Portraits through Time
Through Zanele Montle's brush, the mundanity of the quotidian is elevated into a magnificent exercise in colour and deeply emotive expressionism.
Social and domestic normative behaviour is examined through her reductionist lens, then amplified using minimalist facial elements and an extraordinary use of line and a flooding of colours, that no matter their saturated nature, is never jarring-in fact they become even more engaging thanks to their colour hype.
Many of Montle's portraits are purposeful portrayals of women specifically, offering commentary and questioning about the weight that women bear and share in daily life. Her subject matter focuses onobsequious events that are as crucial as they are commonplace and the result is pieces that ooze deep substance and indeed gravity. Perhaps due to the somewhat simplified graphic nature of each portrait and of course the facelessness of her subjects, the viewer takes on the identity and a sense of immediate understanding of the weight of the everyday occurrences and daily duties thrust upon her subjects, easily identifying with and placing themselves into the scenario.
One of eight siblings in a single parent home, the tragic death of her policeman father at the age of three had a marked effect on her life. Her experience of being raised in a female headed household and the reality and enormity of her mother and extended family caring for a large brood of children, permeates her emotive portraits rendering it impossible to ignore the significance of seemingly ordinary everyday tasks and events. The colour tension refers to another emotional element in Montle's portraits, that there is equal measure of beauty in the everyday and that the simple act of communing in front of the television or on a step in a yard, is a significant glue for many.
Born in 1992, Montle grew up in Empangeni in Kwazulu Natal, attending both primary and high school in the small town. While she showed an aptitude for the sciences, she was captivated by art from a young age and achieved in this realm from early on. Born into a tight knit family and a community steeped in Zulu culture, much of her autobiographical depictions are familiar scenes that have been played out in her world for generations. Likewise, much of her art is drenched in a sense of longing for these everyday familiarities–when Montle moved to Johannesburg to continue her studies, she left behind her extended family, her mother and siblings (one of them a twin) and speaks of the grief at being torn from the family unit and struggling to adjust to being on her own in the comparatively fast paced, frenetic and lonely Johannesburg. The result is a poignant series of acrylic on canvas pieces that beg for pause. Apron-bedeckedwomen scolding children are captured in an eternal snapshot, while timeworn elder's sit in ubiquitous plastic chairs in a dusty yard and family groups gather–perhaps for a photograph or at a function. There is a fashionable flavour lent to Montle's deeply coloured portraits too, and this is no surprise given that she feels that fashion may well have been an alternative career for her, had her painting work not garnered the attention it did. Montle's point of departure is often from magazines and family photographs–relying on these to trigger memories, emotions and a resulting pared down but no less vivid colour scheme. Of the colour saturation that emanates from each canvas, Montle refers to the dazzling palette so much a part of South African and indeed, Zulu culture, and that she says is locked into her memory bank–from here she mixes as she paints; no two colours are the same or are repeated in her artworks, which are completed in just a few sittings. Montle attributes much of her reason for being as an artist, to a profound responsibility for representing black visual artists, as a woman and as a South African. Growing up and later whilst reflecting during her tertiary studies, Montle was struck by the fact that none of her educators were black and even fewer were women. She carries this accountability with a deep sense of duty–so much so that after completing her studies in visual art, she continued with graphic designand later, art education. Her sense of responsibility is not lip service in any way. When Montle is not in her studio, she is a primary school art teacher in the public school sector where she feels she will be most relevant, more able to potentially change outdated narratives, and most importantly, more able to influence and possibly inspire younger generations of would-be artists.
Montle's rise through the ranks of contemporary visual arts has been a steady and impressive one and 2021 was, in particular, an excellent year for her. Despite an intense worldwide lockdown, she participated in no less than five exhibitions in Africa and abroad, and was also nominated for (and won) the META Foundation Womxn to Watch Award for 2021. The award seeks to identify a 'top-performing female artist' with the winner benefitting from career support and development funding, as well as the use of a private studio in Johannesburg. It is this kind of recognition that is pivotal in cementing Montle's reputation as a highly collectable artist, not only for her deeply relatable, compelling and visually appealing work, but as a female artist of deep and enduring substance.
Press release courtesy Christopher Moller Gallery.
7 Kloofnek Rd
Cape Town
South Africa
christophermollerart.co.za
+27(0) 21 422 1599
Tuesday – Friday • 10h00 – 16h00
Monday & Saturday • Viewings by appointment
Sunday • Closed