Mustafa Maluka

Known for his provocative large-scale portraits, Mustafa Maluka’s art confronts the intersection of global politics and contemporary critical theory often in a theatrical manner of expression. His work is informed by his own experience of being forcefully displaced alongside his family during apartheid in South Africa. His now famous portraits are often painted with expressions of the subjects revealing universally deep truths around surviving, as he continuously explores such key themes as our collective emotions and human migration.
With aim to critically analyze global politics and contemporary culture, Mustafa Maluka’s paintings are often described as provocative portraits. Taking the experiences from his own past of growing up in Cape Flats, Mustafa Maluka utilizes his portraiture as commentary on the perception of immigrants and minorities, who have been routinely subjected to relocation and displacement on a large scale. Stripped of identity and origin, the subjects of his work are represented as racially ambiguous and transnational people.

Maluka has been awarded with the Tollman Award for the Visual Arts and has participated in residencies at Art Omi International, New York; Glenfiddich, Dufftown, Scotland; Thami Mnyele Foundation, Amsterdam; and at Robben Island Museum, Cape Town.

Some of his solo exhibits include Zidoun-Bossuyt Gallery, Luxembourg; Galerie Mikael Andersen, Copenhagen; Galerie Bertrand & Gruner, Art Dubai; Jack Tilton Gallery, New York; Michael Stevenson, Cape Town; Virtual Museum of Contemporary African Art; Galerie Tanya Rumpff, Haarlem, The Netherlands; and the 27th São Paulo Biennale in Brazil.

 His work is part of the collections of Kamel Lazaar Foundation, Tunisia; Sindika Dokolo Foundation, Angola; Burger Collection, Hong Kong; North Carolina Museum of Art, USA; and Pizzuti Collection, Miami, among others.