Work of art presented to Iwalewahaus

Mbongeni Buthelezi's work 'Untitled', created in 2019, extends the collection of the Iwalewahaus

Sigrid Horsch-Albert. Foto: Iwalewahaus Bayreuth · 13.09.2020

The South African artist Mbongeni Buthelezi, who was in Bayreuth in February 2020, has attracted a lot of attention worldwide for his spectacular style of painting. He processes collected plastic waste. By heating foil with a heat gun, he glues the soft material together to create each new work. At first sight, the works look like oil paintings. Among other things, he creates portraits, but also huge works on outer walls, which captivate the viewer with their intensity of colour, and their characteristic style of artistic design. The plastic waste used also contains an environmental message: Not enough is being done about plastic waste – all around the world.

Photo (from left): Katharina Fink, Dieter Dichmann (Treasurer Freundeskreis), Marie-Anne Kohl (Chair Freundeskreis), Ulf Vierke, Sigrid Horsch-Albert, Angelika Beck (Deputy Chair Freundeskreis), Thorsten Parchent (Secretary Freundeskreis)
©Iwalewahaus, Universität Bayreuth

Mbongeni Buthelezi's time as artist in residence at the Iwalewahaus was made possible by the forward-looking cooperation of the Freundeskreis (Friends of the Iwalewahaus), the Microplastics Collaborative Research Centre of the University of Bayreuth, the "Africa Multiple” Cluster of Excellence of the University of Bayreuth, and especially by the mediation of Hartmut Frank. The Freundeskreis was particularly pleased that, together with Mbongeni Buthelezi, a much-acclaimed pop-up gallery was able to be set up in a vacant space on Sternplatz. The connection between the artist, the Freundeskreis, the University, and the people of Bayreuth has definitely borne fruit.

Marie-Anne Kohl
Chair of Freundeskreis Iwalewahaus e.V.

I can’t imagine a more successful way of networking and cooperating in such varied directions - Mbongeni’s time as artist in residence showed in exemplary fashion how art and science can work together, and at the same time, thanks to this wonderful artist and mediator, we have been able to build bridges to the local community and especially to Bayreuth’s school students.

Ulf Vierke
Director Iwalewahaus

This expansion of the collection for the Iwalewahaus was made possible by Freundeskreis Iwalewahaus e. V., which purchased the work and incorporated it into the Horst and Helga Simper collection. The Horst and Helga Simper Collection was established in honour of Horst Simper. Horst Simper was treasurer of Freundeskreis Iwalewahaus e.V. and passed away in December 2017. The collection is a sub-category of the Iwalewahaus Collection, into which works are added that are purchased by Freundeskreis and donated to the Iwalewahaus. The Simper Collection was especially established for this purpose at the request of the Freundeskreis.

Sigrid Horsch-Albert (M.A.)Collection Curator; Deputy Director of the Iwalewahaus

Iwalewahaus
Faculty of Languages & Literatures
University of Bayreuth
Wölfelstrasse 2 / Iwalewahaus
D-95444 Bayreuth
Phone: +49 (0)921 55-45 10
E-mail: sigrid.horsch-albert@uni-bayreuth.de
www.iwalewahaus.uni-bayreuth.de