Simphiwe Mbunyuza – Solo Exhibition: Emasimini
Africa First by Serge Tiroche is excited to announce the resumption of its Israel residency program with the ultra-talented, globally recognized South African ceramic sculptor, Simphiwe Mbunyuza.
Time & Location
09 Sept 2022, 12:00 – 06 Oct 2022, 12:00
African Studies Gallery, Alrov Tower, floor 22, 3 Shadal Street, Tel Aviv
About the Exhibition
Simphiwe Mbunyuza was born in 1989 in Butterworth, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Mbunyuza has been the subject of numerous exhibitions around the world, including recent presentations with Marianne Boesky in Aspen, Colorado, USA, and Gallery 1957 in London and Accra, Ghana, among others. He is the recipient of awards and residencies including the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in 2021; the Red Clay Faction Award and Oscar Jacobson Award from The University of Oklahoma in 2019; a residency with A.I.R Vallauris, France, in 2017 and has been invited to participate on a 2-years residency at world-renowned Archie Bray Foundation in Montana, USA.
His masterful practice of richly textured, often scale-large, ceramic sculptures explores the relationships and interactions between the present and the past, paying tribute to traditions and to the spirits of ancestors, particularly those of the Xhosa people. He draws from both present and historical influences as a method of sharing his heritage through a unique, contemporary lens.
Mbunyuza is spending 3 months in Israel, splitting his time between the Ceramics department of the Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design in Jerusalem and the Shenkar College of Engineering, Design & Art in Ramat Gan. Besides creating a new body of work that reflects on the connections of Man with nature, particularly animals and the sea, Mbunyuza gets to spend time with the graduating artists of this year’s class, explore the country and meet with various curators. An exhibition of his work will be held at the African Studies Gallery during September - October 2022.
His residency in Israel has been made possible thanks to a fruitful collaboration between a multitude of parties, including the Gordon gallery, the African Studies Gallery, and the ministries of interior, culture, and foreign affairs. A special thank you to the Israeli Ambassador to South Africa, Mr. Eli Belotserkovsky, without whom this unique cultural exchange would not have been possible.
Simphiwe adds: “It has been a great experience to be a visiting artist at Bezalel and Shenkar where I got to interact with students and faculty and push my practice to create some monumental sculptures, The works I created here are centered around my ancestors and how I imagined them to be, where they dwell and how they presented their ideologies. The Minotaur form combines various elements from our ancestral culture.”