biography / bibliography
ZWELETHU MTHETHWA
Born in 1960, Durban, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
Lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa
EDUCATION
1989
Master of Fine Arts in Imaging Art, Rochester Institute of Technology
1985
Advanced Diploma in Fine Arts, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town
1984
Diploma in Fine Arts, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013
Zwelethu Mthethwa: New Works, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, January 24–February 23, 2013.
2012–2013
Zwelethu Mthethwa,The Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland, November 17, 2012–February 10, 2013.
2012
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Sugar Cane (2003–2007), John Hope Franklin Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, January 17–April 8, 2012. Curated by Diego Cortez.
2011
Zwelethu Mthethwa: New Works, iArt Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa, May 18–June 29, 2011. (Catalogue)
2010
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Inner Views, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, July 15–October 24, 2010. (Catalogue)
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Brick workers & Contemporary Gladiators, Galeria Oliva Arauna, Madrid, Spain, September 7–October 14, 2010.
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Is it our goal…? And Other Related Issues, Circa on Jellicoe, Johannesburg, South Africa, June 3–July 9, 2010.
Zwelethu Mthethwa, iArt Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa, May 18–June 29, 2010.
2009
Zwelethu Mthethwa: New Works, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, April 23–May 23, 2009.
2008
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Contemporary Gladiators, Andréhn Schiptjenko, Stockholm, April 3–May 11, 2008.
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Children of a Lesser God, Everard Read, Johannesburg, March 6–30, 2008.
2007
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Maidens and Dance of Life, Christine König, Vienna, in cooperation with Galerie Hengevoss-Dürkop, June 1–August 4, 2007.
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Recent Works, Galeria Oliva Arauna, Madrid, February 3–March 17, 2007.
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Private-Public Spaces, Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris, January 26–March 10, 2007.
2006
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Maidens, Galerie Hengevoss-Dürkop, Hamburg, Germany, November 8–December 10, 2006.
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Gold Miners, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, May 25–June 24, 2006.
Zwelethu Mthethwa: New Works, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa
2005
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Women in Private Spaces, Andréhn-Schiptjenko Gallery, Stockholm, November 3–December 3, 2005.
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Ticket to the Other Side, Gallery Hengevoss-Dürkop, Hamburg, October 26–November 30, 2005.
2004
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Lines of Negotiation, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, March 18–April 17, 2004.
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Harvesting Workers, Davis Museum, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts
Zwelethu Mthethwa: New Works, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town
2003
Interior Portraits: Zwelethu Mthethwa Photographs, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, February 15–April 23, 2003.
Zwelethu Mthethwa: New Works, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, February 13–March 15, 2003.
Hamburg Kunsthalle, Galerie der Gegenwart, Hamburg
2002
Marco Noire Contemporary Art, San Sebastiano, Italy
Museum of Contemporary Art, St Louis, Missouri
Galerie Hengevoss, Hamburg
2001
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Mother & Child, Marco Noire Contemporary Art, San Sebastiano, Italy
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Private Spaces, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg
Galerie Jensen, Hamburg
Centre national de la Photoraphie, curated by Regis Durand, Paris
2000
Zwelethu Mthethwa: Recent Photographs,Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, May 25–June 24, 2000.
Galerie Hengevos and Jensen, part of the Triennale der Photographie, Hamburg
1999
Paris Pour Escale, Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
Rebirth, Project Room, FIAC Paris, Marco Noire Contemporary Art, Paris
Sacred Homes – Mother & Child, Palazzo della Esposizioni, Rome
Towards-transit, Zurich
Art Chicago/At Navy Pier, Marco Noire Contemporary Art, Chicago
Art-World dialogue, Ludwig Museum, Koln, Germany
Foto Biennale Rotterdam. Curated by Clive Kellner.
Galerie Hengevoss & Jensen, Triennale der Photographie, Hamburg
Galeria Oliva Arauna, Madrid
Olivia Aruana Gallery, Madrid
Project Room, Marco Noire Contemporary Art, ARCO, Madrid
Project Room, Art Koln, Marco Noire Contemporary Art, Koln, Germany
1998
Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg
Marco Noire Contemporary Art, San Sebastiano, Italy
1997
Kohn Turner Gallery, Los Angeles
1993
Gallery de Lyons, Cape Town
1992
Gallery de Lyons, Cape Town
1991
African Arts Centre, Durban, South Africa
S.A. Association of Arts, Cape Town
1987
College Union, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York
1986
S.A. Association of Arts, Cape Town
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2013
Present Tense, Portugal, June 2013. Curated by Antonio Pinto Ribeiro.
