Notes

'Sithole’s method of sensed realism combined with expressive distortions, his concentration of surface manipulation and the play of light and shadow over the figures, emerge and merge with an iconography of the human being, the human condition and animals.’ ¹

The elegant and graceful lines of the tall, streamlined and beautifully carved Don't Sing if you Cannot Dance (LS8203) with its outstretched arms and legs exemplifies Sithole’s mastery of his medium and his remarkable ability to be guided by the shape of the wood and to coax from it such a beautifully formed sculpture. In contrast to the flowing lines and silky finish of the honey-coloured indigenous wood the face of the figure is more robustly carved, creating pronounced shadows.

¹ Marilyn Martin (1993). Lucas Sithole: Our Art 4 = Ons Kuns 4. Pretoria: Pretoria Foundation for Education Science and Technology. Pages 178–185.

Provenance

Gallery 21, Johannesburg
Die Kunskamer, Cape Town

Exhibited

Gallery 21, Johannesburg - 1982 cat. X05; 1983 cat. X04
The Haenggi Foundation Inc., Johannesburg - 1982
Gallery 21, Johannesburg ("The Nude in 21") - June 1983, cat. 21
Gallery 21, Johannesburg ("Selection '85") - 1985

Literature

Gallery 21, Johannesburg - Invitation Brochure "Selected Sculptures 1980-1983 by Lucas Sithole", illustrated.