Phillemon Hlungwani has virtuoso drawing skills and these, combined with his phenomenal technical ability, make him an artist who is surely destined for great things. Hlungwani grew up in rural Limpopo province and he is deeply proud of his people’s traditional customs and cultural practices. He views these however not as translator or anthropologist but as an artist with a vision that is aesthetically firmly based in the twenty first century.
As a young herdboy he spent many months tending the family goats and his intimate knowledge of the Bushveld landscape is evident in these enormous etchings which are astounding to anyone versed in the technical skills required to pull them with such crispness and lucidity.
In the brief time we have worked together which was interrupted by a sojourn in New York courtesy of the Ampersand foundation, Hlungwani’s works have been bought by serious collectors in Europe, Britain and the USA but this is his first major exhibition and the first showing of his works in Cape Town
Phillemon Hlungwani and I join in thanking Gideon de Plessis for effecting the introduction which has resulted in our business relationship and, of course, this exhibition.
As always Christopher Peter and his professional team make curating an exhibition at this wonderful venue a real and almost effortless pleasure.
To view this exhibition online visit:
