Artist Database

Phillemon Hlungwani was born in 1975 in Thomo Village in the Limpopo Province. He demonstrated a talent for art at school and went on to train at the Johannesburg Art Foundation before studying printmaking at Artist Proof Studio. Hlungwani later completed a teacher’s training course in art at the University of the Witwatersrand and returned to work at Artist Proof Studio. He also received an Ampersand Foundation Fellowship, which allowed him to undertake a study tour of printmaking studios throughout the United States. He is recognised for his prints and large-scale charcoal drawings depicting landscapes, figures, and scenes of daily life. His works celebrate his culture and community and are often titled with proverbs in Xitsonga (his first language).

Hlungwani has participated in several group and solo exhibitions throughout his career, especially with Everard Read in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and London. He has received awards such as the King Korn competition (2000 and 2001) and the SABC Radio Station Munghana Lonene FM Log Design Award (2003). His works are in many prestigious collections, including at Ellerman House in Cape Town, the University of Cape Town’s Irma Stern Museum, Bidvest, Nando’s, Nedbank, Standard Bank, and Unisa. Additionally, Hlungwani was commissioned to create murals for the Standard Bank Art Gallery and the former law firm Bell Dewar and Hall.