Her perspective began to shift as she sought to look at herself through her own eyes. Malawian artist Billie Zangewa uses rich, luxurious materials to chronicle her everyday life in Johannesburg. Exhorting the mantra that 'the personal is political', the artist subtly questions gender and racial stereotypes through colourful tapestries comprised of various fabrics that present images of her own domestic life. In works such as Christmas at the Ritz (2006), which refers to the artist's experience in London as a model, the male gaze is her subject. To make artwork enquiries, follow artists & galleries, save & share artworks and receive our newsletter. Born in Malawi and raised in Botswana, Zangewa moved to South Africa to study fine arts at Rhodes University, graduating in 1995. Your personal data is held in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Simply click the link and enter your new password to complete this process. Scan the QR Code via WeChat to follow Ocula's official account. When she was a little girl she would do fashion drawings. Embroidery of Constructing Collective Identity. A golden-fingered embroiderer, she has gradually garnered recognition on the African and international art scene. It's also a form of therapy.' The textured printing paper awakened her interest in the materiality of surfaces, and when she moved to Johannesburg she found her muse: the city. Billie Zangewa was born in Blantyre, Malawi in 1973. In her work she departs form the excentric aspects of fashion combined with her background in printmaking. Overview. Galleries have reported stronger than anticipated sales at Frieze New York's Viewing Rooms, which opened to VIPs on 6 May. Works such as Ma Vie en Rose (2015)—a tapestry on pink silk that pictures the artist preparing to feed her child in the kitchen—exemplify the unseen activities women do at home, which ultimately keep the world running. Oct 31st, 2016. VIP Relations. Billie Zangewa's art practice was initially based around printmaking, but towards the early 2000s, she began working with raw silk cut-offs. In order to present the best of contemporary art our gallery membership is by application or invitation only. She was inspired by her mother, who worked in … When Billie Zangewa and I start talking, I feel that instant sense of sisterhood and kinship that often takes hold when Black women gather during times of despair. Billie Zangewa is a Malawian artist who works with fabrics, mostly silk, to create intricate tapestries. 10 Textile Artists Who Are Pushing the Medium Forward . After completing her degree, she worked in Gaborone, Botswana focusing on oil paintings and stitching characterful bags. Billie Zangewa: Soldier of Love, Galerie Templon, Paris, 14 March – 6 June. Zangewa's pursuit of deeper self-reflection is visible in The Rebirth of Black Venus (2010), with the open pose of the figure signalling a woman who feels safe and confident in her skin. Behind them, the sky is a luminous pink. Midnight Aura, 2012. Billie Zangewa, “Heart of the Home” (2020), hand-stitched silk collage, 53.5 x 43.25 inches (all images courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, and London) Lush green foliage crowds their path. Billie Zangewa – the fierce feminine. Billi Zangewa art and soul 6/26/2020 The Textile Artist Who’s Always Known How to Care for Herself Billie Zangewa on strength, femininity, and the healing nature of domesticity. Articles Featuring Billie Zangewa. Billie Zangewa was born in Blantyre, Malawi in 1973. History of Billie Zangewa. Though autobiographical, they show common, shared experiences with which viewers can easily identify. The irregular cuts of fabric first presented a challenge to present complete images; a challenge that she ultimately turned to her advantage. Galerie LeManége, Dakar, Senegal. Having lived in Ethiopia, Yemen, England and Cyprus as a child, Muluneh temporarily settled in Canada in 1985, before taking up study at Howard University in Washington, the US in 2000, where she... Sign up to be notified when new artworks and exhibitions by Billie Zangewa are added to Ocula. Admission is determined by a select group of influential gallerists by vote. Our History. Gallery Afronova. found: Zangewa, Billie. In 2020, Zangewa held her first major solo gallery show in Paris, Soldier of Love, at Templon. Upon closer inspection their unique beauty comes to light as the skilful cuttings and thread work are revealed. Being a mother has been a core part of Zangewa's work, as seen in works like Swimming Lesson (2020), which continues a long theme of exploring love in terms of motherhood and the growth of her child as an individual. Billie Zangewa Selected works Exhibitions Biography Press News Videos. Johannesburg, South Africa, 2010;Stitch by Stitch. Stitching, sewing, knitting and knotting - Vitamin T artists tell us how and why they do what they do. Billie Zangewa was selected for a grant, initiated by AIRAntwerpen at the Biennale of Dakar in 2006. After a brief return to Botswana, Zangewa returned to South Africa, setting herself up in Johannesburg. A golden-fingered embroiderer, she has gradually garnered recognition on the African and international art scene. In doing so, the artist also challenges antiquated ideals that a woman must choose between being a mother or an artist. Her work depicts city stories (primarly from Johannesburg) and personal experiences in that context. Billie Zangewa, born in Malawi, studied graphics and printmaking at Rhodes University. Billie Zangewa was selected for a grant, initiated by AIR Antwerpen at the Biennale of Dakar in 2006. Billie Zangewa – interview: ‘I realised that I had chosen to embody the most disempowered human form’ The Johannesburg-based artist, whose work is currently on show at Lehmann Maupin in New York, talks about her collages of domestic life, which advocate for self-preservation and the demystification of black women. Billie has a bachelor’s degree in fine art from Rhodes University, Grahamstown. From a very young age, she is passionate about sewing and dream to lead a career as an artist. Global Patrons. Her autobiographical works skilfully combine personal experience with universal subjects, from the hustle and bustle of urban megalopolises to ordinary activities in the life of a woman and mother in today's world. Zangewa’s hand-stitched wall hangings show mundane and intimate moments of daily life. DRESSED IN A KHAKI TRENCH COAT, Billie Zangewa