(New beginning by Sandile Goje)Young artist from the Eastern Cape to present solo exhibition at the African Art Centre.
Sandile Goje, well-respected young artist from Grahamstown, will mount his first solo exhibition at the African Art Centre on November 16, 2011. The exhibition will be opened by Wouter Gildenhuis, Lecturer in Architecture at the Durban University of Technology.
Born in 1972, Sandile Goje matriculated at the Nathaniel Pamla High School in the Eastern Cape. He was one of the first students at Dakawa Art and Craft Community Centre which was established in 1992 by Artists Against Apartheid in Grahamstown. (Dakawa refers to an African National Congress camp in Tanzania before the unbanning of the organisation).
As a student, he was greatly inspired by his mentors, Eric Mbatha, Joel Sibisi and Swedish printmakers Malin Selman and Kristina Anshelm. Sandile recognizes Kristina Anshelm as having a fundamental role in his growth and development as an artist. In 1994, Sandile was awarded a bursary to study at the Grafik Skolan in Stockholm, Sweden, where he completed a certificate in Graphic Printmaking. He later returned to Grahamstown and taught printmaking at Dakawa until it closed and then later co-ordinated it’s re-opening in 1998.
For many years, Sandile taught printmaking and acted as studio manager at Dakawa. In addition, he actively participated in volunteer work, facilitated and coordinated printmaking and skills-development workshops for children and young adults and co-organized exhibitions and collaborations between South African and Swedish printmakers.
In an extract from an essay by Alex Dodd in Artlook 2001, Dodd says that that Sandile creates intricately and carefully textured works. His remarkable tool work brings a rich variety of textures to the black and white surfaces of his prints. Frequently he designs directly onto the lino although the conceptual process may sometimes involve sketches with or without minimal notes.
Sandile’s efforts and commitment to his genre continue to be recognized; in 1998 he won an award in the PG Glass Competition, in 1997, his work Meeting of Two Cultures was reproduced in the publication Printmaking in a transforming South Africa by Philippa Hobbs and Elizabeth Rankin and in 2001 his works were included in an exhibition of South African prints at the Museum of Modern Art in New York: Impressions from South Africa: 1965 to Now. He has held numerous positions of leadership and has been awarded a number of commissions.
ince 1992, he has consistently participated in several group exhibitions in South Africa and abroad. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the World Bank, the Gallery of the Witwatersrand, MTN Art Institute, Johannesburg Art Gallery, the Nelson Mandela Art Gallery, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Sandile Goje says that his wish is to divulge and share the nature and characteristics of his culture to those who are not familiar with it he does this through his intricately designed and cautiously textured linocuts.
Sandile Goje’s exhibition opens on November 16 at 17h30 and runs until December 15, 2011, at the African Art Centre at 94 Florida Road, Morningside. More information from the Director, Sharon Crampton, on 031 312 3805 or email africanartcentre@afri-art.co.za or visit www.afriart.co.za
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