Fikile Patrick Magadlela (13 December 1952 – 2003) was a

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

of the

Black Consciousness The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was a grassroots anti-apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African National Congress and Pan Af ...

movement in South Africa, recognized for his art's mystical and poetic quality, also noted for "subversive" and political art. He has been called an "African surrealist." He was born in Newclare,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa. He started drawing on his parents’ walls from as early as he could remember. Reading books his father bought and getting knowledge from older people. He dropped out of High school in standard 8 (10th grade) to work as a full-time artist. Magadlela was relatively self-taught but he spent many hours with fellow artists exchanging ideas and techniques. Magadlela worked closely with artists such as Ezrom Legae, Solly Maphiri, Winston Saoli, Percy Sedumedi, Pietro Cuzzolini and Harold Jeppe who became his mentor, introducing him to art circles in Johannesburg. His most renowned work was entitled “Birth of The Second Creation” a series of drafted, mystical landscapes showing an African man and woman in flowing drapery and overwhelming clouds. Later Magadlela would do bolder landscapes with similar characters using more colour and poetry. His first exhibition first solo exhibition was at the

Goodman Gallery Goodman Gallery is an art gallery founded in Johannesburg, South Africa by Linda Givon (previously Goodman) in 1966.Rachel Spence (26 September 2019Art with a conscience: Goodman Gallery opens in London''Financial Times''. The gallery operates sp ...

then owned by Linda Givon in 1978. Berman Gallery 1992. Retrospective at the

UNISA The University of South Australia is a Public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along ...

Art Gallery 1995 Magadlela died 2003

References

*Fikile Magadlela
''Fikile: A Retrospective Art Exhibition : Unisa Art Gallery, May 18-June 14 1995''
Unisa Art Gallery, 1995. *A new travelling exhibition attempts to uncover "lost" South African art—art that is unknown in its own home, Mail and Guardian, Jeremy Kuper, November 2011.
Fikile Magadledla
at South Africa History Online, retrieved and at South Africa History Online, retrieved and 11 December 2013.
Fikile Magadledla
at Ifa Lethu, retrieved an
archived
11 December 2013.

External links

at art.co.za {{DEFAULTSORT:Magadlela, Fikile 1952 births 2003 deaths Place of death missing Artists from Johannesburg 20th-century South African painters 20th-century South African male artists South African male painters