Goniwe - 1993

125 X 125 X 9 cm
Oil,enamel paint and mixed mediums on board

Hamba Kahle - 1993

125.4 X 155 X 11 cm
Oil, wood, metal, plastic and lether on board

Kakebeen - 1993

125.2 X 120.3 X 10.5 cm
Wood, bone, metal, lether, oil paint and newspaper on board

Oliver Tambo - 1993

126.5 X 147.8 X 9.5 cm
Oil, wood, metal, plastic, fabric, horn, leather and newspaper on board

Tribute to Biko - 1992

125.7 X 125.2 X 6.7 cm
Oil, enamel paint, wood, metal, plastic, lether, bone and stone on board

Willie Bester

Born 1956, Montagu, Cape Town, South Africa

Lives and works in Kuilsriver, Cape Town, South Africa

Willie Bester uses the leftovers of the society he depicts in order to retrace the political history of South Africa. Bester was ten years old when the Group Areas Act of the apartheid government forced his family to leave their farm and move to a homeland. Like an archaeologist, Bester reconstructs the fabric of this history to reveal the hidden faces of the South African township. His works are vivid collages, juxtapositions of odds and ends, of rubbish found in the townships: shoes, bones, tin cans, newspaper clippings, pages of books, scrap metal. The artist has stated: “People have built up a resistance to anything that addresses the psyche of mankind or people or themselves. I believe that we must protest against that which is wrong. There is no form of escape; remaining apolitical is a luxury that South Africans simply cannot afford.”

In his best known works like A Tribute to Steve Biko (1992) and Kakebeen (1993), the reminder of violence is resurrected by the patchwork of materials, acid colours, and photographs of the daily life that bring back the reality of the events described. He does not recycle trash to give it another dimension, but to integrate elements into his works that summon up the corrupt and violent world of a divided society.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2009

Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg

2009

Investec Private Bank & US Wordfest Artist

2009

Sasol Art Gallery, Stellenbosch

2008

Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town

2007

Montagu Museum, Montagu, South Africa

2005

34 LONG, Cape Town

2003

Willie Bester

Studio d’Arte Raffaelli

Trente – Italy

2003

"Willie Bester: 15 Years"

Association for Visual Arts

Cape Town - South Africa

2002

Willie Bester

SASOL Museum

Stellenbosch - South Africa

2001

Willie Bester: Who let the dogs out?

Goodman Gallery

Johannesburg - South Africa

2001

Willie Bester

Contemporary Art Center.

Bruxelles, Belgium.

2000

Willie Bester

Arti Assortite.

Torino, Italy.

1999

Willie Bester

Art Studio Raffaelli.

Trento, Italy.

1998

Willie Bester.

Dakar, Senegal.

1994

Willie Bester

Goodman Gallery.

Johannesburg, South Africa.

1993

Invited Artist/Solo workshop

South-African National Gallery.

Cape Town, South Africa.

1991

Willie Bester

Galley International.

Cape Town, South Africa.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2009

34 LONG Fine Art, Cape Town

2007

Rocca di Castagnoli, Biennale Internazionale d'Art, Italy

2006

Mori Art Museum, Tokyo

2005

Arts of Africa

Grimaldi Forum

Monaco - France

2005

African Art Now : Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection

Museum of Fine Art Houston

Houston - USA

2004 – 2006 (travelling exhibition)

Africa Screams – Das Böse in Kino, Kunst und Kult

The Evil and the Uncanny in Cinema and Art

* 24 July 2004 – 7 Nov 2004

Iwalewa-Haus

Afrikazentrum der Universität Bayreuth

Bayreuth – Germany

* 05/11/04 – 05/02/05

Kunsthalle Wien

Vienna – Austria

* 03/04/05 – 12/06/05

Kunstverein Aalen

Aalen - Germany

* 08/07/05 – 15/01/06

Museum der Weltkulturen Frankfurt

Frankfurt – Germany

2004 (travelling exhibition)

