Senzeni Marasela (South Africa 1977-)
Madonna of Johannesburg

charcoal, acrylic and pastel on paper

Artwork date: 2025
Signature details: signed, dated and inscribed with the title bottom right
Exchange Rates*: USD 6 301 - 9 451
GBP 5 335 - 8 003
EURO 4 655 - 6 982

(1)

200 x 152 cm unframed

Provenance:

Private collection, Johannesburg.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Beginning in 2002 – over a period of more than 20 years – Senzeni Marasela has developed Theodorah as an evolving narrative centred on a woman who travels to Johannesburg in search of her husband, Gebane, and, in parallel, in search of herself. The city does not simply host her story; it actively shapes it. As the narrative unfolds, Theodorah’s search for Gebane gradually transforms into a deeper reckoning with her own identity, positioning Johannesburg as both physical landscape and psychological terrain.

In Madonna of Johannesburg (2025), Marasela extends Theodorah’s narrative through a powerful engagement with Marian iconography. In this series of works, she draws on the canonical poses of the Madonna, Mary, mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene, reimagining their gestures of lamentation, devotion, grief and exaltation through the figure of Theodorah.

Uplifted hands, bowed head, and outstretched arms echo the emotional register of Theodorah’s journey: hope, longing, despair and revelation. These gestures suggest lamentation for what is lost, endurance in waiting, and the quiet sanctification of everyday survival.

Through her interactions and moments of introspection, Theodora begins to uncover her true self. Each experience becomes a mirror, revealing her desires and fears in equal measure, leading her closer to self-awareness. Theodora’s ongoing story ultimately speaks to a universal quest for connection and purpose, reminding us that self-realisation is often forged at the heart of struggle.

COLLECTOR'S NOTE

• Local and international art fairs include Art Rotterdam, Investec Cape Town Art fair, Art Brussels (2024) and Untitled Miami (2023).

• In 2023 Marasela became the first recipient of the exciting new K21 Global Art Prize in Dusseldorf, Germany.

• A retrospective of Marasela’s work, Waiting for Gebane, marked the artist’s first museum exhibition and ran at the prestigious Zeitz MOCCA in Cape Town from 18 December 2020 to 2 May 2021.

• Notable local and international solo exhibitions include I write (stitch) what I like, Bode, Berlin (2024); New traditions: Louise McCagg & Senzeni Marasela, A.I.R. Gallery, New York, USA (2011); Oh my God you look like shit. Who let you out of the house looking like that?, Sternersen Museum, Oslo, Norway (2009); JONGA: Look at Me – Museum of Women, Dolls and Memories, Deveron Projects, Huntly, UK (2009)

• Notable local and international group exhibitions include Empowerment, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Denmark (2022); The Power of My Hands, Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, Paris, France (2021); Witness: Afro Perspectives from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection, El Espacio 23, Miami, USA (2020); Sous le fil, Les Abattoirs, Toulouse, France (2020); Alpha Crucis, Contemporary African Art, Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo, Norway (2020); Paris Photo, Grand Palais, Paris, France (2019); Yesterday is Today’s Memory, Espace Commines, Paris, France (2019); I am… Contemporary Women Artists of Africa, The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, USA (2019).

• The artist was included in the South African Pavilion at the 56^th Venice Biennale in 2015.

COLLECTIONS:

The artist is represented in numerous local and international collections, notably, the Newark Museum collection, Smithsonian Institution, USA; Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; Leridon Collection, Paris, Harry David collection, Athens and the Sindika Dokolo collection, Angola.