Wonderboy Nxumalo
Wonderboy Nxumalo (1975 – August 3, 2008) was a South African artist associated with the Ardmore Ceramics workshop.
Early life[edit]
Wonderboy (Thokozani) Nxumalo was born in Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal, the son of Glodia Kanyile, a housekeeper. He attended Candabuthule High School there. His mother's employer knew of the boy's artistic talent, and referred him to Fée Halsted-Berning of the Ardmore Ceramics workshop.[1] He later had training in printmaking through the Caversham Press Education Trust.[2]
Career[edit]
In 1994, Nxumalo joined the Ardmore Ceramics workshop. He quickly developed his own style in painting ceramics, with poetry, slogans, and anecdotes threaded around and through the images, and frequent use of a sgraffito technique.[3] His subjects tended to more historical events and current issues than those of his more folklore-inspired colleagues, with pieces about the Anglo-Zulu War and the AIDS epidemic.[4] Monkeys and rabbits act like humans in his illustrations, usually with whimsical effect.[5] He traveled to Wales to represent Ardmore at the International Ceramics Festival in Aberystwyth in 2001.[6]
Death and legacy[edit]
Nxumalo died at home in Greytown in 2008, from illness caused by HIV/AIDS.[7] He was 33 years old.[8] Posthumous exhibits of his works included a gallery show in Pietermaritzburg in 2009,[9] Boston University and the Istanbul Biennale in 2011, the Gerisch Museum in 2013, and the Reina Sofia Museum in 2014. Sales of fabric printed with Nxumalo-inspired designs raise funds for his mother and for a local orphanage, Khazimula.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ "A Tribute to Wonderboy (Thokozani) Nxumalo, Leading Ardmore Ceramicist" Ardmore Ceramic Art.
- ^ Estelle Sinkins, "The Midlands' Own Art Dynamo" News24 (January 15, 2011).
- ^ a b Artist: Wonderboy Nxumalo, Ardmore Ceramics.
- ^ Jennifer Kopping, "The Narrative and the Commemorative in the Ceramic Vessels of Hylton Nel, Wonderboy Nxumalo, Grayson Perry" WIReD Space (May 27, 2008).
- ^ Hilary Prendini Toffoli, "Wonderboy Works Wonders" Mail & Guardian (May 16, 2014).
- ^ Helen Doherty, "Upcycling Stereotypes: Telling Stories of Africa" Interpreting Ceramics 16(2015).
- ^ Malibongwe Tyilo, "Wonderboy for Everyone" Visi (February 26, 2014).
- ^ "Wonderboy Nxumalo 33" South African Art Times (September 2008): 12.
- ^ Estelle Sinkins, "Spiritual Solace in Art" News24 (January 20, 2009).