Blending resin, spray paint, collage and found objects into vibrant paintings and sculptures, South African contemporary artist Simphiwe Ndzube has created an entirely new body of work—and an imaginative medium for exploring timely themes of power, conflict and the search for freedom—for his first solo exhibition at a U.S. museum. On view at the Denver Art Museum June 13 through October 10, 2021, “Oracles of the Pink Universe” explores the history of post-apartheid South Africa from the fantastical perspective of magical realism. “Transcending traditional boundaries of medium, style and space, Ndzube’s work invites audiences into an exhibition experience that hovers on the edge of the supernatural and the real, somewhere in the space where history and imagination merge,” says Laura F. Almeida, the museum’s curatorial fellow of modern and contemporary art. Most surprising are compositions that shift from 2D to 3D, occasionally leaving the wall altogether—almost as if by magic.