Africa Remix

Art contemporain d’un continent

* 24 July 2004 – 7 Nov 2004

Museum Kunst Palast

Düsseldorf - Germany

* 10 Feb 2005 – 17 April 2005

Hayward Gallery

London – England

* 15 May 2005 – 20 Aug 2005

Centre Georges Pompidou

Paris – France

* Feb – May 2006

Mori Art Museum

Tokyo

2004

Tremor, art sud-africain contemporain

Palais des Beaux-Arts

Charleroi - Belgium

2003

Suidoos Festival

Peninsula Technikon

Cape Town - South Africa

2002

Ubuntu

Gallery 3A

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

1999

" Rewind " Fast Foward. ZA : New work from South-Africa.

Van Reekum Museum. Apeldoorn, Netherlands.

1998

" The Edge of Awarness " WHO Geneva, Switzerland.

New-York, United-States.

Sao Paulo, Brasil.

1998

"Dak'Art"

Contemporary African Art Biennale.

Dakar, Senegal.

1996

"Colours, Contemporary Art From South-Africa".

Haus Der Kulturen Der Welt

Berlin, Germany.

1996

"Tradition in Transition"

October Gallery.

London, Great-Britain.

1995

"Heimat Project, Africus".

Johannesburg 1st Biennale.

1995

"On the road"

Exhibition by 10 Southern African artists. Part Africa 95° Festival.

Delfina Studio Trust.

London, Great-Britain.

1995

"Dialogues of Peace".

50th anniversary of the United Nations.

Palace of Nations.

Geneva, Switzerland.

1994

Modern Art Center.

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.

1994

Ludwig Forum.

Aachen, Germany.

1994

Havana 5th Biennale

Havana, Cuba.

1994

"Incroci Sel sud"

Stedekijk Museum.

Amsterdam, Holland.

Sala 1.

Roma, Italy.

1993

"Incroci Sel sud"

An Exhibition of Works by 27 Contemporary South African Artists

Venice biennal, Italy.

1992-1991

"Zabalaza Festival"

Museum of Mordern Art -Oxford.

London

S.A National Gallery, Cape Town.

1991

"South-Africa"

A National Touring Exhibition.

Cape Town Triennale, South Africa.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

2005

African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection

Exhibition catalogue. Published by Merrell.

2004

Africa Remix

Exhibition catalogue. Published by Hatje Cantz.

2004

Africa Screams: Das Böse, in Kino, Kunst und Kult

Exhibition catalogue by Tobias Wendl. Published by Peter Hammer.

2001

A History of Art in Africa

Visonà, Monica Blackmun et al. New York, Prentice Hall, Inc and Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

2001

Willie Bester

Publication : Contemporary Art Center, Bruxelles.

Exhibition catalogue.

Bilingual Texts: French, English, 29 pages.

2001

Tribal Soul, Metropolitan Body.

Arte africana contemporanea. A cura di Sarenco...

L'artière edizionitalia. Bologne, Italie. Exhibition catalogue.

Bilingual text: Italian, English.

2000

Willie Bester by Sandra Klopper.

Arti Assortite, Torino.

Text in Italian, 46 pages.

1999

Willie Bester : opere recenti, text by Alberto FIZ.

Studio d'Arte Raffaeli, Trento.

Bilingual texts: Italian, English, 62 pages.

1996

Contemporary Art of Africa.

Willie Bester, "The story of a migrant worker" by Gavin Younge P.155-158.

Text in English.

Edited by André Magnin & Jacques Soulillou.

Published by Harry N. Abraams.

1996

Colours

Kunst Aus Sud Afrika

Exhibition catalogue, text in German p.74-78.

Haus Der Kulturen Der Welt.

1994

Image of Metal : post-war sculptures and assemblages in South Africa by Elisabeth Rankin.

Witwatersrand University Press, Johannesburg.

Text in English p.89-92.

1993

Affinities. Contemporary South African Art.

Incroci Del Sud. Biennale di Venezia.

Exhibition catalogue, bilingual text in Italian, English.