Sam Nhlengethwa

Sam Nhlengethwa is one of South Africa’s foremost artists. Born in 1955, he studied at Rorke’s Drift and the Johannesburg Art Foundation. Nhlengethwa was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year award in 1994, the year South Africa held its first democratic elections. He has successfully exhibited all over the world from Senegal to New York and Cologne, and his work is represented in major public and corporate art collections in South Africa and abroad. Nhlengethwa has grown and adjusted the style and content of his works post-Apartheid to explore other themes such as music, specifically jazz and the mechanics of everyday living. He works with found printed images from posters and magazines, incorporating his recollections of township life in his imagery. Nhlengethwa is urban-born and therefore relates intimately to township existence, not only in his collages but also in his prints. He is intrigued by people and their spaces. “Throughout the years, all my pieces have dealt with the movement of people. I enjoy paying homage to people and places through my art”.