Kochi Biennale 2012, Kochi, Kerala, India, December 12, 2012.
2012–2013
Rise and Fall of Apartheid: Photography and the Bureaucracy of Everyday Life, International Center of Photography, New York, September 14, 2012–January 6, 2012. Curated by Okwui Enwezor.
2012
Contemporary African Photography: Zwelethu Mthethwa & Malick Sidibe, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Charlotte, North Carolina, January 13–June 16, 2012.
African Photography, For Whose Eyes?: Constructing and Deconstructing Identities, Mandeville Gallery, Union College, Schenectady, New York, April 12–May 13, 2012.
La La La Human Steps: A Selection from the Collection of Museums Boijmans, Van Beuningen, Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, February 16–May 6, 2012. Curated by Sjarel Ex.
2011–2012
Environment and Object in Recent African Art,Skidmore College Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Saratoga Springs, New York, February 6–July 31, 2011. Traveling to: Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, September 9–December 11, 2011; Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, Vermont, January 27–April 22, 2012.
2011
Beyond Convention: Reimagining Human Rights in a Time of Change, Ford Foundation, New York, September 20–November 1, 2011.
Are You A Hybrid, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, May 3–October 2, 2011.
Building The Contemporary Collection: Five Years of Acquisitions, Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, March 10–August 14, 2011. Curated by Trevor Schoonmaker.
Impressions from South Africa, 1965 to Now, The Paul J. Sachs Prints and Illustrated Books Galleries, Museum of Modern Art, New York, March 23–August 14, 2011. Curated by Judith B. Hecker. (Catalogue)
Figures and Fictions: Contemporary South African Photography, Victoria & Albert Museum, South Kensington, London, April 12–July 17, 2011.
2010–2011
The Global Africa Project, Museum of Art and Design, New York, November 17, 2010–May 15, 2011. Curated by Lowery Sims and Leslie King-Hammond. (Catalogue)
2010
Always Moving Forward: Contemporary African Photography from the Wedge Collection, Gallery 44, Houston, Texas
The Walther Collection, Burlafingen, Germany. Curated by Okwui Enwezor.
Africa: Objects and Subjects, Palacio de Revillagigedo, Gijón, Spain. Traveled to: Canal de Isabel II, Madrid, Spain
A Collective Diary: An African Contemporary Journey, Herzliya Museum for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel. Curated by Simon Njami.
2007–2009
Scratches on the Face, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, December 8, 2007–January 3, 2008. Traveled to: National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, January 10–February 3 2008; Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, November 15, 2008–July 31, 2009. (Catalogue)
2008–2009
Cross-Currents in Recent Video Installation: Water as Metaphor for Identity, Tufts University Art Gallery, Medford, Massachusetts, Spring 2008. Traveled to: Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, June 17–September 7. 2008; University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, August 1–September 13, 2009; Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts. Curated by Amy Ingrid Schlegel.
2009
Sordid and Sacred: The Beggars in Rembrandt’s Etchings, Reynolds Gallery, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California
Beyond The Familiar: Photography And The Construction of Community, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts
Rethinking Landscape: Photography from the Collection of Allen Thomas Jr., Roanoke Museum, VA
Sharing Territories, 5th Soa Tome Biennale, curated by Adelaide Ginga, Soa Tome and Principe
Prospect 1 New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana
2008
Between Us – Entre Nous – Phakathi Kwethu, Iart Gallery, Cape Town
Brave New Worlds, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
People, Jim Kempner Fine Art, New York
World Receiver: 10 Years Galerie der Gegenwart, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany
New Orleans Biennale
2007
Apartheid: El Mirall Sud-Africà, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona
Defining Moments in Photograph from the MCA Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Existencias, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, MUSAC, León, Spain
Planet Afrika: Carte Blanche, curated by Thomas Mank, Kultursysteme, Berlin
So Close So Far Away, Crac Alsace, France
South African Art: Modern Art and Cultural Development in a Changing Society, Danubiana, Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia
2006–2007
Black Panther Rank and File, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, California, March 17–June 2, 2006. Traveled to: Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, July 21–November 30, 2007.
