Strauss & co - 1 December 2018, Cape Town

6 Zeitz MOCAA Benefit Art Auction Through a mixture of printmaking and paint, Mongezi Ncaphayi’s vast, cartographic art uses the principles of line, colour and form to illicit a sensory reaction not unlike that of jazz music, with its unpredictable rhythms, electric surges, and moments of calm. The emancipatory undertones of jazz are made explicit through the titling of Ncaphayi’s Libation Grounds (2018). Here we see a subliminal landscape, marked by contours of calculated gesture. There are moments of control, where the artist’s hand is evident; at other times the inks and watercolours have been left to run their own course, according to their own principles. Mongezi Ncaphayi (b. 1983, South Africa) has held numerous exhibitions through David Krut Projects, and SMAC Gallery, South Africa. He has also exhibited work at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town (South Africa: 2018); 1:54 Contemporary Art Fair, London (UK: 2017); and the 10th World Triennial of Printmaking in Chamalières (France: 2017). 1 Mongezi Ncaphayi SOUTH AFRICAN 1983- Libation Grounds 2018 mixed media on cold pressed Fabriano 140 by 99,5cm ZAR50 000 - 70 000 £2 800 - 3 800 $3 500 - 5 000 € 3 100 - 4 400 PROVENANCE Donated by the artist. Courtesy of SMAC Gallery. Image courtesy of SMAC Gallery, copyright the artist