THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Meara Sharma
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| Samson’s recent work plays on ceremony and spirituality while also subverting stereotypical African imagery. Stephanie Veldman |
In the South African artist
Cinga Samson’s “Ivory” series of paintings — five lush, ethereal, figurative canvases made in 2018 — a young black man in jeans and an ornate gold-colored jacket stands in the middle of the 4-by-3 foot compositions, reveling amid tropical ferns, twisting vines and bird-of-paradise plants against a moody backdrop of rocks and sea. In each painting, the setting is surreal but the figure’s stance is coolly elegant; his eyes, pupil-less white orbs, suggest an inner reverie. Seemingly unconcerned with the viewer, he projects a strong presence, at once inviting and enigmatic, joyful and antagonistic. This is a world that belongs, unequivocally, to him. [
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| The artist Cinga Samson in his studio in Cape Town.CStephanie Veldman |
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| Samson’s recent work plays on ceremony and spirituality while also subverting stereotypical African imagery. Stephanie Veldman |
