Robert Pruitt: Omohle Ntsudu Omnyama

„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