curated between BMW and 34FineArt.[28]

In 2020, she painted a custom interior for a Rolls-Royce Phantom, which includes a 'gallery' in the dashboard designed to display artwork.[8][29] She was the first South African artist commissioned to create an artwork for the car.[8] The work was displayed during Cape Town Art Week 2020 at The Melrose Gallery.[8]

In 2024, she collaborated with BMW to create the i5 Flow Nostokana, a concept car featuring a color-changing exterior adorned with Ndebele designs rendered using E Ink technology.[18][30][31]

Education and cultural preservation

In 2024, an art studio dedicated to Mahlangu's work was opened at her home in Mpumalanga, South Africa.[32][33] She previously established a self-funded art school in her backyard to teach Ndebele painting and design techniques to the next generation of artists.[1][34]

Exhibitions

Mahlangu has held numerous solo exhibitions in South Africa and internationally. Notable exhibitions include Esther Mahlangu, South African Muralist: The BMW Art Car and Related Works (1994) at the National Museum of Women in the Arts,[35] her first solo exhibition; Esther Mahlangu (1998) at the Musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie in Paris;[36] Esther Mahlangu: An Artistic Residency (2014) at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts;[37][38] Where Two Rivers Meet (2023) at Almine Rech in London,[39] and When Heart and Mind Agree (2025) at Jenkins Johnson Gallery in San Francisco.[40]

In 2024, Mahlangu presented her first retrospective, Then I Knew I Was Good at Painting: Esther Mahlangu, a Retrospective, a 50-year travelling exhibition that originated at the Iziko South African National Gallery.[41][14][42] The exhibition was curated by Nontobeko Ntombela.[43][44]

She has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including Magiciens de la Terre (1989), Documenta 9 (1992),[45] and the Venice Biennale (2024),[46] and has exhibited at international art fairs such as Frieze Art Fair (2016)[47] and the Investec Cape Town Art Fair (2019).[48]

Style

Mahlangu is known for adapting Ndebele mural art, which is traditionally painted on adobe walls, to alternative surfaces such as canvas and metal alloys.[1][18] Her signature designs often feature white-bounded lines arranged diagonally or in chevron patterns. Her compositions have been described as "more engaging and complex than that of her contemporaries," with particularly intricate border designs.[49]

Mahlangu's art draws on patterns found in the traditional clothing and jewellery of the Ndebele people.[3] Her designs are typically colourful and geometric, and her paintings are often large in scale, created using a paintbrush made from chicken feathers.[7][50] She signs her beadwork using beads to form her initials, "EM".[51]

Awards and honours

In 2006, the Government of South Africa awarded Mahlangu the Order Of Ikhamanga in Silver for "excellent contribution to the development of the indigenous Ndebele arts."[52][53] In 2019, she received the Southern Africa NGO and Multi-Stakeholder Award from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.[54] In April 2024, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural South African Creative Arts Awards.[55] In July of the same year, she was bestowed with the Officier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture, becoming the fifth South African citizen to receive the award.[56]

Mahlangu has also received several honorary degrees in recognition of her contributions to the arts and the preservation of Ndebele culture. In April 2018, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Johannesburg in recognition of her cultural legacy.[57][58] That same year, the Durban University of Technology conferred upon her an honorary doctorate in visual and performing arts, acknowledging her role in promoting Ndebele heritage.[59] In 2022, the Tshwane University of Technology awarded Mahlangu an honorary doctorate in arts and design.[60] In 2024, she received an honorary Doctor of Philosophy in mathematics from the University of South Africa in recognition of her artistic career and "mathematical prowess."[61]

Personal life

Mahlangu married her husband in 1947.[9] The couple had three sons; she outlived both her husband and all three children.[62][63]

