Exhibition History
Exhibition History
On the world's stage
From the Centre Pompidou to the British Museum, the National Museum of Women in the Arts to the Iziko South African National Gallery — a record of solo and group exhibitions, residencies, and landmark retrospectives.
Select
2025
Group Exhibition
FEMMES, curated by Pharrell Williams
Galerie Perrotin — Paris, France
20 March – 19 April 2025
A group exhibition curated by Pharrell Williams at Galerie Perrotin, Paris, celebrating Black womanhood through the work of 39 artists — including Dr Esther Mahlangu, Carrie Mae Weems, Betye Saar, Zanele Muholi, and Mickalene Thomas.
2024
Group Exhibition
Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere (60th Venice Biennale)
La Biennale di Venezia — Central Pavilion, Giardini — Venice, Italy
20 April – 24 November 2024
Dr Esther Mahlangu was selected for the 60th International Art Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia, 'Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere', curated by Adriano Pedrosa. Her 1990 painting 'Untitled' featured in the Nucleo Storico: Abstractions at the Central Pavilion, Giardini — a historic first for the artist at the world's most prestigious biennale.
2024
– 2026
Group Exhibition
Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
Brooklyn Museum (touring) — New York, USA
2024 – 2026 (touring)
A landmark touring group exhibition of more than 130 works from the Dean Collection of musicians Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) and Alicia Keys, featuring Dr Esther Mahlangu's 'Ndebele Abstract' (2017) among 36 Black artists from Africa, Europe, the United States, and the Caribbean.
2024
– 2025
Retrospective
Then I Knew I Was Good at Painting: Esther Mahlangu, A Retrospective
Iziko South African National Gallery & Wits Art Museum (touring) — Cape Town & Johannesburg, South Africa
18 Feb 2024 – 17 Apr 2025 (touring)
In February 2024, the landmark retrospective 'Then I Knew I Was Good at Painting: Esther Mahlangu, A Retrospective' opened at the Iziko South African National Gallery, honouring Dr Mahlangu's extraordinary eight-decade career.
2023
Solo Exhibition
Esther Mahlangu — Solo Exhibition
Almine Rech — London, UK
2023
A solo exhibition with Almine Rech in London, extending Dr Mahlangu's relationship with the international contemporary gallery.
2023
Solo Exhibition
Esther Mahlangu — Solo Exhibition
Enrico Navarra Gallery (in association with Almine Rech) — Paris, France
2023
A solo exhibition at the Enrico Navarra Gallery in Paris, presented in association with Almine Rech.
2023
Solo Exhibition
The Breath of Calligraphy
Galerie 75 Faubourg (Enrico Navarra & 75 Faubourg) — Paris, France
2023
Curated by Ruzy Rusike at Galerie 75 Faubourg, Paris, this exhibition showcased a selection of Esther Mahlangu's acrylics on canvas created from 2010 to 2022, organized in collaboration with Almine Rech.
2023
Solo Exhibition
Where Two Rivers Meet
Almine Rech — London, United Kingdom
2023
Esther Mahlangu's first solo exhibition at Almine Rech London, displaying a wide range of her paintings alongside her bright, bold ceramics.
2020
Solo Exhibition
Esther Mahlangu 85
The Melrose Gallery — Johannesburg, South Africa
11 Nov – 20 Dec 2020
Dr Esther Mahlangu's largest solo exhibition to date, celebrating her 85th birthday on 11 November 2020. Curated by Ruzy Rusike, it brought together a rare, wide body of works in one space — one of only a handful of solo exhibitions held in South Africa over her seven-decade career.
2020
Solo Exhibition
Disrupting Patterns
The Melrose Gallery — Johannesburg, South Africa
13 Feb – 31 Mar 2020
A solo exhibition showcasing several of Dr Mahlangu's latest works — geometric, modern, and abstract in nature, speaking to the evolution of her practice.
2020
Art Fair
Abstractions of a Culture: Towards a Retrospective
Investec Cape Town Art Fair — Cape Town, South Africa
14 – 16 Feb 2020
The Melrose Gallery presented Dr Esther Mahlangu in the Past/Modern Section, curated by Ruzy Rusike.
2019
Solo Exhibition
Timeless
Oliewenhuis Art Museum — Bloemfontein, South Africa
2019
A solo exhibition at the Oliewenhuis Art Museum in Bloemfontein, presenting Dr Mahlangu's enduring practice across decades.
2019
Solo Exhibition
Sacred Geometry: Between Matter & Spirit
Oliewenhuis Art Museum — Bloemfontein, South Africa
2019
A touring solo exhibition presented by The Melrose Gallery, tracing the evolution of Dr Mahlangu's practice between matter and spirit.
2016
– 2017
Group Exhibition
South Africa: The Art of a Nation
British Museum — London, United Kingdom
Oct 2016 – Feb 2017
Her BMW Art Car was featured in this landmark exhibition exploring South Africa's national artistic heritage.
2015
Solo Exhibition
Esther Mahlangu 80
UCT Irma Stern Museum — Cape Town, South Africa
11 Nov – 2 Dec 2015
On 11 November 2015, internationally renowned artist Esther Mahlangu celebrated her 80th birthday with a solo exhibition at the UCT Irma Stern Museum.
2006
Group Exhibition
100% African — The Jean Pigozzi Contemporary African Art Collection
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao — Bilbao, Spain
2006
Dr Mahlangu's work was included in '100% African', a major exhibition drawn from the Jean Pigozzi Contemporary African Art Collection at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
1998
Solo Exhibition
Esther Mahlangu
Musée National des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie — Paris, France
1998
Solo exhibition at the Musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie in Paris, cementing her place in the European institutional landscape.
1997
Solo Exhibition
Return to the National Museum of Women in the Arts
National Museum of Women in the Arts — Washington, D.C., USA
1997
Dr Mahlangu returned to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. to paint a second mural, deepening the institution's engagement with Ndebele mural traditions.
1994
Solo Exhibition
Esther Mahlangu, South African Muralist: The BMW Art Car and Related Works
National Museum of Women in the Arts — Washington, D.C., USA
15 Sep – 13 Nov 1994
Her first solo exhibition, marking her first journey to the United States. She created a mural at the museum to mark the opening, assisted by her son Elias and American muralist Rachel Cross.
1989
Group Exhibition
Les Magiciens de la Terre
Centre Pompidou & Grande Halle de la Villette — Paris, France
18 May – 14 August 1989
The landmark exhibition that brought Mahlangu to international attention. A full-scale replica of her house was constructed, which she painted before an audience of thousands.
Exhibition Enquiries
For museum loans, exhibition proposals, and institutional enquiries, please contact The Melrose Gallery as Dr Mahlangu's official global representative.
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