Notes

Khotso Motsoeneng works predominantly in painting and printmaking whilst trained in photography. Motsoeneng's practice seeks out an abstract formal language which brings together his observation of nature and intuitive perspectives on the relationship between different colours and emotions. He is particularly inspired by woodgrain as a trace of natural processes and looks to plant life as a metaphor for human development. The artist's brightly painted canvases are also sites of emotional exploration wherein colour and emotion are intertwined.

Motsoeneng was born in the Free State and is currently a resident artist at August House (End Street Studios) in Johannesburg. H obtained a National Diploma in Photography from the Ishwane University of Technology (2017). In the same year he was a Top 100 finalist in the Thami Myele Culture and Resistance Fine Art Awards. In 2019 Motsoeneng was one of four finalists in the Cassirer Welz Award and a finalist in the 2022 Emerging Painting Invitational Prize. Motsoeneng has taken part in several group exhibitions with the latest being Emergence on Forms Gallery, The Problem with Contemporary Art Is... at August House, both in 2021, and Life is a Broken Umbrella at the AVA Gallery, Cape Town (2022).

At Nando’s, we believe that creativity can change lives, which is why we invest in Southern African art and have been doing so since 2001. We know PERi-PERi chicken, and we’ve partnered with Spier Arts Trust because they know art. One of the art initiatives that Spier Arts Trust runs is Creative Block – colourful, contrasting and ever-evolving. The artworks created in this programme are known as Creative Blocks and many are available for sale to the public, presenting an affordable way to begin investing in contemporary Southern African art. Spier Arts Trust selects artists to join the programme. They are invited to interpret blocks of specific sizes in any way they choose, promoting fresh creative exploration among even the most established styles. Artists can use any medium and focus on any subject. Artists submit their artworks at regular intervals to Spier Arts Trust for feedback. The best blocks are curated and purchased. Some of these become part of the Nando’s collection.

Every Block is unique and signed by the artist. While each Creative Block is an artwork on its own, we love seeing the impact when we display many blocks together in our restaurants, creating a larger group work of art. As Spier Arts Trust calls it, “a rich and striking expression of South African art”. There are wonderful examples of Creative Block installations at Nando’s Westfield Stratford and Nando’s Birm Broad Street in the UK. In South Africa, some of our faves include Nando’s Central Kitchen in Gauteng, Nando’s Florida Road in KwaZulu-Natal, and Nando’s Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. Some of the artists who take part in Creative Block go on to join Nando’s artist development programmes, such as Nando’s Creative Exchange. “I feel that the Creative Block is a trustworthy, flexible vehicle for elemental artists yearning for self-expression, participation and mutual aid”, says Ricky Dyaloyi, who first became involved with Nando’s through the programme and has since also taken part in the Nando’s Artists Society and Chicken Run programmes (other programmes within the Nando’s Art Initiative). Today, Ricky is represented by Everard Read in South Africa and in London.