Hyperallergic | Nancy Dantas:
Does art have the capacity to restore our disposition? I would venture a contingent response based on my experience of South African octogenarian Esther Mahlangu and her paintings, which evoke, albeit remotely, the play of stained glass windows and come across as both therapeutic and elevating. As is known, Mahlangu’s abstract and geometric works are inspired by and rooted in a long and rich Ndebele mural painting tradition, which, in some instances, represents imaginary openings or windows. The tradition is thus tied to architecture as a form of imagining space and painting as a form of abstraction or even evasion… Read more
Image: Installation view of ‘Esther Mahlangu 80’ at the Irma Stern Museum (all photos by the author for Hyperallergic)