Sthenjwa Luthuli’s Spiritual Paintings Excise Intricate Patterns in Bold Color — Colossal
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Through swirling ribbons of color, headless figures dance among densely patterned backdrops, their hands grasping and open. Dressed in tight, form-fitting costumes, these anonymous protagonists are bound by their elaborately carved environments, a metaphor for the experience of South African communities that artist Sthenjwa Luthuli (previously) finds fruitful.
Luthuli is known for his wood-block paintings brimming with vibrant color and texture. Through a meditative, meticulous process of gouging small pieces of MDF, he renders dense, intricate motifs that envelop his figures in a swath of markings. The artist is particularly interested in African spiritualism and the tenuous relationship between freedom and control for minority communities.
“Reborn” (2025), hand-carved super wood block mix media and paint, 138 x 184 centimeters
Next month at Norval Foundation in Cape Town, Luthuli with present a collection of works made between 2010 and 2015. His first institutional solo exhibition, Umkhangu uses African cosmology and symbolism as its guide, considering how a birthmark can be seen as an ancestral presence or a sign of one’s destiny.
Umkhangu opens on September 11. Find more from the artist on Instagram.
“The Genetics” Ulibofuzo (2025), hand-carved super wood block mix media and paint, 138 x 184 centimeters“Unfinished Business” (2025), hand-carved super wood block mix media and paint, 136 x 92 centimeters“Stories We Wear” (2025), hand-carved super wood block mix media and paint, 136 x 92 centimeters“Palmistry” (2025), hand-carved super wood block mix media and paint, 136 x 92 centimeters“Inner Spark” (2025), hand-carved super wood block mix media and paint, 136 x 92 centimeters“Reincarnation” Ukphinda Uzalwe (2025), hand-carved super wood block mix media, and paint, 138 x 184 centimeters“Nature’s Unique Signatures” (2025), hand-carved super wood block mix media and paint, 185 x 185 centimeters“Past Life Origins” (2025), hand-carved super wood block mix media and paint, 138 x 184 centimeters“Diverse Nations, Different Calling” (2025), hand-carved super wood block mix media and paint, 275 x 184 centimeters“Continuous Legacy” Ukuqhubeka Kwefa (2025), hand-carved super wood block mix media and paint, 138 x 184 centimeters
