Samson Mnisi

Rainmaker

15.02.25 - 17.04.25
Cape Town

Vela Projects is proud to present Rainmaker, an exhibition that celebrates the legacy of the late South African abstract artist Samson Mnisi. Rainmaker marks the first occasion that Mnisi’s work has been presented in a solo exhibition since his death in 2022. 

Mnisi was born in 1971 in Lesotho. His father, being Swati, considered his en caul birth (when a baby is born still inside the amniotic sac) a sign of a spiritual gift. Mnisi spent the majority of his childhood in Soweto, while occasionally he would visit his relatives in Mpumalanga, many of whom were sangomas, or traditional healers. This tension between the harsh reality of township life in the era of Apartheid and the more traditional, spiritually-inflected rhythms of the Swazi culture, one that followed Mnisi throughout his life and career.

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IMAGES © VELA PROJECTS
Mia Thom
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Biography

Samson Mnisi ( b. 1971, Lesotho - 2022, Johannesburg) held his first solo exhibition in Market Theatre Gallery in 1996. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Mnisi’s work was featured in major shows in the USA, including a solo exhibition at the Chashama Theatre in Times Square, a collaborative exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporic Arts (MoCADA) in Fort Greene, and the seminal group exhibition Liberated Voices: Contemporary Art from South Africa at the Museum for African Art in East Harlem. Throughout this time, Mnisi presented several exhibitions in collaboration with the American artist Cannon Hersey through the CrossPathCulture initiative. He also collaborated with the Johannesburg-based artists Clifford Charles and Wayne Barker as well as the Ethiopian artist Gera Mawi Mazgabu. Later in life, Mnisi held various solo exhibitions in Johannesburg, including White City (University of Johannesburg) and Man of the Hour (Asisebenze Art Atelier). It was the day after the opening of the latter exhibition, in 2022, that Mnisi suffered a heart attack in his studio. He passed away at the age of 51.

Biography

Samson Mnisi ( b. 1971, Lesotho - 2022, Johannesburg) held his first solo exhibition in Market Theatre Gallery in 1996. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Mnisi’s work was featured in major shows in the USA, including a solo exhibition at the Chashama Theatre in Times Square, a collaborative exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporic Arts (MoCADA) in Fort Greene, and the seminal group exhibition Liberated Voices: Contemporary Art from South Africa at the Museum for African Art in East Harlem. Throughout this time, Mnisi presented several exhibitions in collaboration with the American artist Cannon Hersey through the CrossPathCulture initiative. He also collaborated with the Johannesburg-based artists Clifford Charles and Wayne Barker as well as the Ethiopian artist Gera Mawi Mazgabu. Later in life, Mnisi held various solo exhibitions in Johannesburg, including White City (University of Johannesburg) and Man of the Hour (Asisebenze Art Atelier). It was the day after the opening of the latter exhibition, in 2022, that Mnisi suffered a heart attack in his studio. He passed away at the age of 51.