Leeto: A Sam Nhlengethwa Print Retrospective

Join us for the exhibition opening of Leeto: A Sam Nhlengethwa Print Retrospective, a survey of 40 years of renowned artist Sam Nhlengethwa's print oeuvre.

Leeto is a seTswana/seSotho word for ‘journey’ and, as the word suggests, the exhibition explores the ongoing artistic footsteps of renowned artist Sam Nhlengethwa. This survey of his print work from 1978 to 2018, highlights Nhlengethwa’s use of printmaking as a means for self-expression, collaborations and artistic and intellectual engagements. He also sees the work as a site for conversations with the broader public.

The underpinning theme of the exhibition is jazz, which can be traced back to the early influence of the underground township jazz community on the artist; Nhlengethwa’s brother was a jazz musician and he began collecting jazz records at the age of 17. Leeto: A Sam Nhlengethwa Print Retrospective draws links between the fluid nature of jazz improvisation and Nhlengethwa’s study of an ever-changing community. Asking the question “What else can Nhlengethwa’s images offer us?” the exhibition presents a collection of Nhlengethwa’s print work to be interrogated, his artistic evolution to be mapped out and his personal aesthetics to be interpreted.

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