Dr. Esther Mahlangu
A Solo Exhibition Presented by Almine Rech Gallery
Opening Reception
Saturday, November 20 2021 from 11am – 8pm
Exhibition On View
November 20 – December 11, 2021
Almine Rech Gallery
64 Rue de Turenne (Front Space)
75003 Paris FR
The Almine Rech Gallery is presenting a solo exhibition by globally acclaimed South African artist Dr. Ester Mahlangu. The exhibition will be on display from November 20 through December 11, 2021, at the Almine Rech “Front Space” location in Paris, France.
Mahlangu is known for her bright and bold abstract paintings with vivid, geometric patterns that are rooted in Ndebele artistic tradition, a South African community. Eventually becoming the first person to reimagine Ndebele visual artistic tradition, historically used for decorating houses, on painting media like canvas.
“Dr. Esther Mahlangu presents a series of paintings created between 2019 and 2021. She was first introduced in France and Europe during the exhibition Les Magiciens de la Terre, which then-director Jean-Hubert Martin organized at the Centre Pompidou in 1989. One can immediately recognize the South African painter’s geometric style and dynamic color intricacies, and this new solo show in Paris seemed like a great opportunity for a conversation with the art historian as he shares his first impressions when he discovered her work. She was born in Middelburg in 1935.”
– Marie Maertens, writer and critic
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
In 1991 Mahlangu became the first woman and first African to participate in the BMW Art Car Collection alongside other prominent figures such as Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, and Frank Stella.
She has spent more than seven decades practicing her technique and has traveled extensively to collaborate with the world’s most respected museums, galleries, curators, art fairs, celebrities, and global brands. These high-profile collaborations have generated much positive critic and other exposure and Dr. Mahlangu has developed an almost pop icon status of her own with a strong following among the celebrity crowd who have acquired her work for their collections (Oprah Winfrey, Usher, John Legend, Trevor Noah, David Bowie and Oman, Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, Black Coffee, and others).
