Esther Mahlangu. To Paint is in My Heart

“Esther Mahlangu’s work is a vibrant contemporary testimony to the infinite spectrum of African geometric abstraction that stems from the wealth of traditional aesthetics of her Ndebele community.”
—Koyo Kouoh

Esther Mahlangu is globally acclaimed for her bright and bold abstract paintings with vivid, geometric patterns that are rooted in South Africa’s Ndebele artistic tradition. She was a disruptor from an early age, becoming the first person to reimagine Ndebele visual artistic style—historically used for decorating houses—on painting media such as canvas.

Esther Mahlangu: To Paint is in My Heart celebrates Mahlangu’s work through a series of interviews with Mahlangu conducted by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Azu Nwagbogu, and Thomas Girst. [publishers’ note]