A Collection Of Works:
Provenance : [Propriété non datée]
- Acquired directly from the artist by the current owner
Exhibited :
Literature :
Notes : A self-professed "dreamer-imaginist", Gladys Mgudlandlu taught at a school during the day and painted by night. Indigenous Fingo and Xhosa folklore and customs inform much of her work, as do the landscape, birds and flowers of the Eastern Province where she grew up. Mgudlandlu's work intrigued critics, artists and buyers alike, and her exhibitions at the Rodin Gallery in Cape Town and Adler Fielding Galleries in Johannesburg "left an indelible imprint". Gregoire Boonzaier nicknamed her the "black Irma Stern" and others the "South African Grandmother Moses". As popular as Tretchikoff, and far more respected by the critics, Gladys was a darling of the press, inspiring headlines when she broke her wrist at tennis, or when her luggage was overweight at the airport (The Cape Argus, 13 December 1963 & 12 October 1964). The photograph from Die Burger included here shows Two Fish on exhibition at the Rodin Gallery, which organised an afternoon tea with the artist and several ministers' wives, held on 27 May 1964. In the photograph were Mrs M.C. Botha, wife of the Deputy Minister of Bantu Administration, Mrs. Alf Trollip, wife of the Minister of Labour and Immigration, Mrs P.M. Le Roux, wife of the Minister of Agriculture, and the artist herself. This depiction of 'social integration' caused some controversy when printed alongside a report on the proceedings at the Rivonia trial, which eventually concluded with the conviction of eight leaders of the African National Congress. Miles comments, "Whereas Gladys Mgudlandlu never overtly used socio-political references in her work, the restrictive and dehumanising consequences of apartheid laws are evident in her scenes of Nyanga and Guguletu. Generally, she rendered aspects of her traditional Fingo background, paying tribute to folklore, the ancient craft of woodcarving and traditions. In her interpretation of these motifs, she can be regarded as a forerunner in the visual arts of the black consciousness movement, which gained momentum in South Africa during the 1970s" (Miles 2002, p.7). Bibliography E. Miles, Nomefanekiso, Who Paints at Night: The Art of Gladys Mgudlandlu, (Vlaeberg, 2002).
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