2006
Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts, Artists’ Week 2006, curated by Julianne Pierce, Adelaide, Australia
Black, Brown & White, Kunsthalle Vienna, Austria
Black Panther Rank and File, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
Cross-Currents in Recent Video Installation: Water as a Metaphor for Identity, Tisch Gallery, Boston
The Living is Easy, Flowers East, Hoxton, London
Snap Judgments: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography, International Center of Photography, New York
The Whole World is Rotten, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
Why Pictures Now, MUMOK Lounge, Museum Moderner Kunst, Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna
2004–2006
Common Ground: Discovering Community in 150 Years of Art, Selections from the Collection of Julia J. Norrell, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., October 23, 2004–January 31, 2005. Traveled to: North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, May 7–June 16, 2006. (Catalogue; texts by Jacquelyn Days Serwer, Paul Roth, Merry A. Foresta, and Julia J. Norrell)
Africa Remix, Zeitgenössische Kunst eines Kontinent, July 24–November 7, 2004, Traveled to: Museum Kunst Palast, Dusseldorf, July 24–November 7, 2004; Hayward Gallery, London, February 10–April 17, 2005; Pompidou Centre, Paris, May 24–August 15, 2005; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, May–August 2006; Gwangju Biennale, South Korea. Curated by Simon Njami. (Catalogue)
2005
Earth and Memory: African and African-American Photograph, Elizabeth Stone Harper Gallery, Presbyterian College, Clinton, South Carolina
Emergencies, at the Museo de Arte Contemporeneo de Castilla y Leon, MUSAC, Spain
The Experience of Art, The Venice Biennial. Curated by Maria de Corral.
The Forest: Politics, Poetics, and Practice, The Nasher Museum at Duke University, North Carolina
Green to Green and Beyond, Gallery W 52, New York
Imprints: Works on paper, Axis Gallery, New York
New Work / New Acquisitions, Museum of Modern Art, New York
A Passion for Pictures, North Carolina Museum of Art
Ticket to the Other Side, Hengevoss-Duerkop Gallery, Hamburg
The Whole World is Rotten: Free Radicals and the Gold Coast Slave Castles of Paa Joe, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
2004–2005
African Art, African Voices, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Common Ground, Discovering Community in 150 Years of Art, Selections from the Collection of Julia J. Norrell, Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington, DC
Where?, Clifford Chance Projects, New York
The Prague Biennale
Sao Paulo Biennial, Brazil. Curated by Simon Njami.
Tama University Art Gallery, Tokyo
2004
Body and the Archive, Artists Space, New York
Festival della Fotografia, British Academy, Rome
Festival Couleur Café, curated by Hernau Bertiau, Tour et Taxis, Brussels
Grenier a sel, in Honfleur, France
Ipermercati dell’Arte, Palazzo delle Papesse, Sienna, Italy
Kornhausforum, Berne, Switzerland
Made in Africa Fotografia, Musei di Porta Romana, Milan
New Identities: Contemporary South Africa Art, Bochum Museum, Germany
Passaporto, Le Meridien Lingotto Art & Tech, Torino, Italy
Postcards from Cuba, a selection from the 8th Havana Biennale, Henie Onstad Kunstenter, Oslo
Vth Bamako Encounters, Afritudine, Musei di Porta Romama / Galleria Arteutopia, Italy
2002–2003
The Gift: Generous Offerings, Threatening Hospitality, organized by Independent Curators International, New York. Traveled to: Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona, February 9–May 5, 2002; Palazzo Delle Papesse, Sienna, Italy, June 2–September 24, 2001; Candiani Centro Culturale, Venice, Italy, October–December 2001; Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, November 27, 2002–March 3, 2003; Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, April 4–June 15, 2003; Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, August 16–October 18, 2003.
Shopping: A Century of Art and Consumer Culture, Shirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany, through December 1, 2002. Traveled to: Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom, December 20, 2002–March 23, 2003.
2003
Portraiture: Every Picture Tells A Story, Solomon Projects, Atlanta, Georgia
Strangers: The First ICP Triennial of Photography and Video, International Center of Photography, curated by Brian Wallis, New York
8th Havana Biennial, Cuba
Istanbul Biennial, curated by Dan Cameron
Prague Biennial, Czech Republic
Sharjah International Biennale, curated by Hoor Al-Qasimi and Peter Lewis
2002
Tracing the Rainbow, Kunst Raum Sylt-Quelle, Rantum, Germany, June 7–August 31, 2002. Traveled to: Kulturverein Zehntscheuer, Rottenburg/Nechtar, Germany, September 29–November 2002.
