Both Mgudlandlu and Laubser grew up in rural settings, in the Eastern and Western Cape respectively, and both experienced a very religious upbringing. Both artists’ families and wider communities derided their artistic inclinations and the early works and exhibitions of both were heavily criticised. Mgudlandlu’s works were considered too innocent, naïve, and even escapist, while Laubser’s paintings were deemed too modern, initially, and later, not modern enough.
Catalogue
Gladys Mgudlandlu
Birds over a Field
Maggie Laubser
Woman Stamping Mealies
About
Maggie Laubser
South African
1886 – 1973
Maggie Laubser was born on the farm Bloubommetjieskloof, near Malmesbury, in the wheat fields of the Western Cape. The formative impressions of her youth – farm life, the inhabitants
of the farm, nature, flowers and animals, bathed in the ever- changing light – informed her painting throughout her life. She went to Europe in 1913 and visited an artists’ colony at Laren in Holland and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. She came into close contact with German Expressionism in Berlin and simplified her images by stripping them of detail, intensified her colours and contrasts, and retained only the essential symbolic forms of her personal vision and interpretation.
In 1924 she returned permanently to South Africa where initially her art received harsh criticism but over time her considerable achievements were acknowledged. From 1947 she lived at her home Altyd Lig at the Strand, and continued to paint until her death in 1973.
Gladys Mgudlandlu
South African
1925 – 1979
Trained in the traditional Fingo and Xhosa mural painting traditions by her grandmother, Gladys Mgudlandlu was largely otherwise self-taught although she was mentored by fellow artists Katrine Harries and Marjorie Wallace at times. She responded to Maggie Laubser’s work and made a point of visiting the older artist’s exhibitions in the Cape. Mgudlandlu often painted birds, especially those species found in the Eastern Cape, and called herself ‘uNontaka’, the ‘bird lady’. Another favourite subject was township scenes of the Cape Flats. She worked as a nurse and as a teacher in and around Cape Town before taking up painting seriously from 1957 onwards and after that exhibited regularly in the Cape and, in 1964, in Johannesburg.
She sometimes used several viewpoints in one work, a practice possibly stemming from Xhosa mysticism where folktales typically present multiple views of an issue. A retrospective exhibition of her work toured South Africa in 2002.
Press Release
Gladys Mgudlandlu and Maggie Laubser lead Strauss & Co 2019 diverse presentation at the 2020 RMB Turbine Art Fair
Time-honoured customs may have been upended by a global pandemic, but Strauss & Co is once again participating in the annual RMB Turbine Art Fair with a vigorous programme of contributions to this year’s virtual edition. These contributions include a talk by Strauss & Co chairperson Frank Kilbourn and two-person exhibition devoted to Gladys Mgudlandlu and Maggie Laubser.
Time-honoured customs may have been upended by a global pandemic, but Strauss & Co is once again participating in the annual RMB Turbine Art Fair with a vigorous programme of contributions to this year’s virtual edition. These contributions include a talk by Strauss & Co chairperson Frank Kilbourn and two-person exhibition devoted to Gladys Mgudlandlu and Maggie Laubser.
As in previous years, Strauss & Co will utilise this spirited art fair to showcase highlights from its forthcoming online-only auction of modern, post-war and contemporary art, decorative arts, jewellery and fine wine (27 August – 7 September).
Videos
Strauss & Co Exhibitions
Strauss & Co is committed to giving back to the art community and fostering visual literacy. Exhibitions help grow the art market for the featured artists, thereby expanding the art ecosystem.
