Nelson Makamo from Limpopo had one of his artworks featured on the Time Magazine cover and he is making South Africa incredibly proud!
New York City, United States – The Time Magazine comes out weekly in the City of New York and this week, it featured the beautiful work of Nelson Makamo.
Nelson was born in Modimolle in Limpopo and later moved to Johannesburg to pursue his career as an artist. He has had art exhibitions all over the world including the UK, Italy and Paris, France. He has hosted 10 solo exhibitions since 2005. This particular Time Magazine issue is dedicated to the art of optimism.
The magazine was guest-edited by Ava Duvernay, a filmmaker and director. She is renowned for directing films like Selma and A Wrinkle in Time and creating the series Queen Sugar which airs on Oprah’s network OWN.
In her editor’s letter for this issue, she spoke of celebrating artists that carve a path in this world.
“In the issue, we celebrate and suggest ways that one can find inspiration in our present moment through the work of artists who carve a path for us all.
Whether a filmmaker or a photographer, an author or an actress, a poet or a painter, these pages are filled with people who use art as a weapon for dynamic optimism.”
Oprah is a big fan of Nelson’s work and went to visit him at his studio when she last visited South Africa. She even bought a few of his pieces.
His style is mesmerising! It is a combination of charcoal, acrylic and watercolour paints. His use of black and bright colours draws the eye to the faces of the children so you can almost see into their souls.
“Nelson’s work is strongly influenced by the candid innocents of children. He is particularly drawn to children in rural South Africa, he believes that they embody the peace and harmony we all strive for in life, the search for eternal joy lies in the child within us all, we are just so consumed with worldly things that we forget the simplicity of life through a child’s perspective. He evolved his scope of experience so did his medium of expression, namely charcoal, acrylic, water colours, mono-types, silk screen and oil paintings
Take a look at the cover below.
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