​Contemporary South African Art

Nkoana, Matsemela Isaac

Born in Lady Selborne, a township west of Tshwane (Pretoria), where fellow artist Maapola also went to school.  Like many young boys of his age, he made clay figures of animals and people. Encouraged by his uncle who sculpted in clay, Nkoana also carved wooden figures.  In the 1950s, the family moved to Hartebeespoort dam.  It was here that he met the well-known painter Alexis Preller, who recognized the boy's talent.  Nkoana's teacher at school, Thomas Ramokgopa, encouraged him to make pencil drawings.

The family was again forced to move from Wallmansthal to Go-Rankuwa where he began to make sculptures using the wood form marula trees.  In the mid 1960s, he met another hopeful artist, Lubisi, and they worked together with Enos Makhubedu, who had already made a name for himself.  All three of them were involved with The Arts for All Centre.

Nkoana also learnt the woodcut technique and exhibited his woodblock prints at the Association of Arts in Pretoria in the late 1960s.  He was invited to exhibit in Rome and won a bronze medal for his art at the Second Treiennial exhibition in Soa Paolo, Brazil. Nkoana, together with a number or artist friends, established the first art centre in Go-Rankuwa to assist young artists, but the centre closed after the Soweto uprisings in 1976 when some artists went into exhile.

It was the artist Raymond Andrews, well-known for his fine woodcuts, who helped Nkoana master this medium.  Most of Nkoana's woodcut prints are in black and white.  They depict everyday life and sometimes refer to African traditions.  The balanced compositions and different textures Nkoana carved in the wood made his work popular.  He was included in many group exhibitions and his work can be seen in many private collections

Ref:  Walking Tall, Without Fear - 24 South African Artists from the Struggle Era by Ifa Lethu & Dirkie Offringa