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MALANGATANA Ngwenya (1936) [view
available works from this artist]
Mozambique's best
known visual artist, the charismatic Malangatana Ngwenya
was named UNESCO
Artist for Peace in 1997.
Born in 1936 in Matalana village,
southern Mozambique, Malangatana's early years were
spent attending mission schools and helping his mother
farm. At the age of 12 he went to Maputo (then Lourenzo
Marques) to find work and in 1953 was employed at
the tennis club as a ball boy. This enabled him to
resume his education, attending classes at night,
and it was at this time that his artistic talents
were recognised.Tennis club member Augusto Cabral
gave him materials and helped him sell his work. In
1958 Malangatana attended activities of the artists'
organisation Nucleo de Arte, and he received support
from the painter Ze Julio. The following year his
work was exhibited publicly for the first time as
part of a group exhibition, and two years later Malangatana
held his first solo exhibition at the age of 25. In
1963 his poetry was published in the journal Black
Orpheus and the anthology Modern Poetry from Africa.
The following year Malangatana was detained by the
Portuguese secret police (PIDE) and spent 18 months
in jail. In 1971 he received a grant from the Gulbenkian
Foundation and studied engraving and ceramics. Since
1981 Malangatana has worked full-time as an artist.
Among
his achievements Malangatana has been awarded the
Nachingwea Medal for Contribution to Mozambican Culture,
and has been pronounced Grande Oficial da Ordem do
Infante D. Henrique'. He has exhibited in Angola,
Portugal, India, Nigeria, Chile and Zimbabwe, and
his work is in collections in Mozambique, Angola,
Cape Verde, Bulgaria, Nigeria, Switzerland, USA, Uruguay,
India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, and Portugal. He has also
been commissioned for several public art works, including
murals for Frelimo and UNESCO. Malangatana has also
been active in establishing cultural institutions
including the National Museum of Art; the Centre for
Cultural Studies; the Centre for the Arts; a youth
skills training centre in Maputo; and he was also
one of the founders of the Mozambican Peace Movement.
Malangatana's works
have always projected a bold vision of life where
there is a communion between human, animal and plant
life. He draws on his indigenous heritage whilst simultaneously
embracing symbols of modernity and "progress",
synthesis of art and politics. Recognition of his
stature is implicit in the statement made by UNESCO's
Director-General Federico Mayor when he presented
the UNESCO award. Mayor noted that Malangatana is
"much more than a creator, much more than an
artist- someone who demonstrates that there is a universal
language, the language of art, which allows us to
communicate a message of peace, of refusal of war."
source: "Contemporary Africa Database"
Selected
Exhibitions
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Malangatana GALLERY
