Banele Khoza

Uitstalling The Gallery

It's always been you

July, 16th - August 22nd, 2020

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN YOU

In its combination of reduction, romance, and irony, Banele Khoza’s work addresses questions of identity, masculinity and of a young generation of creatives living and working in South Africa. Experimental and venturous, these artists (re-)shape the terms and conditions of a public sense of society and community.

Banele Khoza

Even if we were together we would still miss each other I

Banele Khoza

Even if we were together we would still miss each other II

Banale Khoza

Behind the veil

Banele Khoza

Even if we were together we would still miss each other I

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BANELE KHOZA

Banele Khoza (*1994) is a Swaziland-born and South African-based visual artist. He holds a BTechin Fine Arts from Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria. In 2017 he won the prestigious Gerard Sekoto Award and with it a three-month residency at the CitéInternationale des Arts in Paris.

His solo exhibitions include Temporary Feelings at the Pretoria Art Museum (2016); Lonely Nights at Lizamore Gallery(2017) LOVE? at Smith Studio in Cape Town (2018). Khoza also headlined the solo exhibition titled LGBTQI+: Banele Khoza as part of the Curatorial Lab at Zeitz MOCAA (2018).

Banele Khoza’s paintings stand on the threshold between reduction and romanticism. Employing bold, geometric parts to constitute the figure, the portraits often possess a very formal quality, reminding of the late paintings of Paul Cézanne. On the other hand, the paintings are marked by expressive brushstrokes and vivid colors creating a romantic and dreamlike quality running as a theme through the works, regardless of their actual content. The titles often serve as a comment to the situation portrayed, ironic and frank, yet utterly personal.