Willie Bester nasce nel 1956 a Montagu, in Sud Africa. Diventa artista a tempo pieno nel 1991, dopo aver frequentato dei corsi d’arte alla Community Art Cape Town. Egli è riconosciuto come uno degli artisti attivisti più significativi del Sud Africa: il suo lavoro è caratterizzato dagli sviluppi drammatici a livello sociale e politico nel Sud Africa post-apartheid, affrontando questioni scomode quali criminalità, povertà, corruzione e responsabilità del governo. Bester grazie ai suoi dipinti, assemblaggi e sculture, incorporati a materiale di riciclo, punta proprio ad alimentare consapevolezza e discussioni in merito Bester vive e lavora a Kuilsrivier, un quartiere di Città del Capo.
Willie Bester was born in 1956 Montagu, Cape Town. In 1991 he attended art classes at the Community Art in Cape Town. He is regarded as one of South Africa’s most significant activist artists. His work is characterized by dramatic social and political developments in post-apartheid South Africa, discussing uncomfortable issues such as crime, poverty, corruption and government responsibility. Thanks to his paintings, assemblages and sculptures combined with recycled material, Bester comments the political injustice and the human rights issues. Bester currently works and lives in Kuilsrivier, a district of Cape Town.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017
“Willie Bester’s social engineering”, The Melrose Gallery,Johannesburg, South Africa
“Transformation”, Fynarts Festival, Space Gallery, Hermanus, South Africa
2016
“Comprehensive”, Art B, Bellville Sout Africa
2015
“Sculptures”, Imibala Trust Gallery, Somerset West, South Africa
2014
“Community”, Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
“Backyard”. Bernard Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2011
“Hourglass Black. Africa In The Collection of Caam”, Casa Africa, Las Palmas di Gran Canaria
2009
Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg
Sasol Art Gallery, Stellenbosch
Investec Private Bank & US Wordfest Artist, 2009
2008
Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town
2007
Montagu Museum
2005
Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town
2003
Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town
2002
SASOL Museum, Stellenbosch
2001
Centre D’Art Contemporain, Brussels, Belgium. Grahamstown featured Artist. Goodman Gallery Johannesburg
2000
Arte Assertite, Torino
1999
“Opere Recenti”, Studio d’Arte Raffaelli, Trento, Italy Archivio Della Scuola Romana, Introdotto da Achille Bonito Oliva, Roma, Italy
1998
Emporian, Dakar
1994
Goodman Gallery Johannesburg
1993
South African Association of Art, Cape Town & Goodman Gallery Johannesburg
1992
Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, Milpark Port Elizabeth
1991
Gallery International, Cape Town
1982
Forum, Cavendish Square, Cape Town
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 “GrowBox Art Project”, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town, South Africa 2015 “Portraits and Still Lifes”, Greenfield Sacks Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2014 “Cruce de colecciones”, Centro Atlantico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Las Palmas di Gran Canaria 2012 “Forma Sculture”, Galleria L’ariete, Bologna 2011 “Implemented Environments”, Brundyn+Gonsalves, Città del Capo 2010 19th Annual Salon, Rose Korber Art, Città del Capo “100 Prozent Afriks”, Dany Keller Galerie, Monaco di Baviera “Divisions”, Stellenbosch Modern and Contemporary (SMAC), Stellenbosch “Divisions: Aspects of South African Art 1948-2010”, De Wet Centre, Stellenbosch “Streghts & Convinctions”, Nobel Peace Center, Oslo2009
34 LONG FINE ART, Cape Town
2007
Rocca di Castagnoli, Biennale Internazionale d’Arte, Italy
2006
Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, June – September 2006
2005
Hayward Gallery, London, 10 February – 17 April 2005
Centre Pompidou, Paris, 15 May – 20 August 2005
Studio d’Arte Raffaelli, Trento, Italy
2004
Dublin Exhibition
10 Years – Klein Karoo Arts Festival, Outshoorn, South Africa
Milk Can Project, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town
“Africa Remix – Düsseldorf”, Museum Kunst Palast: 24 July – 7 November 2004
2003
Suidoos Festival, Peninsula Technikon
“Coexistence – Contemporary Cultural Production in South African” Rose Art Museum, USA
2002
“Passport to South Africa”, Centro Culturale “Trevi”, Bolzano, Italy
Sculpture Biennale, Spier Estate, Stellenbosch
National Art Gallery of Malaysia
King George VI Art Gallery, Port Elizabeth
2001
Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, New York
“Project Conflux”, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town
2000
Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, New York
Project Conflux, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town
1999
Art Salon, Bay Hotel, Cape Town
“Rewind/Fast Forward”, Van Reekum Museum of Modern Art, Appeldoorn, Netherlands
Claiming Art Reclaiming Space, National Museum of African Art, Washington DC.
