Nelson Makamo
| Artist Name: | Nelson Makamo |
| Nationality: | South African |
| Year of birth: | 1982 |
| Artist information: | Nelson Makamo is a contemporary South African artist, internationally acclaimed for his evocative portraits of children and depictions of urban life. Based in Johannesburg, he works primarily in charcoal and oil painting, while also experimenting with acrylic, watercolor, and printmaking. Trained at Artist Proof Studios, Makamo developed a bold, expressive mark-making technique that breaks from conventional academic rules. His practice challenges reductive stereotypes of African children by portraying them with dignity, strength, and joy. Through his portraits, Makamo presents a vision of childhood that emphasizes resilience, optimism, and the human spirit, countering narratives of vulnerability often imposed by the West. His work has been exhibited widely across South Africa, the United States, France, Italy, the Netherlands, England, and Scotland, and has entered prestigious private and public collections. In 2019, TIME magazine featured Makamo’s art on its cover, describing his practice as “the Art of Optimism.” Today, his portraits remain some of the most widely recognized works of contemporary South African art. Within the Constitutional Court Art Collection (CCAC), Makamo is represented by Song for Freedom(2007). This early portrait exemplifies the expressive draftsmanship for which he is renowned, and affirms the Court’s commitment to collecting works that uphold dignity, resilience, and hope. In the CCAC context, Makamo’s child portrait resonates with constitutional values by presenting youth as symbols of a democratic future. References
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