„Omohle Ntsudu Omnyama“ is Robert Pruitt’s first solo exhibition in South Africa. This new body of work, produced while in residency at Gallery MOMO in Johannesburg consists of a series of large portrait drawings of both Americans and South Africans, a number of small collage studies, and an animation.

The exhibitions’s title is a rough translation of the American political slogan „Black is Beautiful“ into Xhosa. This slogan has been a common feature within Robert’s practice but does not translate neatly into Xhosa, a traditional language which has little contact for such a statement. This quandary seems to test the boundaries of the artist’s long held notions of diasporic solidarities and serves as a departure point for the work in the show. Many of the artworks attempt to resolve a contemporary and resistant sense of global black identity with more traditional and historical identity which may preclude the need for such resistance.

Opening 19th March 2015 at 18:30 

www.gallerymomo.com