A visual artist with a colourful background, Banele Khoza grew up in the small town of Hlatikulu, Swaziland, and has been living and working in South Africa since 2012. In 2018, he established Bkhz, a space that doesn’t have a definite description. It is a gallery, shop, studio, artist project or project space. He has had countless solo and group exhibitions and his latest exhibition is a showcase titled Be still and have faith.
“ The easel, chair and the observer being the midpoint of the physical and what lies in-between. Be it creativity, the subconscious or the spiritual world. I could say more… ”
Using the pointillism technique, Khoza’s artworks consist of individual manicure ink dots that from a distance visually blend together and appear as a complete image. In a heartfelt Instagram post, Banele Khoza shares, “I was thrilled when a friend noticed that the drawings were made of ink dots. I’ve been drawn to this way of making a work since June 2018, when I first witnessed it at a retrospective at the Paris Museum of Modern Art and then a second time in the presence of Moshekwa Langa, working up close”.
Banele’s work tackles topics about love, queerness and emotions in their broadest form. He hopes and would love to create a dialogue between art and design.
“ Design has a soft spot in my heart, perhaps because I grew up with a desire to become a fashion designer, and with that, I have been able to appreciate design and designers ”