On 19 March 2022, Mahlangu was assaulted and robbed in her home, during which money and a personal firearm were stolen.[64][65][66] Police launched a manhunt, and two suspects were later arrested and charged with house robbery and possession of an unlawful firearm.[67][68]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mun-Delsalle, Y.-Jean (7 June 2019). "Esther Mahlangu, One Of South Africa's Most Famous Artists, Perpetuates Traditional Ndebele Painting". Forbes. Archived from the original on 11 February 2026. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  2. ^ Magnin, André; Jacques Soulillou (1996). "Esther Mahlangu". Contemporary Art of Africa. H. N. Abrams. pp. 46 ff. ISBN 978-0-8109-4032-1.
  3. ^ a b c d e f McGlone, Peggy (3 October 2014). "Ndebele artist Mahlangu uses bold colors, striking graphics to honor African heritage". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  4. ^ Luckett, Helen (2019). Great Women Artists. London: Phaidon Press. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-7148-7877-5.
  5. ^ "Esther Mahlangu CV" (PDF). Esther Mahlangu. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Reinventing Tradition: Esther Mahlangu". Southeby's. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  7. ^ a b c Cushing, Nathan (17 September 2014). "South African artist painting commissioned murals at VMFA". RVA News. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d e Mabandu, Percy (6 March 2020). "Dr Esther Mahlangu in concealed colour". Art Africa Magazine. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Protzman, Ferdinand (28 September 1996). "Patterns of South African Life". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Esther Mahlangu". South African History Online. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  11. ^ Merelli, Annalisa (31 July 2019). "The Paris exhibition that changed global contemporary art". Quartz. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  12. ^ "12 - Esther Mahlangu". BMW Art Cars. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  13. ^ "A vehicle for resistance". British Museum. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  14. ^ a b c Biswas, Allie (10 April 2024). "Esther Mahlangu Embodies the Ideals of Post-Apartheid South Africa". Frieze. No. 244. ISSN 0962-0672. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  15. ^ Cashdan, Marina (23 September 2016). "Esther Mahlangu Is Keeping Africa's Ndebele Painting Alive". Artsy. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  16. ^ a b c Duke, Lynne (4 September 1994). "The Living Art of Esther Mahlangu". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  17. ^ a b c Payton, Randi (17 August 1994). "Ndebele Art: A South African Symbol of Power". The Washington Informer. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  18. ^ a b c Waddoups, Ryan (1 March 2024). "Thanks to BMW, Esther Mahlangu Is Still in Motion". Surface. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  19. ^ Burchard, Hank (23 September 1994). "South African Muralist Graces Us With Her Present". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  20. ^ Lewis, Jo Ann (18 August 1994). "Women's Art Museum Sprouting a Wing; $1 Million Gift Buys Adjacent Building". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  21. ^ "Esther Mahlangu (1935 - )". The Presidency, The Republic of South Africa. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  22. ^ "Esther Mahlangu". Aspire Art. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  23. ^ "The Fabulous Work of Gogo Esther Mahlangu". News24. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  24. ^ Mattie, Kahn (31 August 2016). "How John Legend and a World-Renowned Ndebele Artist Joined Forces to Beat AIDS". Elle. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  25. ^ Moss, Hilary (17 February 2016). "A Young Sneaker Brand Enlists an Octogenarian South African Artist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  26. ^ Borrelli-Persson, Laird (17 February 2016). "Swedish Sneaker Designer Max Schiller Shares His Jo'Burg Photo Diary". Vogue. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
  27. ^ "BMW celebrates artistic journey of Esther Mahlangu". BMW Group. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
  28. ^ "BMW Individual 7 Series by Esther Mahlangu". BMW Group. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  29. ^ Banks, Nargess. "Why Rolls-Royce Is Investing In Bespoke And Experiential Luxury". Forbes. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  30. ^ Orensten, Evan (7 March 2024). "Artist Esther Mahlangu and Engineer Stella Clarke's Color-Changing BMW i5 Flow NOSTOKANA". Cool Hunting. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  31. ^ Banks, Nargess (29 February 2024). "Esther Mahlangu's Art Meets Cutting-Edge BMW Technology At Frieze Los Angeles 2024". Forbes. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  32. ^ Tiwane, Bonginkosi (13 September 2024). "'This is for the entire KwaNdebele nation' - Dr Esther Mahlangu on new art studio in her community". The Citizen. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  33. ^ Moganedi, Kgomotso (14 September 2024). "Dr Esther Mahlangu's newly opened art studio attracts Miss World SA hopefuls". TimesLIVE.
