Xolile Mtakatya
b. Cape Town, 1968
Xolile Mtakatya’s works capture the cacophonic, quasi-apocalyptic everyday of Black social life in South African townships. By employing bright, sometimes jarring colour, bold lines, and by crowding his compositions with elements, Mtakatya’s images engage the viewer’s full sensorial range, somewhat exceeding the flat plains of their surfaces.
Personal History
Mtakatya began drawing on the walls while a political detainee in 1986. As a youth activist in the late 80s and early 90s, he ran art and media workshops in his community and taught screen-printing to unemployed mothers, with the Philani Project. He also ran media training workshops for the African National Congress, and was an active member of the Visual Arts Group (1988 - 1993).
Arts Education
1993: Diploma, Fine Art, Foundation School of Art, Cape Town.
1987 - 1989: Part-time student, Community Arts Project, Cape Town.
1987 - 1989: Part-time student, Community Arts Project, Cape Town.
Solo Exhibitions (South Africa)
2005: Episodes, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town
1993: Diploma show, Foundation School of Art, Cape Town.
1993: Diploma show, Foundation School of Art, Cape Town.
Group Exhibitions (South Africa)
2010: Creative Block: 150 artists, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town. Embassy of Spain, Cape Town.
2010: 1910-2010 From Pierneef to Gugulective, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town
2009: Art from Southern Africa, Anglican Aids and Healthcare Trust, Cape Town.
2009: Isibane, Lookout Hill, Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
2009: Winter Solstice, Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2008 Desire, Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2008: 16th Annual Salon, Rose Korber Art, Cape Town.
2007: Why Collect, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
2007: ReCenter, Lookout Hill, Khayelitsha.
2007: & Beyond Encryption, Cape Gallery, Cape Town
2005: Botaki: Exhibition 4, Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town.
2005: Finding You, Association for Visual Art Gallery, Cape Town.
2005: 14th Annual Salon, Rose Korber Art, Cape Town.
2003: Trilogy: Innocence, Awakening and Fulfillment, Sanlam Gallery, Cape Town.
2001: Cats, Rose Art Consultancy, Cape Town.
2000: Itheko lokuza nethemba elitsha (A Celebration for Bringing New Hope), Bell-Roberts Art Gallery, Cape Town.
1999: Xolile Mtakatya/ Lundi Mduba, Association for Visual Arts Gallery, Cape Town.
1997: Trans Figurative, Association for Visual Arts Gallery, Cape Town.
1991: Visual Arts Group Travelling Exhibition, Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town.
1988: End Conscription Campaign, Michaelis School of Art, University of Cape Town.
1987: Exhibition, Community Arts Project, Cape Town.
1986: Eye of an Artist, St. Gabriels Catholic Church, Gugulethu, Cape Town.
2010: 1910-2010 From Pierneef to Gugulective, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town
2009: Art from Southern Africa, Anglican Aids and Healthcare Trust, Cape Town.
2009: Isibane, Lookout Hill, Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
2009: Winter Solstice, Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2008 Desire, Cape Gallery, Cape Town.
2008: 16th Annual Salon, Rose Korber Art, Cape Town.
2007: Why Collect, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
2007: ReCenter, Lookout Hill, Khayelitsha.
2007: & Beyond Encryption, Cape Gallery, Cape Town
2005: Botaki: Exhibition 4, Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town.
2005: Finding You, Association for Visual Art Gallery, Cape Town.
2005: 14th Annual Salon, Rose Korber Art, Cape Town.
2003: Trilogy: Innocence, Awakening and Fulfillment, Sanlam Gallery, Cape Town.
2001: Cats, Rose Art Consultancy, Cape Town.
2000: Itheko lokuza nethemba elitsha (A Celebration for Bringing New Hope), Bell-Roberts Art Gallery, Cape Town.
1999: Xolile Mtakatya/ Lundi Mduba, Association for Visual Arts Gallery, Cape Town.
1997: Trans Figurative, Association for Visual Arts Gallery, Cape Town.
1991: Visual Arts Group Travelling Exhibition, Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town.
1988: End Conscription Campaign, Michaelis School of Art, University of Cape Town.
1987: Exhibition, Community Arts Project, Cape Town.
