Banele Khoza
Banele Khoza
Banele Khoza's paintings stand on the threshold between reduction and romanticism. Employing bold, geometric parts to constitute the figure, the portraits often possess a very formal quality, reminding of the late paintings of Paul Cézanne. By times, the artist leaves the work ‚unfinished', combining drawing and acrylic paint or leaving the subject in front of a white background.
On the other hand, the paintings are marked by their expressive brushstroke and the vivid colours. Both generating a strong dynamic and vitality, they remove all possible rigidity produced by the formal frame. The bright and pastel colours create a romantic and dreamlike quality running as a theme through the works, regardless of their actual content.
The titles often serve as a comment or hint to the situation portrayed, ironic and frank, yet utterly personal. Thereby, the portraits seem to catch essence of the situation and the sitter himself (yes, mostly „him"). In its combination of reduction, romance, and irony, Banele Khoza's work addresses questions of identity, masculinity and of a young generation of creatives living and working in South Africa. Experimental and venturous, these artists (re-)shape the terms and conditions of a public sense of society and community.
Banele Khoza was in born in 1994 in Hlatikulu, Swaziland. In 2008, he moved to South Africa and schooled there until he enrolled at the London International School of Fashion 2011,studying Fashion Design. Khoza returned in 2012 and studied Fine Arts at TshwaneUniversity of Technology, Pretoria, ZA. He opened up his own curatorial space BKhz inJohannesburgin 2018. Banele Khoza lives and works in Johannesburg, ZA.
July 16th - August 22nd, 2021 - Uitstalling Art Gallery
Exhibitions
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021
Uitstalling Art Gallery, Genk, BE
2020
In my feels, Bkhz, Johannesburg, ZA
2019
The boys I like - Talking about the girls they like, Bode Projects, art berlin, Berlin, DE
Seeking Love Tour, Johannesburg; Port Elizabeth; Bloemfontein; Stellenbosch; Pretoria; Durban, ZA
2018
To the Unknown, Bode Projects, Hamburg, DE
LGBTQI+, Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, ZA
LOVE?, SMITH, Cape Town, ZA
2017
Lonely Nights, Lizamore & Associates, Johannesburg, ZA
2016
Temporary Feelings, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, ZA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020
Blue is the warmest Colour, Bkhz, Woodstock, Cape Town, ZA
2019
(re)memory, Bkhz, Johannesburg, ZA
2018
A Letter to my 22 year old self, Absa Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA 1718, Bode Projects, Hamburg, GE
2017
Close Encounters, SMITH, Cape Town, ZA
Salad, SMITH, Cape Town, ZA
Le Jour Qui Vient, Galerie des Galeries, Paris, FR
2016
Jan Cilliers Exhibition, Lizamore and Associates Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
STELLAR, Salon 91, Cape Town, ZA
From Whence They Came, SMITH/Kalashnikovv, Cape Town, ZA
Arcadia, SMITH, Cape Town, ZA
1500, No End Contemporary, Johannesburg, ZA
2015
For Sale, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, ZA
No End To This, No End Contemporary, Johannesburg, ZA
Multiple group exhibitions, Trent Gallery, Pretoria, ZA