R100,000 - R150,000
Blessing Ngobeni (South African 1985 - ) STAIR OF THE STRUGGLE
signed and inscribed 'HCC 14'
mixed media on canvas
150 by 80cm, unframed
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the artist
Lot 316 and 317
With an almost instantly recognisable style, Blessing Nogibeni’s works boast gestural lines, kinetic shape and composition, and maintain an evocative narrative throughout his oeuvre. The artist’s work is inherently contemporary, while echoing styles and themes from his artistic lineage. Ngobeni has been described as South Africa’s Picasso, as his works are reminiscent of the cubist artist’s flattened surfaces and energetic compositions. His use of line and fragmented shape is further reminiscent of works by other well-known artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat. However, as Ngobeni points out, the more people you are compared to, the less you’re actually like anyone else.
The artist tackles issues faced by South Africa’s youth, particularly those stuck in poverty cycles. Ngobeni holds a strong stance on looking forward and freeing oneself from the past. However, he is often critical of post-democratic South Africa and its ongoing oppressive and corrupt government, which has failed to overcome the past atrocities of apartheid. In this way, the past informs the themes within Ngobeni’s works and is there inevitably but is not the subject.
Ngobeni creates works that are cornerstoned by the political and the personal. His works manage to express the connection between impersonal political systems and individual pain: the one unfolding into the other. His compositions do not present the viewer with one point of view, with one emotion, or a single narrative. Instead, he neglects a single-point perspective and says, “The anger, the happiness, the love, the struggle of the political landscape in Africa… are fused in one thing” (Blessing Ngobeni).
The artist’s use of found objects and waste materials to create collaged elements in his pieces expose both a literal and metaphorical dimension to his works. The use of scraps, which can be seen in both Material Enslavement (lot 316) and Stair of Struggle (lot 317), may comment on Ngobeni’s disillusionment with South Africa’s political elite, contributing to what he calls the “dumpsite” of democracy. It may also be a comment on the lack of materials available to struggling artists. Lastly, the incorporation of found objects also acts as a nod to Ngobeni’s influences. The artist often cuts out images of other artist’s works and then paints over them. Invisible to the naked eye, but creating what the artist calls a “private collaboration”, in an attempt to unite artists across the world and across decades and to honour them, paying tribute to his local and international artistic lineage.
Recognised as one of South Africa’s biggest up and coming art talents, Ngobeni has won many accolades, including 2020 Standard Bank Young Artist Award, and is included in some of the country’s most impressive investment portfolios and collections. His notable exhibitions since 2015 have been The Song of the Chicotte (2016), Masked Reality (2017), Enemy of Foe (2018) and A Note From Error (2018) in Johannesburg, Cape Town and London. Ngobeni also enjoys regular appearances at the FNB Joburg Art Fair and Investec Cape Town Art Fair. His artworks have been also featured at the EXPO Chicago (2017 and 2018) and PULSE Miami Beach (2018) in the United States.
Wood, G. 2020. Wanted Online, SA'S Picasso: Blessing Ngobeni is the visual artist you need to know about, [O]:
https://www.wantedonline.co.za/voices/2019-12-09-sas-picasso-blessing-ngobeni-is-the-visual-artist-you-need-to-know-about/
Accessed 23 January 2022
Everard-Read, Blessing Ngobeni, [O]:
https://www.everard-read.co.za/artist/BLESSING_NGOBENI/biography/
Accessed 23 January 2022
Blessing Ngobeni, [O]:
https://blessingngobeni.com
Accessed 23 January 2022
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