
Sofia Vellano Rubin
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Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist;
Sotheby's sale, 16 Oct 2018, lot 84;
A private collection.
The scarcity of information about Dumile Feni and his intensely evocative and obscure drawings have caused the artist to be viewed as something of an enigma. However, the pioneering role he played in foregrounding a unique form of figurative expressionism is indisputable. His drawings and sculptures are imbued with expressionist qualities which poignantly articulate the repressive social and economic conditions of his time.
Dumile attracted interest from the Grosvenor Gallery in London. In the summer of 1969 the gallery exhibited thirty-seven of his drawings. The show was well received. Richard Walker of the Arts Review wrote:
"Dumile, the African Negro artist, with delicate ink-line drawings of tribal life, achieves a balance between a detached, remarkable European formal expressionism and quiet depth, a product of intimate identification with his subject."
This pen and ink drawing is characteristic of Dumile's erotic work. The heavy lines delineating the Onanist's figure are reminiscent of African sculpture.