1986: Eye of an Artist, St. Gabriels Catholic Church, Gugulethu, Cape Town.
Group Exhibitions (International)
2004: Assemblage, The affordable Art Show, Batttersea.
2004: The ID of South African Artists, Fortis Circustheater, Scheveningen.
1999: Conflux, Tendances Mikado Gallery, Luxemburg.
1998: Art Beyond Borders, City Hall, Augsburg.
1997: Liberation in South African Art, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham.
1993: Manyano, Museo Etnografico Azul, Buenos Aires.
1990 - 1991: Art from South Africa, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; Mead Gallery, University of Warwick; Aberdeen City Art Gallery; Royal Festival Hall, London; Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham; Bolton Art Gallery, Lancashire.
2004: The ID of South African Artists, Fortis Circustheater, Scheveningen.
1999: Conflux, Tendances Mikado Gallery, Luxemburg.
1998: Art Beyond Borders, City Hall, Augsburg.
1997: Liberation in South African Art, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham.
1993: Manyano, Museo Etnografico Azul, Buenos Aires.
1990 - 1991: Art from South Africa, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; Mead Gallery, University of Warwick; Aberdeen City Art Gallery; Royal Festival Hall, London; Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham; Bolton Art Gallery, Lancashire.
Collections
Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
Old Mutual, Cape Town.
Spier Art Collection, Stellensbosch.
Stellenbosch Modern and Contemporary (SMAC) Gallery, Stellenbosch.
Nandos, London.
Mayibuye Centre, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town.
Old Mutual, Cape Town.
Spier Art Collection, Stellensbosch.
Stellenbosch Modern and Contemporary (SMAC) Gallery, Stellenbosch.
Nandos, London.
Mayibuye Centre, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town.
(Mtakatya's work is also included in numerous private collections in South Africa, the Netherlands, Germany and the United States of America.)
Workshops & Residencies
2023: ASAI Print Access Workshop, Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
2018: ASAI Print Access Workshop, Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
2005: Thupelo International Workshop, AMAC - Arts and Media Access Centre (fka Community Arts Project), Cape Town.
2001: Residency, Caversham Press, KwaZulu-Natal.
2000: Thupelo International Workshop, Goedgedacht Centre, Malmesbury.
2000: Mural Global Agenda 21, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Hagen; Aachen.
1999: Thapong International Artists Workshop, Gaborone.
1999: Mural Global Agenda 21, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Essen; Arte-Mobile - mural painting on a truck, Osnabruck.
2018: ASAI Print Access Workshop, Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
2005: Thupelo International Workshop, AMAC - Arts and Media Access Centre (fka Community Arts Project), Cape Town.
2001: Residency, Caversham Press, KwaZulu-Natal.
2000: Thupelo International Workshop, Goedgedacht Centre, Malmesbury.
2000: Mural Global Agenda 21, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Hagen; Aachen.
1999: Thapong International Artists Workshop, Gaborone.
1999: Mural Global Agenda 21, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Essen; Arte-Mobile - mural painting on a truck, Osnabruck.
Publications
2009: Cape Times, May 21.
2008: SA Art Times, issue 11 vol. 3, November.
2006: Mario Pissarra, Botaki Exhibition 4: Conversations with Tyrone Appollis, (catalogue) Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town.
2004: J Van den Ende & S Khan (eds), Identity: The ID of South African Artists, Stichting Art & Theatre, Amsterdam. 2004: Mario Pissarra, Botaki: Conversations with Timothy Mafenuka, (catalogue) Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town.
1999: Project Conflux, (catalogue) Association for Visual Art, Cape Town.
1990: E David, Art from South Africa, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford.
2008: SA Art Times, issue 11 vol. 3, November.
2006: Mario Pissarra, Botaki Exhibition 4: Conversations with Tyrone Appollis, (catalogue) Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town.
2004: J Van den Ende & S Khan (eds), Identity: The ID of South African Artists, Stichting Art & Theatre, Amsterdam. 2004: Mario Pissarra, Botaki: Conversations with Timothy Mafenuka, (catalogue) Old Mutual Asset Managers, Cape Town.
1999: Project Conflux, (catalogue) Association for Visual Art, Cape Town.
1990: E David, Art from South Africa, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford.
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