SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL GALLERY
SUID-AFRIKAANSE NASIONALE KUNSMUSEUM
IGALARI YOBUZWE YOMZANTSI AFRIKA
An Exhibition of Works from the Permanent Collection
Action Man, Nelson Mukhuba, 1974
(Painted wood
Height: 70,6 cm)
Nelson Mukhuba
"...I am an artist that can see inside the wood...I can see the picture while the wood is still on the tree. I am the doctor of wood because I can see inside the wood" - Nelson Mukhuba, c1988.
Born: 1925, Tshakhuma, Gauteng.
Died: 1987, Tshakhuma, Gauteng.
Worked mainly in marula and jacaranda woods, drawing on the reservoir of traditional wood-carving skills among the Venda people. Subject matter ranges from dancing figures to golfers, soccer players and boxers to personalities observed on television. Work is sometimes humorous and ironical, e.g., his sculpture of Sammy Davis Junior. which he placed in a radio. Achieved critical acclaim after the Tributaries exhibition in 1985.
Profile:
Left school in Standard 6. Lived in Sophiatown from 1945 - 1958, during which time he worked as carpenter, welder, gardener and house painter, among other things. Began sculpting on returning to Tshakhuma in 1958, making figurative sculpture in clay, as well as wooden household utensils and tourist trade objects. Formed a marabi band during the 1960s - Nelson and the Phiri Boys - and has also recorded with other bands. Responsible for forming a traditional dance troupe in 1977. Committed suicide in 1987 after murdering his wife and two daughters, and setting his house and works alight.
Group Exhibitions:
1970: Gallery Michelangelo, Johannesburg.
1980: Milner Park, Johannesburg (Rand Show - Venda Pavilion).
1981: Milner Park, Johannesburg (Rand Show - Venda Pavilion).
1983: Milner Park, Johannesburg (South African Contemporary Art).
1984: Venda Sun Hotel, Thohoyandou, Gauteng (Vha Venda).
1985: Africana Museum in Progress, Johannesburg and the former
West Germany (Tributaries).
1986: Irma Stern Museum, Cape Town (Out of Africa).
Market Gallery, Johannesburg (two-person).
Market Gallery, Johannesburg; Natal Society of Arts, Durban
(Bozz Art Foundation touring exhibition with Hendrick
Nekhofhe, Phuthuma Seoka and Jackson Hlungwani).
1987: Johannesburg Art Gallery (Vita Art Now).
Standard Bank National Festival of the Arts, Grahamstown
(Vha Venda).
1988: Johannesburg Art Gallery (The Neglected Tradition).
1989: Johannesburg Art Gallery (Images of Wood).
Collections:
South African National Gallery, Cape Town; Africana Museum, Johannesburg; Durban
Art Gallery; University of South Africa, Pretoria; University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
