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SABELA MAHLANGU is a Master Printmaker. His mastery in the process of multi-colour colour etching benefitted artists in his native South Africa and now in the UK.
​Mahlangu has recently completed new mixed-media paintings in his unique style, shown below after the etchings.
Sabela Mahlangu has worked assiduously on improving his highly complex and time-consuming multi-colour plate etching technique, where each plate is drawn, etched, coloured and printed separately before being meticulously fused to produce the finished piece.
His prints have been included in exhibitions in Germany, Israel and USA as well as throughout South Africa. He was the first black South African to be invited to lecture at Natal Technikon, now Durban University, and he has worked with many leading lights of the new wave of African printmakers whose work now forms an important part of South Africa's cultural heritage.
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Included in the works below are a number of one-off mixed media paintings that can also be purchased.
Etchings
Limited edition prints can be purchased. Email your enquiries to art@motjuste.co.uk
Mixed media paintings
These one-off paintings can be purchased. Email your enquiries to art@motjuste.co.uk
About Sabela Mahlangu, Master Printmaker
In April 2024, Mahlangu launched his latest drypoint etchings. These limited edition prints were first shown at The Africa Centre in London in July 2024, at The Melrose Gallery in Johannesburg in August 2024 and then in October 2024 at the Stratford Library in East London.
Demonstrating the process of printing of Couple I, Mahlangu says: "Each plate is created engrave in what’s known as dry-needle technique. By printing each of the plates in its intended colour – in this case red, yellow and blue – on the same sheet of paper, a colour image emerges. To make sure that each colour is positioned in its exact location, the artists traces the image of the first plate and rubs this onto the next colour plate, before engraving this.
"For each print, the paper and plates must be positioned in exactly the same place. A number of test prints, where some are lighter or darker, establishes the right amount of inking. In ‘Couple I’ the green tints are combining image of the yellow and blue plates. The final result is recorded, and a further number of prints are produced, each then signed and numbered by the artist. In ‘Couple I’, the artist added aquatinting, a process of adding watercolour inks to the final print."
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