Samson Mnisi

Samson Mnisi was a South African artist known for his combination of abstract expressionist techniques with ritualistic practices and symbolic iconography. He is recognized as one of the pioneers of a new genre of abstract expressionist art during South Africa’s transition to democracy, reflecting an emboldened sense amongst black South African artists to “find a contemporary South African expression.”

“I see myself as part of the timeless tradition of celebrating the human godliness, from the first rock painting to the present time and beyond. I am interested in using art as another element of alchemy, where through it, you can evoke and even heal certain emotions.”

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Mnisi often made use of geometric motifs and intuitive line work in the vein of Ernest Mancoba and Fikile Magadlela, but his work differed from its more modernist predecessors by its bold use of colour and innovative choice of material: Mnisi was known to use, in addition to canvas, objects as diverse as hessian, Brazilian Sisal carpets and doors as the base of his compositions; he also regularly incorporated collage and mixed media into his practice. In addition to painting and sculpture, Mnisi was a skilled printmaker working in lithography, silkscreen and digital prints. While his early career was defined by sculptural work that incorporated organic and spiritual elements such as reeds, cloth, pigments, and found objects, the abstract paintings for which he is best known drew inspiration from a variety of references, including indigenous languages, Ndebele patterns, Sotho architecture, mathematical systems and ancient cave paintings, to name but a few.

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Mnisi was born in 1971 in Lesotho. His father, being Swati, considered his en caul birth (when a baby is born still inside the amniotic sac) a sign of a spiritual gift. Indeed, spirituality was a major influence on Mnisi’s upbringing. While he spent most of his childhood in Soweto, he regularly visited relatives in Mpumalanga, many of whom were sangomas. The traditional healing processes and indigenous knowledge systems that were passed from generation to generation guided Mnisi throughout his life and career.

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In 1992, Mnisi enrolled in the academy run by the Federated Union of Black Artists (FUBA), where he studied fine art and photography. It was through FUBA that he met his partner, Zanele Mazibuko, who was working as an administrator for the art centre. Together, they had four children and worked across various sectors of art and culture. Their company, Blackagemedia, facilitated cultural events and cross-cultural exchanges. In the mid-2000s, the couple owned the One Drop restaurant in Yeoville, hosting weekly open mic sessions called the Monday Blues, which helped launch the careers of artists such as Sliq Angel and MXO. Mnisi also produced and recorded music with the likes of Dorothy Masuka and Lesego Rampolokeng.

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Mnisi held his first solo exhibition in Market Theatre Gallery in 1996. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Mnisi’s work was featured in major shows in the USA, including a solo exhibition at the Chashama Theatre in Times Square, a collaborative exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporic Arts (MoCADA) in Fort Greene, and the seminal group exhibition Liberated Voices: Contemporary Art from South Africa at the Museum for African Art in East Harlem. Throughout this time, Mnisi presented several exhibitions in collaboration with the American artist Cannon Hersey through the CrossPathCulture initiative. He also collaborated with the Johannesburg-based artists Clifford Charles and Wayne Barker as well as the Ethiopian artist Gera Mawi Mazgabu.

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Later in life, Mnisi held various solo exhibitions in Johannesburg, including White City (University of Johannesburg) and Man of the Hour (Asisebenze Art Atelier). It was the day after the opening of the latter exhibition, in 2022, that Mnisi suffered a heart attack in his studio. He passed away at the age of 51.

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