Turiya Magadlela Sold at Auction Prices

b. 1978 -

TURIYA MAGADLELA - (b. 1978, Johannesburg, South Africa)

Born in Johannesburg in 1978, Turiya Magadlela’s work balances politically charged narratives with exquisite aesthetic. Through the stitching, layering and collaging of commonly found objects, such as correctional uniforms and pantyhose, Magadlela creates powerful, original art pieces. Magadlela herself has been quoted as saying, ‘I make my work from my personal life experiences. I don’t make social or political commentary. Should my work seem or look political, that makes me happy. I always want to leave it open to the viewer’s personal interpretation, and I find that talking about a work you made or writing about it narrows down the meaning that it is supposed to have.’

Magadlela studied at the Funda Community College (1998), the University of Johannesburg (1999 – 2001), and the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam (2003-2004). She has had seven solo exhibitions to date, including at the Johannesburg Art Gallery in 2015. Most recently, she presented Wabona lapho isifebe, wangena kuso at blank projects in 2017.She has participated in numerous group exhibitions, both locally and internationally, including Blue Black, curated by Glenn Ligon (Pulitzer Arts Foundation, 2017), Simple Passion, Complex Vision: The Darryl Atwell Collection (Gantt Centre, 2017), The Past is Present (Jack Shainman Gallery, 2017), Les jour qui vient, curated by Marie-Ann Yemsi (Galerie des Galeries, 2017), Blackness in Abstraction (Pace Gallery, 2016) and The Quiet Violence of Dreams (Stevenson, 2016). In 2015, she was awarded the prestigious FNB Art Prize.