Back Home the People are Festive over his Imprisonment

Provenance

The Engen Collection.

Notes

Ranko Pudi, born in 1950 in Makapanstad, Pretoria, grew up in poverty and only started school at age 11 after years of herding goats. Struggling academically, he dropped out and briefly joined a gang before his family’s forced removal to Ga-Rankuwa Township changed his course. There, at 15, a teacher encouraged him to try wood carving, sparking his artistic journey. Though he returned to school at 21, he soon left again, turning instead to fellow artists for guidance. With support from artist Motshile Nthodi, Pudi held his first solo exhibition, establishing himself as an African expressionist known for abstract wood carvings that reflect human struggle and resilience.