Strauss & co - 10 October 2016, Cape Town

576 Sydney Alex KUMALO SOUTH AFRICAN 1 935-1988 Study for Mythological Rider stamped with the artist’s name and ‘AP’ bronze height: 123cm R600 000–800 000 LITERATURE cf. The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited. (2009) Signature Pieces , Vlaeberg: Bell Roberts. A similar example illustrated in colour on page 184. Alongside his diverse human and animal sculptures from the 1960s and 70s, Sydney Kumalo also produced a number of bronzes that placed his two key subjects in conversation. Kumalo’s approach to form in these works was confident and expressive. His figures are effortlessly shaped and wilfully distorted. This sculpture’s drama and distinction resides in its height. Many of Kumalo’s studies of humans astride animals were compact. In a far smaller bronze, similarly titled Mythological Rider , an oversized human figure straddles a diminutive animal. The power relation in that work, and others depicting men seated on bulls and horse-like creatures, is self- evident: the animals are beasts of burden. This work suggests independence as well as harmony between the two animal forms. Kumalo’s approach to modelling further underscores this commonality. Eyes and mouths are evoked with the same 250