Qhamanande Maswana
Qhamanande Maswana came to work with David Krut Workshop in 2025 after a chance meeting with our director, Ame Bell, at our bookstore at 151 Jan Smuts. Maswana invited Ame to visit his studio and see his work after that meeting, which she took up and ultimately invited him to visit the workshop and work with Roxy on some watercolour monotypes. His work will be shown at the upcoming Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair at the end of March.
Qhamanande Maswana is a visual artist currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Maswana grew up in King William's Town, a city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.
Creative from an early age, Maswana was inspired to pursue a career in the arts whilst he was a student at Forbes Grant High School in South Africa. After finishing high school he competed in various art competitions held in the Eastern Cape, then went on to study Fine Arts at Lovedale College and graduated with a National Diploma in Fine Arts from the University of Fort Hare, South Africa.
Maswana has developed a unique style of portraiture which speaks to both the beauty and challenges of everyday life in South Africa. Effortlessly blending reality with imagination in each portrait, he often depicts the people he encounters in his day-to-day life in surreal purple hues as a way of portraying 'the strength of [his] people and their descendancy from royalty.
Maswana's inspiration for his recent bodies of work largely comes from everyday life and the people around him, his friends, family and acquaintances focusing his work on themes of identity, family relationships and cultural integration touching on subjects of consumption, spirituality and the relationship between humans and plants. “Each portrait is an adventure, exploring the unique character and personal strengths of the people painted. It's not about how they look, it's about who they are."
Maswana views his work as a way of touching souls visually, ‘’I hope to entice the viewer to take a closer look at my art, to see and feel the beauty and stories of The people I paint as I see them. I love when a painting speaks to a viewer and they form a personal connection to it. Ultimately, I hope my paintings create a pause for the viewer to connect with their own soul and reflect on the mysteries of life.