Sthenjwa Luthuli

Overview

Sthenjwa (b.1991, Botha’s Hill, South Africa) attended Thornwood Secondary School. In 2010, he joined the B.A.T. Centre visual art classes which familiarised him with the art industry and encouraged him to further explore and develop his creativity. In his early age, he was challenged in school by the education system, which stirred up fear and anxiety in him. Sthenjwa therefore found peace in art after discovering that his fear was as a result of synthesised mindsets and doctrines that percolated his family and surroundings through generations. He pursued his passion for art by enrolling in Velobala’s Saturday Art Classes, an initiative hosted by the African Art Centre at the Durban University of Technology that offers art education to young creative artists. Attaining distinction, he was selected to further take part in the Velobala Mentorship Program in 2012, which exposed Sthenjwa to a more formal and extensive art knowledge. He was mentored by Themba Shibase; artist and fine lecturer at the Department of Fine Art at the Durban University of Technology. He is inspired by a number of artists including, Ai Weiwei, Wangechi Mutu and Yinka Shonibare. Since 2011 he has participated in a number of group exhibitions in KwaZulu Natal and Johannesburg. In 2012 he participated in various exhibitions in Bremen, Germany, and completed a mural project in the Concordia Tunnel, which runs along the international collection of the Leiterin der städtischen Galerie in Bremen Germany. Sthenjwa, in 2017, was selected to take part in a residency for 3 months in Germany, where he was awarded second prize after participating in the Sasol New Signature Competition. He was also selected to take part in the National Art Bank at Oliewenhuis Museum in Bloemfontein. He went on to exhibit at the Latitudes Art Fair in 2019, where his works sold out. In the same project he was selected to collaborate with McLaren, where he wraps one of their design cars with his patterns.

Download Artist's CV

Exhibitions

Biography

Sthenjwa Luthuli pursued his passion for art by enrolling in Velobala’s Saturday Art Classes, an initiative hosted by the African Art Centre at the Durban University of Technology that offers art education to young creative artists. Attaining distinction, he was selected to further take part in the Velobala Mentorship Program in 2012, which exposed Sthenjwa to a more formal and extensive art knowledge. He was mentored by Themba Shibase; artist and fine lecturer at the Department of Fine Art at the Durban University of Technology. He is inspired by a number of artists including, Ai Weiwei, Wangechi Mutu and Yinka Shonibare.

Since 2011 he has participated in a number of group exhibitions in KwaZulu Natal and Johannesburg. In 2012 he participated in various exhibitions in Bremen, Germany, and completed a mural project in the Concordia Tunnel, which runs along the international collection of the Leiterin der städtischen Galerie in Bremen Germany. Sthenjwa, in 2017, was selected to take part in a residency for 3 months in Germany, where he was awarded second prize after participating in the Sasol New Signature Competition. He was also selected to take part in the National Art Bank at Oliewenhuis Museum in Bloemfontein. He went on to exhibit at the Latitudes Art Fair in 2019, where his works sold out. In the same project he was selected to collaborate with McLaren, where he wraps one of their design cars with his patterns.

Download Artist's CV

News