Cultural Crossing, Numark Gallery, Washington, DC
Dis/location, Sala Rekalde, Bilbao, Spain
Fuoriuso, curated by Teresa Macri, Ferrotel, Pescara, Italy
In Situ – Portraits of People at Home, Hand Workshop Art Center, Richmond, VA
New Acquisitions/ New Works/ New Directions 3: Contemporary Selections, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Overnight to Many Cities: Tourism and Travel at Home and Away, The Photographers’ Gallery, London
Staging, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, MO
Sudafrica: la pittura, la fotographia, il cinema, Centro Trevi, Bolzano, Italy
Untitled, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
Videoarte Africana, 25° Bienal de Sao Paulo, Brazil
Group Exhibition, Marco Noire Contemporary Art, San Sebastiano, Italy
Centro Cultural de Maia, O’Porto, Portugal
2001–2002
The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945–1994, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich, February 15–April 22, 2001. Traveled to: Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Martin-Gropius-Bau, Belgium; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, September 8–December 30, 2001; MoMA P.S. 1, New York, February 10–May 5, 2002. Curated by Okwui Enwezor.
2000–2002
Liberated Voices: Contemporary Art from South Africa, Austin Museum of Art, Texas, 2000. Traveled to: The Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, California, 2001–2002 and the University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, 2002.
2001
Africa Today, curated by Pep Subiros, Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona, Spain
Boomerang: Collector’s Choice, Exit Art, New York
I Love NY, benefit exhibition, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
A Passion for Art: The Disaronno Originale Photography Collection, traveling to:
Miami Art Museum, FL
Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago
New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York
University of California, Berkeley, Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
ABSA Bank, South Africa
Absolut Collection, Sweden
Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, New York
Arco Foundation, Madrid
Boland Bank, South Africa
Bouwfonds Art Collection, Netherlands
Cape Department of Education Trust, South Africa
The Corcoran Museum Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Daimler Chrysler Collection, Germany
Deutsche Bank, Group Head Office, Frankfurt, Germany
Durban Art Gallery, South Africa
Gencor S.A. Ltd, South Africa
Gilbey's Ltd.
Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
Herdboys, South Africa
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa
JSE – Stock Exchange, South Africa
Kunsthalle Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
LaSalle Bank, Chicago, IL
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
Mary and Leigh Block Gallery, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Metropolitan Life, South Africa
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Ministere Culture Communication, France
MTN Collection, South Africa
Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Castilla y Leon, Madrid, Spain
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, Austria
Nasher Museum of Art, Durham, North Carolina
National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC
The New Museum, New York, NY
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
Old Mutual, South Africa
PKS, South Africa
Pompidou Centre, France
Pretoria Art Museum, South Africa
Progressive Corporate Art Collection, Mayfield Village, OH
Rand Merchant Bank, South Africa
S.A. Reserve Bank, South Africa
Sanlam, South Africa
Sasol, Durban, Cape Town, New York
Samuel Harn Museum, Gainesville, FL
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA
The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
Siemans Ltd, South Africa
Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC, USA
South African Breweries, South Africa
South African Embassy, Washington, DC
South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Tatham Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Transnet Ltd, South Africa
University of South Africa
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Victoria & Albert Museum,London, UK
Vodacom Collection, South Africa
Wooltru, Cape Town, South Africa
AWARDS
2005
Commissioned for the International Absolut Collection
2004
Nobel Square – Technical Committee Member
Review Committee Member – Roggebaai Tourism Precinct
1999
Adjudicator, National Panel for the ABSA Atelier Awards. (National)
Jury Member for Damilier Chrysler Award. (National)
Adjudicator, Windsor Newton Millenium Painting Competition. (National)
Adjudicator, Zonnebloem Fine Art Wine Label Competition. (National)
Adjudicator, Truworths Painting Workshop.
Elected on to the Association for Visual Arts Executive Committee.
1998
Panelist, National Arts Council.
Nominated for the Vita Awards.
1996
Vice-Chairman of the Association for Visual Arts and convenor of its Selection Committee
Committee member of the Friends of the S.A. National Gallery
1995
Vice-Chairman of the S.A. Association of Arts (Western Cape)
1994
Invited to judge, select and appraise work for the Volskas Atelier Award Competition
1993
City of Abijan prize, Biennale (Ivory Coast)
Bertrams V.O. Award Indigenous People.
1987
Fullbright Scholarship to study in the USA, Rochester Institute of Technology
1985
Irma Stern Scholarship
1984
Class Medal for graduation with a distinction in the Fine Arts Department (UCT)
1981
Simon Gerson Prize for the most promising art student (UCT).