oil on board

Artwork date: 1991
Signature details: signed and dated bottom right; inscribed with the artist's name, date, the title, dimensions and medium on an Everard Read gallery label on the reverse
Exhibited: Strauss & Co., Johannesburg, Social Stances: George Pemba and Robert Hodgins, 1 to 30 July 2021, illustrated in the catalogue on pp.8-9.

(1)

50 x 70 cm; framed size: 76.5 x 96.5 x 3 cm

Provenance:

Everard Read, Johannesburg.

Notes:

A pioneer of Black Modernism in South African art, George Pemba is regarded for his enduring compassion in depicting the lived realities of his people. Proud of his Xhosa heritage and culture, Pemba, like his ‘thirties generation’ compatriots Gerard Sekoto, John Koenakeefe Mohl and Gerard Bengu, challenged the colonial gaze by offering a unique social realism of a people and their individual and collective joys and struggles during the most turbulent times in South African history.

A highlight of the Nwabisa Xayiya collection is 9 remarkable paintings by Pemba from the 1960s to the early 1990s. Spanning over 4 decades, this group of paintings represents a core part of Pemba’s themes and artistic production. Collectively the group stands as a valuable visual recording of a history and socio-political life in the rural areas and townships (mainly of the Eastern Cape) throughout a specific time period. Included are scenes of daily existence and social interactions like in The Agitator (1960) (lot 54), Township Games (1973) (lot 4), The dice players (1975) (lot 80), The Preacher in the Church (1990) (lot 3), In the Train (1991) (lot 2) and The Waiting Room (1992) (lot 55). Ordinary people gathered in domestic settings and public places including churches, funerals, hospitals, trains and taxis, streets, fields and private homes, engaging in acts of community, faith and solidarity was an important source of inspiration. A figurative painter by definition, Pemba attentively recorded these events and people – of an almost bygone era – in rich and vibrant colours which give the paintings a timeless vitality.

Pemba himself was not a political activist and his work did not serve any political interests or ideology. He was however an empathetic observer, and loathed apartheid rule which caused much suffering to many people as depicted in Unemployed (1986) (lot 56), for example. In some instances, his paintings do reflect a personal viewpoint and particular events, especially during the state of emergency years of the 1980s, including police raids, marches and riots made an emotional impression on him, as seen in his portrayal of Comrades (1988) (lot 53).

This unique group of paintings exemplifies that Pemba’s work is not only celebrated for its honesty and integrity by offering a sincere insider perspective, it is also an everlasting legacy of an artist who kept on painting against all personal and political odds.