  34. ^ Warren, Tamara (5 March 2024). "Esther Mahlangu Debuts Retrospective at Iziko Museum, Alongside a New BMW Collaboration". Whitewall. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  35. ^ "The living art of Esther Mahlangu : on a D.C. street, a South African master paints in the tradition of her tribe". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  36. ^ Lebovici, Elisabeth (12 February 1998). "Sa peinture fait le mur. La Sud-Africaine Esther Mahlangu expose à Paris ses peintures murales. Une tradition des femmes ndebeles. Mahlangu, Afrique du Sud, musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie, 293, avenue Daumesnil, 75012 Paris; tél.: 01 44 74 84 80. Jusqu'au 27 avril". Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 10 September 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  37. ^ "Esther Mahlangu: An Artistic Residency - Virginia Museum of Fine Arts". Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  38. ^ "South African artist leaves mark at VMFA". Richmond Free Press. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  39. ^ "Almine Rech: "Where Two Rivers Meet", 2023". Esther Mahlangu. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  40. ^ "When Heart and Mind Agree". Jenkins Johnson Gallery. 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  41. ^ "THEN I KNEW I WAS GOOD AT PAINTING: ESTHERMAHLANGU, A RETROSPECTIVE". Iziko Museums. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  42. ^ Rea, Naomi (7 March 2024). "7 Places to Look For Art in Cape Town". Artnet News. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  43. ^ Magome, Mogomotsi (28 December 2024). "South African retrospective exhibition honors the colorful work of artist Esther Mahlangu". CityNews Halifax. Associated Press. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  44. ^ "Cape Town Exhibit Highlights Works of Renowned Ndebele Artist". VOA Africa. Agence France-Presse. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  45. ^ Warren, Tamara (5 March 2024). "Esther Mahlangu Retrospective + BMW Collaboration". Whitewall. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  46. ^ Woodward, Daisy (8 April 2024). "How Artist Esther Mahlangu Fuses Tribal Tradition With Abstraction". Another Magazine. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  47. ^ Belcourt, Marc (26 September 2016). "BMW Art Talk held at Soho House on the occasion of the fourth edition of BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors. BMW as partner of Frieze London to present Art Talk about Esther Mahlangu and South African art". BMW. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  48. ^ "The Melrose Gallery at Investec Cape Town Art Fair 2019". Artsy. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  49. ^ Boyd, Craniv Ambolia (2017). "Ndebele Mural Art and the Commodification of Ethnic Style during the Age of Apartheid and Beyond". Freie Universitaet Berlin (Germany): 123. ProQuest 1930946232 – via Publicly Available Content Database.
  50. ^ "Esther Mahlangu: An Artistic Residency". Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  51. ^ Jasper, Adam (2 January 2014). "Making Art Global (Part 2), 'Magiciens de la Terre' 1989, edited by Lucy Steeds et al.: London: Afterall, 2013. 304 pp., £14.95 (pbk), ISBN: 978-1-84638-118-8". Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art. 14 (1): 109–112. doi:10.1080/14434318.2014.936546. ISSN 1443-4318. S2CID 179016503.
  52. ^ "Esther Mahlangu (1935 - )". The Presidency. Archived from the original on 24 April 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  53. ^ "South African Artist Esther Mahlangu Awarded Honorary Doctorate by the University of Johannesburg". Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  54. ^ "Dr. Esther Mahlangu receives the first United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Southern Africa NGO & Multi-Stakeholder Award in recognition of inclusivity & empowerment". Ventures Africa. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  55. ^ Shahini, Alex (5 April 2024). "Esther Mahlangu Earns National Award for Iconic Collaborations with BMW". CAR Magazine. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  56. ^ "Dr. Esther Mahlangu receives France's top cultural award". Artsy (website). 15 July 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  57. ^ Mphande, Joy (9 April 2018). "Esther Mahlangu gets conferred with an Honourary [sic] Doctorate". Zalebs. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  58. ^ "LOOK: Esther Mahlangu receives her honorary doctorate". IOL. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  59. ^ "DUT to Honour Pioneers in Visual and Performing Arts with Honorary Doctorates". Durban University of Technology. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  60. ^ "David Tlale, Dr Esther Mahlangu and Yvonne Chaka Chaka receive honorary doctorates from TUT". SowetanLIVE. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  61. ^ Tshikalange, Shonisani (16 April 2024). "Another honorary doctorate for Esther Mahlangu, for 'mathematical prowess'". TimesLIVE. Archived from the original on 11 February 2025. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  62. ^ McVeigh, Tracy (28 August 2016). "Grandmother of African art finds unlikely partner in war on Aids". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  63. ^ "Early Life". Esther Mahlangu. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  64. ^ "Manhunt launched for Esther Mahlangu's attacker | eNCA". Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  65. ^ Maromo, Jonisayi (2022). "Ndebele artist Esther Mahlangu assaulted, robbed of gun and money in her home". IOL. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  66. ^ Masilela, Sinenhlanhla (2022). "R50 000 offered for Dr Esther Mahlangu robbery suspect". IOL. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  67. ^ Maromo, Jonisayi (9 April 2022). "Esther Mahlangu robbery suspect remanded". Pretoria News. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  68. ^ Pheto, Belinda (11 April 2022). "Esther Mahlangu's attacker an 'electrician' who did odd jobs for her". SowetanLIVE. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.