Art moves to hotel setting

SHOWY: 'I LIVE AND BREATHE IT'

- Citizen reporter

“I paint what I like,” says Sam Nhlengethwa on his first ever hotel exhibition. More than three decades have passed since Nhlengethwa received the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year Award in 1994, and he remains as committed as ever to his craft.

From the early days of apartheid-era protest art to post-democracy reflections on everyday life, the 70-year-old visual art legend’s style and themes have continued to evolve.

“I am an artist through and through. I cannot stop myself from thinking about art. I live art and breathe art.

“I have always worked with different themes. I’ve never been stuck to one form. Steve Biko said, ‘I write what I like.’ I can borrow that and say, ‘I paint what I like’,” Nhlengethwa told The Citizen.

Born in 1955 in Payneville, Springs, and raised in Ratanda near Heidelberg, Nhlengethwa is one of South Africa’s most celebrated visual artists.

His work captures the political shifts and everyday moments of life, often through the lens of jazz culture, urban landscapes, and social commentary.