The works by the Johannesburg-born painter Ernest Mancoba (1904-2002) are characterised by a dynamic and ornamental materiality. His drawings, which will be presented at the gallery, consist of shimmering, meticulously rendered abstractions in which every single fibre appears to be set into motion.

For most of his life, Ernest Mancoba lived in Paris where he joined the artists group COBRA founded in 1948.

Mancoba met his wife, the Danish sculptor Sonja Ferlov Mancoba (1911-1985), together with other Danish artists in Paris. She made sculptures predominantly using clay and bronze. Galerie Mikael Andersen will show a selection of her often symmetrically constructed bronze sculptures. Based on her interest in African art, she created many mask-like objects. Despite the heavy and hard material, her works often appear light and supple. Ferlov’s art is an investigation into the visual and physical qualities of sculpture. The frequent use of the mask as a motif shows an affinity to non-European cultures, especially African cultures. The mask sculptures depict a series of hard to define transitional states, blurring the distinction between different categories such as man and animal, woman and man, nature and culture, and form and material.

Wonga Mancoba (born 1946) explores questions of personal identity, culture and spirituality in his paintings and represents values as equity, respect, empathy and solidarity. He consciously places abstract figures and letters in close proximity creating a mosaic-like effect, which indicates his African influences.

Wonga Mancoba lives and works in Paris.

The Mancoba family combines Nordic clarity with a colourful African palette. Galerie Mikael Andersen manages their estate and is pleased to continue the cultural dialogue with Moshekwa Langa as a representative of contemporary African art.

Alongside the Mancoba family, the exhibition WUTHERING HEIGHTS by the South African artist MOSHEKWA LANGA (born 1975) has been on view at Galerie Mikael Andersen since April 30th.

Moshekwa Langa lives and works in Amsterdam and Johannesburg.

He will have a solo exhibition in Kunsthalle Bern in 2011. He will also be represented with work at the Biennale Prospect 2 in November 2011 in New Orleans.