Shepherd Mbanya

b. 1965, Bishop Lavis, Cape Town, South Africa; lives in Khayelitsha.

Shepherd Mbanya was born in Bishop Lavis on the northern outskirts of Cape Town, but was raised in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape. Mentored by Isaac Makeleni, Mbanya’s evocative sculptures and paintings use narrative forms to communicate his often critical views on contemporary issues.

Education

Sivuyile College of Education.
Mbanya is a largely self-taught artist.

Artist Statement

From the Against the Grain catalogue:

"Mbanya applies a range of visual idioms, often within the same work, ranging from the lifelike to the abstract, the literal to the conceptual... Mbanya is strongly invested in narrative as a means of articulating and communicating his views on contemporary issues. His position is often boldly critical of power and politics, giving voice to dispossessed communities whose visions of a brighter future remain clouded by unfulfilled promises."

- Mario Pissarra

Group Exhibitions (South Africa)

2013 - 2014: Against the Grain: Sculptors from the Cape, Iziko South African National Gallery and Sanlam Art Gallery, Cape Town.
2013: Invocation, The Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2012: Siyakubona. The Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2012: Turn Around Time: Annual Winter Solstice Exhibition, The Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2011: 20 Years: Thami Mnyele Foundation, Thami Mnyele Foundation, Amsterdam.
2011: Continuum: Annual Winter Solstice Exhibition, The Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2007: africa south, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
2005: Encompass, Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
1996: Sculptors in Wood, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
1992: Unidentified gallery, Stellenbosch.
1992 - 1993: Made in Wood: Work from the Western Cape, South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
1991: Visual Arts Group travelling exhibition, Zolani Centre, Nyanga East; Manenberg Peoples Centre and Uluntu Centre, Guguletu; Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town.
1991: South African Association of Arts, Cape Town.

Collections

Iziko Museums of South Africa, Cape Town.
Thami Mnyele Foundation, Netherlands.
Sanlam Art Collection, Cape Town.

Publications

2013: Mario Pissarra, Against the Grain, Africa South Art Initiative (ASAI), Cape Town.
2003: Chris Ledochowski, Cape Flats Details, South African History Online, Cape Town.
1992: Made in Wood: Work from the Western Cape, South Africa National Gallery, Cape Town.

Residencies

1996: Residency, Thami Mnyele Foundation, Amsterdam.
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