DAVID KOLOANE, SAM NHLENGETHWA

These pivotal figures shaped South Africa’s artistic landscape, offering a powerful lens through which to explore the evolution of Johannesburg. Their work reflects how art can document, challenge, and reshape perceptions of place and identity, particularly within a city shaped by the legacy of colonial and apartheid spatial planning. Koloane, Mautloa, and Nhlengethwa’s careers are deeply intertwined with Johannesburg’s vibrant and complex landscape. Crossing paths from the 1970s onward, each artist developed a distinctive practice—across collage, painting, and printmaking—that reflects personal and collective experiences within this evolving urban environment.

Koloane’s charcoal drawings and mixed media works capture Johannesburg’s restless rhythm through expressive, gestural marks. His artworks convey the lived experiences of the city’s Black residents—navigating systemic oppression while forging their own paths to endure and thrive. Through his distinctive approach to African expressionism, Koloane transforms movement and tension into a visual dance of survival and creativity.