About The Artist

Born in 1945 in Pretoria, David Mothabeng Phoshoko has traveled and exhibited extensively. With the forced removals in 1959, he and his family resettled in the town of De Wildt, and would eventually come to reside in Ga-Rankua in 1962.

In the 1970s, Phoshoko and other artists began trading works with diplomats staying in the country. This patronage was fundamental to establishing Phoshoko and his fellow artists. His first solo exhibition was held in 1976, at the Nedbank Centre in Pretoria, and in 1978 he exhibited in West Germany. In the 1980's he exhibited abroad in Germany as well as at the 1995 Biennale.

He has worked closely with Nedbank and he has his collections housed at the offices of the H.S.R.C. and INISA. He has done commissions for Medunsa Hospital and the Bloemfontein branch of the NG-kerk.

Phoshoko's vibrant work with strong traditional and communal themes are a pleasure to view. When his own home township came under the homeland government of Bophuthatswana, he began spearheading a drive to start and sustain art and craft centers in the area. He and other black artists were committed to exposing the works of black struggles artists who were their contemporaries. He has very strong views regarding ethnic culture and that it will always be his primary influence.