Fumani Maluleke — Exhibition Biography (UAE Debut)

Fumani Walter Maluleke (b. 1991, Limpopo, South Africa) is a contemporary artist celebrated for his distinctive practice of painting on traditional Tsonga grass mats (xitheve).

This unique medium, rooted in his personal history and cultural heritage, has positioned him as one of South Africa’s most compelling emerging voices.

Raised in the rural village of Thomo, Giyani, Fumani’s artistic journey began in childhood and later developed through formal training at Artist Proof Studio and Tshwane North TVET College, where he also taught art.

His signature use of woven grass mats emerged from a chance encounter with the material and became deeply symbolic after learning he was born on a grass mat a revelation that shaped his artistic identity.

Fumani’s work offers sensitive, poetic reflections on rural South African life: landscapes, communal scenes, childhood memories, and Tsonga cultural motifs.

The grass mat serves as both canvas and metaphor a symbol of home, resilience, and the overlooked material culture of his community.

His practice has gained international attention, including a major milestone as the only Black artist among 100 exhibitors at Art Central Hong Kong 2025.

He has presented solo exhibitions such as “Tsalwa: The Materiality of Stories” (UNISA Art Gallery, 2024) and “Underneath the African Sky” (CIRCA Gallery Johannesburg, 2024), with additional features at Turbine Art Fair, Everard Read Gallery, and other contemporary art spaces.

Today, Fumani Maluleke stands at the forefront of a new generation of African artists, transforming humble materials into powerful narratives of identity, memory, and place.