Esther Mahlangu and her son, Cheik Ledy, B.I. Kingelez and Romuald Hazoumè (1993) by Jean PigozziContemporary African Art Collection - The Jean Pigozzi Collection
On collecting contemporary African art
I knew nothing about contemporary African art. Then I met the collector Charles Saatchi who advised me to find something I really like and then accumulate certain artists in depth to build something interesting. About 35 years ago, I attended the Magiciens de la Terre exhibition in Paris, at the Pompidou Center, where I saw artwork by five or six contemporary African artists, including Esther’s. I said this is interesting, I want to collect that.
I was then referred to one of the curators of this show, André Magnin, whom I hired, and for about 23 years together we built, what I hope, is today the best and the largest collection of African contemporary African art.
Encounters with Esther Mahlangu
A few years later, in 2005, when Esther travelled to France to attend the exhibition dedicated to my collection at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, and work on a couple of commissioned pieces, I got a call from customs at the airport in Nice, saying there was a lady there with gold necklaces and a piece of paper with my phone number on it, but that there was a problem.
They said that she had about 300 chicken feathers in one of her bags and that she couldn't bring that into France. So I spoke with Esther on the phone who explained that she trusted European paints, but not European brushes and she was bringing her own. So I told customs and they let her through, and she painted this wonderful piece in Monaco, as well as a wall outside the museum.
A special commission
I then said, "Esther, come to my house. There's a room I would like you to paint”. So she came and painted the entrance of my house.
Esther Mahlangu Dorane entrance walls (2005) by Umgwalo by Esther Mahlango. Photograph by Jean Pigozzi.Contemporary African Art Collection - The Jean Pigozzi Collection
And then I said, “I have a little Volkswagen car. Can you paint that?” She said, yes, I can also paint that.
Mehari (2006) by Esther MahlanguContemporary African Art Collection - The Jean Pigozzi Collection
I know have quite a few artworks of hers, including a large number of paintings. The city of Cannes, in France, is dedicating a museum to my African collection which should open in 3 or 4 years. I hope Esther will be able to paint a mural for the building.
Mahlangu’s Inspiration
I only met Esther a few times in my life on the occasion of her travels to attend exhibitions in Europe and the US, and she's an incredibly warm and nice lady. When she was painting my house, she was singing in Ndebele. When I asked what she was thinking about, she said that she usually thinks about her grandchildren when she paints. So that inspired me.
On Mahlangu’s Legacy
I'm so interested in her work because obviously she didn't invent this kind of paint (umgwalo), but I think she's the master (of it). I think her legacy is incredibly important. And it's interesting because being a woman artist in Africa is not an easy thing, and she has managed to gain amazing fame in Africa and around the world.
I feel that her art is very understandable to everybody. It's incredibly colorful, happy, and when you look at her work, it brings you a big smile. That's very important because a lot of artists try to have some kind of difficult message, but I don't think that's what she's doing. I think that her message is a simple one, but it's a beautiful one. That's why I like her work so much.
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