Lehmann Maupin is pleased to announce its inaugural exhibition for South African artist, Nicholas Hlobo. Presenting both mixed media on canvas paintings as well as leather and wood sculptures, Hlobo’s newest body of work makes use of the migratory patterns of eels as a point of departure, and reconsiders as allegory the personal transformation necessary to his own artistic journey. Centered around organic and corporeal imagery, the exhibition elaborates on recurring themes of the artist’s concern with beauty, pain, pleasure, and cycles of life.

Hlobo (pronounced sloh-boh) is known for his intricate, sprawling installations that incorporate organic sculptures, performance, work on paper, and video installations. He employs tactile materials such as ribbon, leather, wood and rubber, which he often melds and weaves to create his two- and three- dimensional works. By incorporating influences from his ethnic and cultural background such as the Xhosa language and references to traditional craft, ritual, sexual orientation, gender, and nationality into his works, Hlobo address the constant shifting and subjective nature inherent in these identifiers. The eradication of legalized discrimination and segregation that came with the end of Apartheid in 1994 saw Hlobo and his peers empowered to voice their views under the protection of new laws. This fundamental right to challenge political and societal issues has been exercised and articulated at the core of Hlobo’s work in the years since.