Here we have a very rare large linocut print by listed South African artist Chipa Amos Zondi entitled "Oh! Happy Day." When I say rare, I mean only 10 exist. This one is #9 of 10. I can't find another one anywhere. The woodcut print is signed and titled in pencil on the lower border.
Now to the visual (saved the best for last). You treasure the moments when you come across an artwork that hits you like a ton of bricks, or kicks you straight in the face. Here we have one. The scene screams of life with major movement, all thanks to the amazing execution of the artist. I can't get over the hands and large shoes, perfectly mixed in the scene. And the dancin'. And the dog mixed in the brush. So good.
Here is
another Chipa Zondi linocut print from a 2014 auction at Bernardi's Auctioneer house in Pretoria South Africa.
Here is a passage describing "The Drunkerds" print by Zondi, courtesy of the book Rorke's Drift: Empowering Prints 1962 - 1982:
"A rather different way of portraying space is found in Chipa Amos Zondi's The Drunkerds, where it is the virtuoso foreshortening of the figures that suggests recession as they sprawl on the river banks with their cartons of sorghum beer, the drunken incapacity of the group emphasized by the clumsiness of their large feet."
Here's a biography of Chipa Amos Zondi courtesy of Rorke's Drift:
Born 1957. Zondi's family lived in Pretoria where he attended school completing Standard 8. He began making art in 1976 and enrolled the following year at Rorke's Drift, receiving his certificate in 1978. Although classmates from Rorke's Drift state that his surname is Zondi, it is sometimes recorded as Chipa. It is under this name that he was listed at the Pretoria Art Museum, where his work was exhibited in Artwork of the Month at Pretoria Art Museum in 1981, and also when one of his carvings was included in Images of Wood at the Johannesburg Art Gallery in 1988.
Here are details about the exhibitions and books featuring Zondi:
CAPE TOWN (South Africa). South African National Gallery [SANG].
Rorke's Drift: Empowering Prints 1962-1982.
July 7-September 7, 2003.
242 pp., illus., year-by-year listing of students enrolled. Important retrospective of one of the most highly influential sources of training for black artists in South Africa in the years when tertiary institutions were closed to black students. Includes 120 artworks representing a wide range of Rorke's Drift printmakers. [Traveled to: Johannesburg Art Gallery, July 17-September 27, 2004, and other venues.]
JOHANNESBURG (South Africa). Johannesburg Art Gallery.
Images of Wood: aspects of the history of sculpture in 20th-century South Africa.
1989.
188 pp. exhib. cat., illus. Group exhibition. Included: Ernest Mancoba, Chipa Amos Zondi, et al.
The framed linocut measures just over 28" tall and 21" wide. The exposed artwork measures 19 1/2" tall by 14" wide. The linocut looks to be in very good shape. There is some slight crinkles which is normal with the linocut method. The vintage matting has some discoloration spots (see pics). The frame also has some wear. The piece is open, not covered with glass or plastic. The artwork has not been viewed outside of the framing. Please see all pics as they are part of the description.
I ship FedEx to street addresses in the continental USA only (no PO boxes please). Free shipping on this rare and magnificent South African artwork.
Happy Day indeed. Unreal.
