Sam Nhlengethwa is a South African creative collage artist and the co-founder of Bag Factory Artists' Studio.

Early life and education

Born in Payneville township of Springs in

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

, he relocated early with his family to Kwa-Thema and spent his childhood with his grandmother in

Ratanda Ratanda is a township south of Heidelberg in Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1955. Ratanda was one of the first townships to be affected by unrest which broke out in 1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sulta ...

. Being born into a family of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

lovers, Sam's work was inspired by jazz and

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

s he grew up in. He began collecting jazz records from the age of 17 and started assembling his art

collection Collection or Collections may refer to: Computing * Collection (abstract data type), the abstract concept of collections in computer science * Collection (linking), the act of linkage editing in computing * Garbage collection (computing), autom ...

in 1977 while in school and swapped his own work for those of his schoolmates. In his own art, he drew

inspiration Inspiration, inspire, INSPIRE, or inspired commonly refers to: * Artistic inspiration, sudden creativity in artistic production * Biblical inspiration, a Christian doctrine on the origin of the Bible * Inhalation, breathing in Inspiration and rel ...

from the

s where he grew up. He attended the

Rorke's Drift The Battle of Rorke's Drift, also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was an engagement in the Anglo-Zulu War. The successful British defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the Royal E ...

and studied at the Johannesburg Art Foundation and the Mofolo Art Centre in

Soweto Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western T ...

Work and career

Nhlengethwa began his career in 1976 and later taught part-time at the Johannesburg-based Federative Union of Black Artists (FUBA). While studying at the Mofolo Art Centre in Soweto, he participated in Thupelo and Triangle workshops. He co-founded the Bag Factory Artists’ Studio in Johannesburg in 1991 to provide studio space and artistic resources to black artists. He won the Standard Bank Young Artist award in 1994, and worked as a television technician for

South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...

for 13 years. His works are exhibited throughout globally with collections at the

Johannesburg Art Gallery The Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) is an art gallery in Joubert Park in the city centre of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was once the largest gallery on the continent with a collection of more than 9000 artworks. The gallery collection is la ...

, the

Iziko South African National Gallery The Iziko South African National Gallery is the national art gallery of South Africa located in Cape Town. It became part of the Iziko collection of museums – as managed by the Department of Arts and Culture – in 2001. It then became an agenc ...

, the

Durban Art Gallery The Durban Art Gallery, situated in Durban, South Africa, holds the status of a municipal art gallery under the administration of the by eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. Its origins trace back to its establishment in 1892, making it a longsta ...

and numerous others. He is represented by 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 ...

in South Africa.

Style

Nhlengethwa collage style niche uses hard-edge cut out and cut up shapes of ready-made images from selected

reproductions Oil painting reproductions are paintings that have been created by copying in oils an original oil painting by an artist. Oil painting reproductions are distinct from original oil painting such as are often of interest to collectors and museums. O ...

and juxtaposed to make new images, often combined with other media to create new forms. He also work with

photogravure Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) and ...

and

lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

. In his prints and paintings, he uses overlays of techniques such as collage painting, drawing and photography.

Artworks

Sam Nhlengethwa had created 277 artworks which includes: * 2018 ''Inspired by Romare Bearden and Ernest Cole'' * 2018 ''Waiting for Green'' * 2018 ''...to be rescued I & II'' * 2019 ''The Market Square'' * 2019 ''Park Station'' * 2019 ''JSE in Winter'' * 2019 ''South side of Constitution Hill'' * 2013 ''Stand Accused'' * 2014 ''Tribute to Ephraim Ngatane''

Galleries

* ''Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg'' * ''Goodman Gallery, Cape Town'' * ''Goodman Gallery, London''

Exhibitions

He had been featured in 23 exhibitions globally including: * ''2020 Interiors continued, Goodman Gallery, London'' * ''2019 Joburg Selected, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg'' * ''2018 Feedback: Art, Africa and the 1980s, Iwalewahaus, Bayreuth, Germany'' * ''2014 Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA'' * ''2013 Group Exhibition: My Joburg, La Maison Rouge, 12e, Paris, France'' * ''2010 12th International Cairo Biennale, Cairo Biennale, Cairo, Egypt'' * ''2009 Abstract South African Art from the Isolation Years: Part 3, SMAC Art Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa''

Selected solo exhibitions

He had been featured in 6 solo exhibitions including: * ''2018 Sam Nhlengethwa: Waiting, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.'' * ''2017 In Focus: Sam Nhlengethwa, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.'' * ''2014 Sam Nhlengethwa: Some Final Tributes, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.''

Selected works at auction

Sam Nhlengethwa's work has realized prices ranging from $81 USD to $66,202 USD in auctions (for ''Glimpses of the Fifties and Sixties'' in 2019). He has 276 works at auction including: * ''2018 Definitely Waiting for Someone'' * ''2012 The Launch'' * ''1988 Bus Stop'' * ''2006 Brandfort'' * ''1974 Dedicated to Victor Ndlazilwana'' * ''1996 Rehearsing'' * ''2006 Church Street, Kwa Guqa II''

Art fairs

* Frieze New York Online

Collaborations with printmaking studios

In the course of his career, Nhlengethwa had collaborated with various South African printmaking studios namely: * The Artists’ Press * Artist Proof Studio * David Krut Print Workshop * LL Editions Fine Art Lithography Studio * MK & Artists Print Workshop * Mo Editions Printmaking Studio * Sguzu Printmaker's Workshop

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nhlengethwa, Jabulani Sam 20th-century South African painters People from Gauteng Living people 1955 births 21st-century South African painters South African collage artists