Studio d’Arte Raffaelli, Trento, Italy
“Artery”, Joao Ferreira Fine Art, Cape Town
1998
Biennale de l’Art Contemporain, Dakar, Senegal
“The Edge of Awareness”, World Health Organization, Geneve, Switzerland, New York, Soa Paulo, New Delhi
“Still our Land” with Zwelethu Mthethwa, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg
“Project Conflux”, Tendances Mikado Gallery, Luxembourg
“Project Conflux”, Hotel de Ville, Dijon, France
Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town
1997
Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di San Marino, San Marino
“Lift Off”, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg
“South Africa”, Kohn Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
“Not Quite a Xmas Show”, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg
Art Salon, The Bay Hotel, Caps Bay
1996
Chicago Art Fair, Chicago, USA
Basel Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
Simunye (we are one) exhibition, Adelson Gallery, New York
Tradition in Tradition, October Gallery, London
Contemporary Art from South Africa, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin
Contemporary S.A. Art 85 – 95, South African National Gallery, Cape Town
South African Art to Atlanta, City Gallery East, Atlanta, USA
“OTRO PAIS : ESCALAS AFRICANAS”, Palau de la Virreina, Barcelona
“The other journey (Africa and the Diaspora)”, Kunsthalle, Krems, Austria
“Seven Artists from South Africa”, Boumani Gallery, San Francisco
1995
“DIALOGUES OF PEACE”, Exhibition for the UN’s 50th Anniversary, Palaise Des Nations, Geneva
Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London
Africa ’95 Festival, London
Art Salon at The Bay, Camps Bay, Cape
De Kleur van Verandering Exhibition, The Hague, Netherlands
1994
Galerie De L’Esplanade, La Defence, Paris
“UN ART CONTEMPORIAN D’AFRIQUE DU SUD”, Galerie De Ballens, Ballens, Switzerland
“HEIMAT PROJECT”, Grahamstown Art Festival
Stallion Gallery, Kentucky, USA
5th Havana Biennale, Cuba
Art Salon at The Bay, Camps Bay, Cape
Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany
CENTRO DE ARTE MODERNO, Las Palmas
1993 – 1994
“INCROCI DEL SUD”, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
1993
“INCROCI DEL SUD: An exhibition of works by 27 contemporary South African Artists”, Biennale di Venezia
“INCROCI DEL SUD”, Roma, Italy
1992
Primart Gallery, Cape Town
1991 – 1992
ZABALAZA FESTIVAL, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford (This exhibition traveled to London and other British centres and was subsequently shown in South Africa at the S.A. National Gallery, Cape Town)
1991
Operation Hunger Exhibition, Cape Town
Dorp Street Gallery, Stellenbosch
Gallery International, Cape Town
Cape Town Triennial Exhibition, Touring Exhibition
1990
Gallery International, Cape Town
Institute for African Studies, University of Cape Town
Jacobs & Liknaitsky Gallery, Cape Town
1989
Baxter Gallery, Cape Town
AWARDS
2009
Johnny Walker artist award
2004
Order of the Disa, Members Class, Government of South Africa
2003
Honorary medal for promotion of Fine Arts: Suid Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns
1992
Prix De L’Aigle, 4th Grand Prix International D’Arts Plastiques de la Vlille de Nice, France
1991
Merit Prize : Cape Triennial
{tab=Biblio} CATALOGUES Monographs 2006 D. LEE, “Willie Bester – Art as a weapon”, Awareness Publishing Group 2001 Y. KONATE, “Willie Bester”, Bruxelles: Centre d’art contemporain Group exhibitions 2018 “9 New York”, Studio d’Arte Raffaelli, Trento 2008 H. PROUD, “Revisions + Expanding the narrative of South African Art, Stellenbosch Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery 2000 H. BOGATZKE, R. Brockmann, C. Ludszuweit, “Ondambo – African art forum”, Gamsberg Macmillan Publishers, pp. 30 – 49, pp. 174 – 177 1999 H. FRANK & M. D’AMATO, “Liberated voices”, Contemporary Art from South Africa, New York – London – Munich: The museum of african art, p. 27. S. KASFIR LITTLEFIELD, “Contemporary African Art”, London: Thames & Hudson, pp. 159 – 161 1996 S. WILLIAMSON & A. JAMAL, “Art in South Africa – the future present”, Claremont, South Africa: David Philip Publishers, pp. 134-139 A. MAGNIN & J. SOULILLOU, “Contemporary Art of Africa”, New York & London: Thames a Hudson, pp. 155 – 156, p. 158 1994 E. RANKIN, “Images of metal, post-war sculptures and assemblages in South Africa”, Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press, University of Witwatersrand Art Galleries, pp. 89 – 92 1993 E. BERMAN, “Painting in South Africa”, Halfway House, Transvaal: Southern Book Publishers, p. 363 {tab=Exhibitions} 20189 New York
08.02 – 30.05.2018
opening 08.02.2018 – 18:30
2009Artists from the rainbow nation
29.04 – 03.06.2009
opening 29.04.2009 – 10:00
Opere recenti
05.03 – 24.04.2009
opening 05.03.2009 – 18:30
{tab=Editions}
Willie Bester
Art as a Social Document 2003
