Andrew Ntshabele

Andrew Ntshabele, born in 1986, lives and works in the inner city of Johannesburg. His art is informed by his environment as he observes the world around him with critical eyes. His mixed-media paintings – a fusion of collage and acrylic – depict what he sees and lives in every day.

Andrew was born in the small rural town of Moruleng in the North West Province of South Africa and moved with his family to the city at a young age. He studied Art at the University of Johannesburg and was awarded his BTech degree, majoring in painting, in 2013.

“I have lived in Johannesburg since the age of four and have witnessed its physical, socio-economic, and political changes post-Apartheid. I encounter and interact daily with the happenings of the inner city.”

Andrew’s works investigate the social predicament of the city to understand the root causes of the current inner-city decay. “My work is a social commentary on the socio-economic challenges that the majority of Black South Africans face in post-colonial South Africa. My paintings incorporate more than one medium, they are a fusion of collage and acrylic paint, and are produced from photographs I take on my daily travels around the inner city and its outskirts” the artist says.

Andrew has experienced a lot of challenges that COVID-19 brought and lockdowns as well as restrictions didn’t make life easy. “After the COVID-19 pandemic hit the entire world, I felt that people need some art and some sort of joy in this challenging time. My new and current artworks depict a more joyful feel, I have been exploring working in large and medium-scale works primarily, the material I have been using is contemporary newspapers as well as vintage newspapers with great headlines. Besides this, I have been working with and on old letters and postcards as well as musical notes which gave me a lot of joy. My aim in my current work is to highlight the past as well as the present. I believe and know that the old world as we know it, is the thing of the past...we are entering a digital age..now more than ever, is important to preserve history and document it. I am fascinated and excited as I do this through and with my art.”
This sums up the philosophy of this unique artist.

Andrew Ntshabele is part of The Travelling Art Gallery since its inception and has shown his works at all the exhibitions in Europe.
One of the artists whose art travels to art lovers around the world. In Cape Town, Andrew Ntshabele is represented and shown at The Artists Gallery.