Winston Churchill Masakeng SAOLI
Untitled (A)
1970
conte and oil wash on paper
97 x 59 cm
BIOGRAPHY
Winston Churchill Masakeng Saoli was born in Acornhoek, Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga Province). He attended the Arthurseat Lower Primary School, where his father, the Reverend Russell Saoli, was headmaster. When his family moved to Soweto in 1963, Saoli enrolled at the Morris Isaacson School in Moroka.
Inspired by the drawings of his older brother Chamberlain and his grandfather’s stone and wood carvings, he began attending classes at the Jubilee Art Centre, where artists such as Ephraim Ngatane, Ezrom Legae, Cecil Skotnes and Bill Hart encouraged his work. A year later, Saoli had his first solo exhibition. Held at Johannesburg’s Goodman Gallery, it sold out, and was soon followed by the appearance of his work at the Contemporary African Art exhibition at the Camden Arts Centre in London.
In 1971, Saoli exhibited with Leonard Matsoso and Cyprian Shilakoe at Preston in the United Kingdom. He was one of four artists selected to design for the Graphic Club of South Africa, and was asked to design the cover of the album Peace by jazz musician Dollar Brand. In June 1972, Rand Daily Mail art writer HE Winder called Saoli’s fifth Goodman Gallery show ‘one of the most important exhibitions by an African artist’, and commented on his use of religious symbolism and literary style.
Shortly after, in late 1972, Saoli was arrested for his alleged involvement in secret ANC meetings at the University of the Witwatersrand and held in solitary confinement at John Vorster Square for nine months without trial. While in prison, he continued creating art, using his finger nails, tea leaves and egg shells to draw on the prison walls. When released, he struggled to readjust, suffering from alcoholism and periodic homelessness.
Even so, Saoli achieved success with exhibitions of his paintings and sculptures in South Africa and abroad, and completed a diploma course in commercial art from 1973 to 1974. The course pushed his style towards brightly coloured, multi-layered abstract works, typically in mixed media.
In 1993, Saoli was diagnosed with cancer. That same year, he began a collaboration with Peter Sibeko at the Soweto Art Gallery. During this period, he worked prolifically, practically living at the gallery. Saoli continued producing work until his death on the night of 20 May 1995.
In addition to his artworks in the SABC Art Collection, Saoli’s works can be found at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, the William Humphreys Art Gallery, the De Beers Centenary Art Gallery, the UNISA Art Gallery, the University of Fort Hare, and University of the Witwatersrand.