In early July of 2024 the David Krut team was lucky enough to visit Stephen Langa’s studio, where they were welcomed with warm smiles and great coffee against the unforgiving backdrop of winter. The air, filled with the smell of coffee, incense and turpentine set the tone. Spread out on the lounge floor were three large drawings held down by an array of books and paint tubes. The finished drawings served as the opening scene, with which Stephen made known and fleshed out his artistic intentions, painting style, influences and references of which some can be traced back to “The Sugar Shack” by artist Ernie Barnes.
The Sugar Shack is by and large a Black Romantic piece born out of the prefaces of impressionism, which was popularized by the American TV sitcom “Good Times”. As a result the sitcom counterparts the painting with social commentary that called attention to the everyday life/realism of a poverty-stricken lower class family in America.
Stephen explained that he draws inspiration from everyday life. In fact, his source materials are often lived events by real people that he photographs and collages at will to suit an envisaged composition. Further into discussing his thought process behind the pieces we were able to understand his emotions as to why he feels it necessary to champion these perspectives. Where these characters exist, who they are, what they mean and when do they exist. With that his works exist as a state of sensationalized mundanity.
We were astounded by the sheer diversity of influences and inspirations visible throughout the studio from anime to artist monographs and celebrity autobiographies… it’s clear that Stephen resonates with creativity/artistry as a whole.
Stephen showed us a painting he’d done some years back about what he’d like to have in his future. He explained the symbolism behind the piece. He showed a section of a beautifully painted image of a man and his child in the mirror Stephen explained that this was him. The majority of the image was Stephen laying down looking as though he’d fallen asleep reading a book. The image exuding a sense of peace and happiness with a slight smile on his face. It’s like we were witnessing his dreams through his painting. In the background lay a lady almost ghostly in a white dress on the grass in the garden, he said that was his future wife. On the table was a pot plant in the shape of a wheelbarrow he said that this was symbolic of his childhood pushing the wheelbarrow and the leaves were a symbol of growth.
Going to an artist’s studio offers a distinct way to grasp the artist’s essence beyond just viewing their artwork and discussing their methods. It provides insight into their everyday environment, which influences their practice and reveals the setting that shapes their work.