Turiya Magadlela is a highly acclaimed South African artist whose work skillfully balances politically charged narratives with a refined and powerful aesthetic sensibility. Using unconventional materials such as pantyhose, correctional service uniforms, and textiles, she creates abstract compositions that explore themes of gender, sexuality, and the complex social and political histories of South Africa, particularly those relating to women's bodies and incarceration.
As acclaimed artist Sue Williamson once observed in ArtReview, Magadlela's "blocks of fabric in brilliant scarlet, pinks and oranges suggest an exuberant celebration of womanhood, a refusal to allow oneself to be downtrodden." This potent combination of material and meaning earned her the prestigious FNB Art Prize in 2015, an award judged by influential curators Bisi Silva and Koyo Kouoh.
A graduate of the renowned Rijksakademie in Amsterdam (2003–2004), Magadlela has a significant exhibition history. She held a major solo exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery in 2015 and has participated in numerous high-profile international group shows, including Blue Black, curated by Glenn Ligon at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (2017), Blackness in Abstraction at Pace Gallery (2016), and The Past is Present at Jack Shainman Gallery (2017).
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Turiya Magadlela is a highly acclaimed South African artist whose work skillfully balances politically charged narratives with a refined and powerful aesthetic sensibility. Using unconventional materials such as pantyhose, correctional service uniforms, and textiles, she creates abstract compositions that explore themes of gender, sexuality, and the complex social and political histories of South Africa, particularly those relating to women's bodies and incarceration.
As acclaimed artist Sue Williamson once observed in ArtReview, Magadlela's "blocks of fabric in brilliant scarlet, pinks and oranges suggest an exuberant celebration of womanhood, a refusal to allow oneself to be downtrodden." This potent combination of material and meaning earned her the prestigious FNB Art Prize in 2015, an award judged by influential curators Bisi Silva and Koyo Kouoh.
A graduate of the renowned Rijksakademie in Amsterdam (2003–2004), Magadlela has a significant exhibition history. She held a major solo exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery in 2015 and has participated in numerous high-profile international group shows, including Blue Black, curated by Glenn Ligon at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (2017), Blackness in Abstraction at Pace Gallery (2016), and The Past is Present at Jack Shainman Gallery (2017).
