Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi

While Nkosi is best known as a painter, her practice spans multiple mediums including film, installation and performance. In her paintings, clean, geometric blocks depict scenes of people and architecture in the artists’ signature colour palette of calming pastel tones. Nkosi uses oil on canvas, carefully layering her compositions over time in a process she likens to meditation.

In contrast to the tranquil aesthetic of her work, Nkosi’s practice confronts complex and often chaotic notions of identity, race, power, memory, migration, and athleticism. Gymnasts in particular are an important symbol throughout the work, with nearly all of the figures being women of colour who are modelled on recording-breaking athletes like Simone Biles. This symbolic gesture, paired with the artists’ sharp vision for colour, line, and balance, creates a compelling form of art that is about the act of painting itself, and the social issues that it represents.