African Art Galleries Association (AAGA) has announced the third edition of the Emerging Painting Invitational (EPI), the pan-African prize dedicated to supporting emerging contemporary painters and painting. The 16 finalists hail from 8 African countries, comprising of Rwanda, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Algeria, Sudan, Kenya, Angola and South Africa. Out of the group of finalists, five promising South African visual artists were selected for the prize.
Boemo Diale
Title: CONTORTED IN THE REVERIE. Year: 2021.
“Boemo Diale is a self-taught artist currently studying film at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Diale’s paintings are a reflection of her positionality in a society still segregated in many ways along racial lines. In 2021 the artist showed her first solo exhibition at Kalashnikovv Gallery, Johannesburg, titled ‘Permaculture’. She says, “The work is a kind of commentary on identity and working through cultural aesthetics as a black person (…)”
Khotso Motsoeneng
Title: Imibala yothando (Muhle umakoti asafika). Year: 2021.
“Khotso Motsoeneng works primarily in photography and painting. He obtained a National Diploma in Photography from the Tshwane University of Technology in 2017. His recent body of work is inspired by the wood’s natural grain which he incorporates into compositions of flattened forms of decorative patterned work. He describes this process of stylistic liberation and freedom as a step towards listening to his inner voice and his artwork mimics his emotion.”
Malebona Maphutse
Title: Siyagoduka: Biscuit Ball – Off With His Head. Year: 2021.
“Malebona Maphutse is a Johannesburg-based visual artist. She completed her B.A. (Fine Arts) at the University of Witwatersrand in 2017 Throughout her body of work, she embraces heterogeneous media, particularly painting, sculptural installation, linocut printing, digital prints and video art. In her practice, the artist challenges historical narratives. By doing so, Maphutse investigates how bodies transcend mere existence, not only encountering space but also understanding the politics of space.”
Paul Wallington
Title: Wrestler. Year: 2021.
“Paul Wallington received a Bachelor of Fine Art (Hons) from the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, in 2019. Wallington works predominantly in oil painting. His earlier work drew inspiration from South African literature and poetry, and his paintings mirrored many of the issues which dominate stories coming out of a transforming South Africa. More recently his work has focused on the inner workings of his studio, finding inspiration in the debris of magazines, films, books or collages.”
Ravelle Pillay
Title: The Birthday Party I. Year: 2021.
“Ravelle Pillay holds a degree in Fine Art from the University of the Witwatersrand (2015). Pillay’s work is informed by ideas of family, migration, nostalgia, personal and collective memory. Working primarily in painting and drawing, her practice has evolved from a process of archiving. She often draws from personal, family, found, and borrowed photographs. Pillay is concerned with the material degradation of memory objects over time, especially photographs, as a way to consider the unreliability of memory and witnessing, questioning the act of remembrance.”
The Emerging Painting Invitational Prize (EPI) is an international art platform developed by the AAGA to support and recognise excellence of emerging painters living and working on the continent and to create new opportunities for engagement with art and art centres in Africa for local and international collectors, art professionals and general audiences.
The selection process proceeds with the Nominating Committee, consisting of members of AAGA, guest regional experts and previous year’s EPI finalists, selecting 15-20 of the most promising painters under the age of 30 from across Africa. The finalists are invited to present 3 works for an exhibition and juried prize as well as an opportunity to attend the launch of the finalist exhibition, engage with fellow artists and international art professionals in a host African city.
An online programme of highly anticipated studio visits and panel discussions in collaboration with Strauss & Co has been running from from February 10 and commences today, February 15 and culminate in a Strauss & Co hosted VIP evening to announce the three cash prize winners, live in Cape Town, on February 16, 2022.
The winners will be selected by expert artist Jurors: Nicky Marais (Namibia), Jonathan Freemantle (South Africa) and Lavar Munroe (Bahamas/USA).
