Lerato Motaung (b. 1991) in Katlehong, Germiston, is a visual artist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Following his training in drawing at the Johannesburg Art Gallery in 2008, and in sculpture at the Katlehong Art Center in 2009, he received his Diploma in Fine Arts in 2015 from the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria.
Read MoreFor his primary means of expression, mixed media paintings, Motaung draws inspiration from his memories informed by his life experiences in three different environments: the metropolitan area of Johannesburg where he lives and works, the suburban ambiance of Katlehong township, and the rural North West Province where he grew up.
He was the finalist of the PPC Imaginarium Awards hosted by the University of Johannesburg art gallery (2019). He took part in the artist- in- residency program In Bed with artist in Cape Town (2017), hosted by Nico Athene and sponsored by ALMA MARTHA. His group exhibition so far include: The Precarity of Spectacle, Michaelis Galleries- University of Cape Town (2020, upcoming); A memory, a story. Centurion Gallery, Tshwane (2015); For sale, Pretoria Art Museum, Tshwane (2015); On the Table, Tswhane University of Technology (2014); Aerial Empire, Joburg Fringe- Independent Art Fair (2014); Creatures of Light, Freedom Park Heritage site & Museum, Tshwane, (2014).
In August 2020, Lerato Motaung won The Emergence Art Prize, which was organised by THK Gallery with support from Rand Merchant Bank. In June and July 2021 he will take up a two month residency at the innovative Quartier am Hafen Studio House on the banks of the Rhine in Cologne, Germany.
Text courtesy THK Gallery .
