Mongezi Ncaphayi

The improvised paintings on paper by Mongezi Ncaphayi, a painter and saxophonist, invite viewers to listen as much as they observe. For Ncaphayi, considering ‘different ways of listening’ is an integral part of his artistic practice. This does not mean, however, that the works are a reaction to music. Instead, paintings including Serpents and Visions and Sanctified blues II are the result of his feelings. Attentively listening and responding to the sound of inner thoughts and emotions, the artist translates them into explosive, yet dream-like, abstract landscapes. Blotches of ink, paint strokes, and the varying planes within each painting become visual verbalizations of Ncaphayi’s inner state. Mongezi Ncaphayi(b. 1983) was born in Benoni in Eastern Gauteng, South Africa, and currently lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa. He has held solo exhibitions at SMAC Gallery(2021-2016, Cape Town etc.), David Krut Projects (2018, Johannesburg) and more. He has staged various group exhibitions at Norval foundation(2022, Cape Town), SMAC Gallery(2021, Johannesburg), ISANG(2019, Johannesburg), University of Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG)(2019, Johannesburg) and more. Ncaphayi’s work is included in a number of important collections, including: Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Thami Mnyele Foundation in Amsterdam, the Bibliothéque Nationale de France in Paris, France, the Ampersand Foundation in London, and the Luciano Benetton Foundation, in Treviso, Italy, among other institutions and private collections.