While the position of the artist Zwelidumile Geelbooi Mgxaji Mslaba Feni, generally known as Dumile Feni, within the South African art historical canon is firmly established, newly discovered and significant works created by the artist shortly before and during his self-imposed exile, from 1967 and onwards, continue to create excitement. These works are meaningful not only because they provide a window into the private world of the artist at a particular point in time, but they also serve as important visual documents of people’s struggles and triumphs, during the most turbulent times in the country’s history.  Feni found his subject matter in the life and events he observed around him, but he had the ability and vision to transform the particular and personal into the universal.

One such scarce drawing by Feni, plainly captioned Man Drinking has recently been revealed by Aspire Art for auction in Johannesburg on the 30th of November. The estimated value of the work is between R 800 000 – R1million. This consignment follows the recent sale of another drawing by the artist titled Mother and Baby (1969), for R850,000 also by Aspire in Cape Town to a South African private collector. 

Dumile Feni, Man Drinking, c.1967. Auction Estimate: R 800 000 – 1 000 000. Photo: Aspire Art

In 1967, Dumile Feni represented South Africa at the São Paolo Biennale in Brazil with five drawings. He also formed part of the South African pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal, Canada and presented solo exhibitions at the then Transvaal Academy and Madame Haenggi’s Gallery 101 in Johannesburg. Not only was this a prosperous time locally and internationally for Feni’s artistic career, but it also marked the start of a period of great personal turmoil in the artist’s life in the lead-up to his decision to leave a politically turbulent South Africa in 1968, to go into exile – first to London where he became close friends with Justice Albie Sachs who has also been in exile since 1966.

Between 1967 and 1968, while waiting to be granted a passport and visa, Feni stayed with artist and teacher Bill Ainslie and his wife Fieke in Johannesburg. During this time, while working alongside Ainslie in the studio, the artist produced several large-scale charcoal drawings. The emotionally charged Man Drinking dates from this period. Later, Ainslie would remark that Feni did some of his best work during the two years he stayed there. 

In this work, Feni ostensibly depicts, with expressive and suggestive marks, a man on a binge. The drawing is minimalist in composition and the scale and positioning of the figure on a large paper format emphasise the physical and emotional isolation of the figure. Curator Steven Sack famously commented that “the master of turbulent imagery was undoubtedly Dumile Feni, who was known as the Goya of the townships. His apocalyptic vision talks directly of personal experience, indicating the extent to which the political and the personal had become inextricably intertwined.” 

Considering the personal upheavals Feni endured during this time and the circumstances under which this drawing was produced; his forced displacement and eventual exile, while leaving behind his seven-month pregnant partner Florence Dvali, mother of recently deceased Miriam Feni, whom he never got to meet, this drawing could be viewed as an intimate, yet blunt self-reflection. Man Drinking also speaks universally of man’s struggles and his destructive methods for a temporary escape. Here, as with other drawings, Feni succeeded in imbuing his artwork with feelings of deep sympathy and humanity.

Works from this important period, like Man Drinking, are significant in Feni’s oeuvre, not only as markers of the artist’s stylistic development during this transitional time but also of their subjective and emotional content. These drawings are also very rare in South Africa since Feni took the majority of them with him to London when he left. 

In 1991, Dumile Feni died in New York, just as he was about to return to South Africa after more than two decades in exile. In 2003, he was posthumously awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in Gold for his exceptional achievements in the arts and his contribution to the struggle against apartheid.  DM/ML

By Marelize van Zyl

The auction Modern & Contemporary Art takes place on Wednesday, 30 November at 6pm. 

The fully illustrated auction catalogue is available online for download. 

Collectors and art lovers alike are invited to view the entire collection at Aspire Art Johannesburg, 32 Bolton Road, Parkwood from Friday 25 November. 

Buyers are invited to join the auction for in-room bidding or make use of telephone or Aspire’s real-time online bidding platforms. 

For more information, visit www.aspireart.net or contact  +27 10 109 7989