Alfred Thoba

 

1951 - 2022

Alfred Thoba was a largely self-taught artist who is famous for his politically charged artworks - as he was a very active member of the resistance art movement. He lived and spent most of his artistic career in Johannesburg.

In post-apartheid South Africa, Thoba remained moved by the plight of the people in the black townships: not so much the violence, as the effects of urbanisation and westernisation on traditional values. Frequent subjects include children who have turned to stealing, prostitution and violence to survive on the streets. Human relationships and personal suffering also serve as inspiration, as do contemporary events, which Thoba draws from newspaper articles. The finished works are often accompanied by a letter written by the artist himself.

Football mash Keiza Chiefs and orlando Pairet (Disastor composasion) a.jpg
Do we know were eyes of God Are always they [sic] (sweetness in th garden a.jpg
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South African Black Woman, some are systemised a.jpg
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66016c.jpg
A Hobour Tooke Over Taicoons Wife, His House a.jpg
Gospel Painting of President Rolihlahla Mandela a.jpg
Hector Pieterson.jpg
King Shaka He is Magnificent a.jpg
Marriege have become paradise a.jpg
Mine undergraund mashine boy Alaina explosives on shaft wall [sic]a.jpg
Someone's Lonely LIfe a.jpg
Speaks Louder than Words... a.jpg
They kidnap and kill you a.jpg
They were created... a.jpg
Untitled (unframed) a.jpg
virgin whit a lover...a.jpg
White Government Defence Force a.jpg
Zulus Cultural Tradition a.jpg

Selected Solo Exhibitions 
2018 A Step Becomes a Statement - Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg, RSA
1995 New Horizons with Thomas Kgnope which toured Canada, CAN
1994 Sex and Suburbia - Natalie Knight Gallery, Johannesburg, RSA

Selected Group Exhibitions & Projects
2017 Shifting Conversations - University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, RSA
2016 THIS PLACE - THIS SPACE - Moor Gallery, Cape Town, RSA
2013 We Love Mandela - South Africa House, Trafalgar Square, London, RSA
2010 Halakasha! Soccer Exhibition - Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, RSA
1996 Fault Lines: Enquiries into Truth and Reconciliation - Cape Town Castle, Cape Town, RSA
1995 Panoramas of Passage: Changing Landscapes of South Africa - Joseloff Gallery,
Connecticut, USA
1988 Artists Protest Detention without Trial Exhibition - Market Gallery, Johannesburg, RSA

Art Fairs
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, GBR: 2019
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, RSA: 2020 / 2022
FNB Art Joburg Fair, Johannesburg, RSA: 2019 / 2020

Collections
De Beers Centenary Art Gallery
Johannesburg Art Gallery
RMB Art Collection
Museum Afrika
Iziko South African National Gallery
Standard Bank Collection
Wits Art Museum

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Ayanda Mabulu