Artist puts the ease back into black portraiture

Playing pool is more than just a weekly way to unwind for artist Stephen Langa — it also features prominently in his exhibition titled Inceptions of Black Serenity, which opens this weekend at David Krut Projects in Johannesburg.

Last year in May, Langa’s dad came to visit him from Limpopo. It was his old man’s first visit to Johannesburg in 10 years and also his birthday, so Langa took him to play pool at his regular haunt in Maboneng, at the Curiosity Backpackers Hotel.

That’s when Langa decided to include people playing pool in his work as it reminded him of growing up in Mokopane in Limpopo and also beyond.

“Pool … it speaks about gathering, you know, a black cultural experience where people gather together, they talk stories around, there’s humanity, especially in the township,” he says, “so it’s just explaining those township experiences, because I also grew up where my dad used to take me to those taverns when I was a kid.

“I would stay there with them playing pool with his friends.”

We are having a coffee at the Blue House, as the David Krut Gallery in Parkwood is dubbed and the 29-year-old Langa is explaining his passion for snooker.

For Langa, pool serves as a powerful metaphor within black culture, embodying perseverance, community spirit and the breaking down of racial barriers. 

His work is inspired by the African American artist Ernie Barnes, who created a pool series back in the 1970s, Langa says.

“I think he’s the only American artist that created that and I think I’m the only South African who also created this.”

Langa’s pieces delve into real-life situations featuring numerous elements of South African iconography such as the local tavern, snooker games and a sense of style seen in the shoes and hats worn by his figures.

Langa highlights the sartorial styles as historical markers of identity and status. In black culture, these elements often symbolise personal expression, cultural heritage, and social standing.

“There is a certain black pride. We just never had the opportunities to portray such intimate stories.”

While walking around Keyes Art Mile earlier this year, David Krut spied Langa’s work on display at BKhz Gallery. He invited Langa to work at the Printing Workshop in Maboneng, which resulted in this upcoming solo exhibition.

“I felt really appreciated when David contacted me — that he believes in my craft,” says Langa.

His work records life, being and history, inserting a celebration of ease into the canon of black portraiture. 

His pieces are intimate, unposed and non-performative, capturing the artist’s personal experience. The images simply are what they are — they illustrate the sensitivities, the joys, the quiet, the personal and the communal. 

Langa enhances this with a sensitive use of light and colour.

“I enjoy using yellow and brown,” he tells me as we look at the works being prepared for the exhibition. “Brown is the colour I use the most. It’s nature, it’s part of history, it’s part of my identity as a black person also.”

Above all other qualities, Langa’s work captures the essence of just being.

We are looking at a self-portrait taken in the studio. “It was on a rainy day, so just having my glass of wine, just thinking and just embracing the journey of being an artist, you know.”