holds her young son’s hand, escorting him to school. Billie Zangewa is a South African Postwar & Contemporary artist who was born in 1973. Billie Zangewa's background is as an engaged artist. In 1995 she graduated from Rhodes University in Grahmstown, South Africa, receiving a BFA in graphics and printmaking. Hot in the city, 2005: title page (Billie Zangewa) title page verso (Belinda Zangewa) page 29 (Billie Zangewa was born in Blantyre, Malawi in 1973. Artist Billie Zangewa welcomes us at her home in Johannesburg, South Africa. Intersectionality. Eastern Africa. Using samples of vibrant silk, the artist hand sews sprightly embroideries who take inspiration from contemporary life scenes. From there, Billie … Gallery Applications. About: “My career took off so effortlessly that I felt this was a sign of what direction I should take,” says artist Billie Zangewa, winner … Institutions are also welcome to join the Ocula gallery network. Partners. As Zangewa explained, in conversation with Ocula contributor Jareh Das, 'Sewing for me represents self-empowerment. Malawi-Born, Johannesburg-based artist Billie Zangewa celebrates and explores femininity and identity through textile works expressing her own personal experience. Silk, as a by-product of the silkworm's transformation, serves as a suitable metaphor for the transformative process of creating these works. Born in 1973 in Blantyre, Malawi, Billie Zangewa spent her childhood in Botswana. Till: February 1, 2015. Zangewa's early fabric works referenced her surrounding urban environment through cityscapes such as That Day (2004), though over time her focus shifted towards the personal. Johannesburg, South Africa,2008; Untitled solo show. Zangewa’s works don’t need a pandemic to be appreciated, but perhaps now more than ever we understand why it is the minutiae of the everyday, and the relationships that play out within it, that we should all be celebrating. The works exist out of miniaturistic figurativescenes, made out of silk. She uses her drawings as patterns to create these pieces, destroying them in the process. Related Categories. Lehmann Maupin presents Wings of Change, an exhibition featuring seven new silk works by Johannesburg-based artist Billie Zangewa.For her first exhibition with Lehmann Maupin and first in New York, Zangewa has created a body of work that explores the new reality of living and working in isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Zangewa studied fine arts at Rhodes University, specifically print-making, graphics, and textiles. See all articles. Gallery Afronova. Artwork page for ‘Date Night’, Billie Zangewa, 2017 on display at Tate Modern. Billie Zangewa's art practice was initially based around printmaking, but towards the early 2000s, she began working with raw silk cut-offs. Born in 1973 in Malawi, Billie Zangewa lives and works in Johannesburg. Find an in-depth biography, exhibitions, original artworks for sale, the latest news, and sold auction prices. She studied Fine Art majoring in graphics at Rhodes University, Grahamstown) page 4 (When she flexes her vocal chords she goes by the name of Billie Starr) Initiatives. About. At first glance, or from a distance, the intricate tapestries that artist Billie Zangewa creates using silk could be mistaken for oil paintings. JohannesburgArt Gallery showing female artists in their collection dating backto the 1800s, 2010; 101 Tokyo -Tokyo Art Fair. From Magnin-A, Billie Zangewa, City of Light (2005), Embroidered silk, 50 × 50 cm As we tour the city, we learn about what inspires and influences her work. May 19th, 2020. In works such as Temporary Reprieve (2007) and Swimming Lesson (2020), voids and tears in the fabric not only highlight the materiality of her work, they allude to the imperfections and internal wounds within a person. FR / EN. Work of Billie Zangewa is part of ‘How Far How Near’ , Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Emily McDermott. The online event, initiated after the physical fair was cancelled due to COVID-19, opens to the public from 8-15 May. Her work was also seen in the following groupexhibitions (a selection): Galerie Hussenot, Paris, France. Groupshow curated by Andre Magnin, 2011; Kaddou Diggen. Art Basel. … Billie Zangewa (born in 1973 in Blantyre, Malawi) is a half Malawian half South African artist who works on silk fabrics. She studied drawing and printmaking at Rhodes University, South Africa. For more information, You can manage the artists and galleries you follow in, Discover the Best of Contemporary Art Now, Frieze New York Viewing Room Sales Exceed Expectations, South Africa’s hottest artists at 1:54 New York this week. Billie Zangewa discusses sewing, turning the mundane into the relatable by expanding personal histories outwards through textiles, the importance of self-care, and why she considers herself a soldier of love. She combines vibrant silks, gems and occasional haberdashery trimmings in meticulous textile pieces that celebrate relative mundanity as well as her own identity as a woman of colour. Contact; Billie Zangewa Onder ons at CIAP. Gallery Afronova, Johannesburg, SouthAfrica, 2007. Paris, France, 2010; Transformations. Unsparing yet languorous, the Malawi-born artist's work interweaves strength and tenderness ... Photo by Andrew Thomas Berry. The irregular cuts of fabric first presented a challenge to present complete images; a challenge that she ultimately turned to her advantage. Their work was featured in numerous exhibitions at key galleries and museums, including the Centre Pompidou Paris and the Stedelijk Museum.Billie Zangewa's work has been offered at auction multiple times, with realized prices ranging from $6,306 USD to $64,532 USD, depending on the size and medium of the artwork. Billie Zangewa's background is as an engaged artist. Born in 1973 in Malawi, Billie Zangewa lives and works in Johannesburg. The Team. The artist has early memories of her mother participating in sewing groups, which she recognised as safe space for the women to share struggles, demonstrating the 'soft power' of sewing among African women. It's a way for me to express myself; to use my voice, and express my identity as a woman. Born in Malawi but raised in suburban Botswana, Billie Zangewa made her formative textile works after relocating to South Africa’s economic capital, Johannesburg, in 1997, where she has lived ever since. Careers. 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