New York, N.Y. –  LatchKey Gallery is pleased to announce A Few Good Friends - Motho Fela, the first solo exhibition of South African artist Turiya Magadlela in the United States. On view from September 10 – October 23, 2021 at 323 Canal Street, NYC.

Substituting brushstrokes for the tugging and stretching of pantyhose, Magadlela’s artworks are abstract compositions rich in socio-political connotations. Inherent to this material are associations with skin tones and feminine eroticism, arousing a myriad of meanings; “fragility, transparency, beauty, pain, distortions and liberations of a woman…” recalls the artist.

Of the 11 paintings on view, Magadlela’s series titled Inequities, are compositions of fragile strength. Yes, it was definitely on twitter where I saw a mutilated vagina or It was twitter that I first saw a stitched vagina, depict varying shades of grey nylons stretched to the brink of destruction. Leading the eye upwards by the intimate seems of the nylons, Magadlela eloquently stitches together the hips with red thread, fusing an army of ethereal but fierce femmes.

The artist’s subject matters move between articulations of personal experiences of womanhood, motherhood, narratives from Black South African history, and themes of capitalism. Alluding to the feminine tradition of quilting, patchwork compositions in hot pinks and reds continue off the canvas in a cascade of vibrant colors generating visual velocity. Fittingly, the series, named, E. Broadway Boogie Woggie, plays with rhythm and movement similar to its namesake.


A Few Good Friends - Motho Fela

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