WATCH: South African artist Nelson Makamo is gracing the latest cover of TIME magazine.
REVEALING the cover on their “Optimism” issue on Thursday, TIME magazine displayed a breathtaking portrait by Limpopoborn artist, Makamo, with the caption:
“Art is worthy of our interrogation and is in fact an antidote for our times,” writes @ava, guest-editor of @time’s second special issue devoted to #optimism.
“In the issue, we celebrate and suggest ways that one can find inspiration in our present moment through the work of artists who carve a path for us all.
“Whether a filmmaker or a photographer, an author or an actress, a poet or a painter, these pages are filled with people who use art as a weapon for dynamic optimism.”
The 35-year-old is from Modimolle and he is now based in Joburg as a full-time artist.
Born with an artistic aptitude, Makamo honed his craft at Artist Proof Studios in Johannesburg where he studied printmaking for three years.
Makamo’s work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions in South Africa, France, Italy, America, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
Speaking to DJ Fresh on Metro FM’s on Friday, Makamo said as an artist he “needed to restore the image of an African child”.
Makamo’s work is part of the art collections of fashion mogul Giorgio Armani, musician Annie Lennox, Telkom, and Hanzehof Zutphense KunstCollectis.