NYASHA MAROVATSANGA, JOHNO MELLISH

Johno Mellish constructs his photographs by creating elaborate mise en scènes of fictional narratives. His works are a response to both histories and personal imaginings, which meditate on a place and time particular to South Africa. Academic Ashraf Jamal describes the depth captured in his constructed realities as ‘sheer, luminous, and fragile’.

Nyasha Marovatsanga is a promising young artist based in Harare, Zimbabwe. Under the mentorship of Misheck Masamvu, he has developed a powerful painterly language, using gestural brushstrokes and bold colouration. He speaks of his work: ‘Sometimes, I go blank, then the portraits revive my everyday struggle. Sometimes I dream, then I reveal the dreams in my portraits. Sometimes I laugh, and the teeth show all the cracks. Sometimes, the sun shines too hot.’

THK Gallery is proud to show Marovatsanga’s works for the first time in South Africa.

Mellish will also be exhibiting his work as part of THK Gallery’s booth at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair 2020.