„As women, the clothes we wear are cultural markers of the many roles we perform, as mothers, sisters, partners, workers, family members, wives, and so on. We constantly have to reinvent ourselves in the everyday. In performing Theodorah, I wore the same red dress daily, and it frustrated people. They couldn't handle it as I moved from one space to the next.“
– Senzeni Marasela
Lives and works in Johannesburg, ZA
EDUCATION
1998
BA, Fine Arts, Wits School of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, ZA
SOLO & DUO EXHIBITIONS
2024
I write (stitch) what I like, Bode, Berlin, DE
2020
Waiting for Gebane, Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, ZA
2011
Sarah, Theodora and Senzeni in Johannesburg, Gallery AOP, Johannesburg, ZA
New traditions: Louise McCagg & Senzeni Marasela, A.I.R. Gallery, New York, NY, US
2010
Beyond Booty: Covering Sarah Baartman and Other Tales, Axis Gallery, West Orange, NJ, US
2009
Witness, Gallery AOP, Johannesburg, ZA
Oh my God you look like shit. Who let you out of the house looking like that?, Sternersen Museum, Oslo, NO
JONGA: Look at Me – Museum of Women, Dolls and Memories, Deveron Projects, Huntly, UK
2005
Theodorah I-III, Gallery AOP, Johannesburg, ZA
2004
Three Women, Three Voices, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
2002
Upstream, Public Art Project, Amsterdam, NL
2000
Fresh, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, ZA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
Empowerment, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, DE
2021
The Power of My Hands, Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, Paris, FR
2020
Witness: Afro Perspectives from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection, El Espacio 23, Miami, FL, US
Ubuntu – Five Rooms from the Harry David Collection, National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens, GR
Sous le fil, Les Abattoirs, Toulouse, FR
Alpha Crucis, Contemporary African Art, Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo, NO
2019
Paris Photo, Grand Palais, Paris, FR
Yesterday is Today’s Memory, Espace Commines, Paris, FR
2019
I am… Contemporary Women Artists of Africa, The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C., US
2018
Soft Power, Centre d'art Le Transpalette, Bourges, FR
Ravelled Threads, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, NY, US
2017
Africa. Raccontare un mondo, Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea, Milan, IT
2015
56th Johannesburg Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, Venice, IT
2016
KIN, HANGAR – Centro de Investigação Artística, Lisbon, PT
2014
Nomad Bodies, Royal Academy of Fine Art, Antwerp, BE
2013
Trans-Africa: Africa curating Africa, Absa Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
2012
Present Tense: Arts of Contemporary Africa, The Newark Museum of Art, Newark, NJ, US
2011
Impressions from South Africa, 1960 to Now, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, US
Darkroom: Photography and New Media in South Africa since 1950, Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, VA, US
2010
Translations: Art into Jewellery, Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
Dystopia, Jan Colle Galerij, Ghent, BE
2009
Beauty and Pleasure, Stenersen Museum, Oslo, NO
Unbounded: New Art for a New Century, The Newark Museum of Art, Newark, NJ, US
Developing Democracy: A New Focus on South African Photography, Kyle Kauffman Gallery, New York, NY, US
2008
Thami Mnyele & Medu Art Ensemble Retrospective Exhibition, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
Black Womanwood: Icons, Images, and Ideologies of the African Body, Hood Museum of Art, San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA, US
2007
Jive Soweto, Hector Pieterson Museum, Soweto, ZA
2006
Ranjith Kally, Senzeni Marasela, Ruth Seopedi Motau, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
Erase Me from Who I Am, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, SP
2005
Click, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
2004
Ten Voices, Ten Years of Democracy, Public art project of the city of Rome, IT
Public Private, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, NZ
2003
The Body and the Archive, Artists Space, New York, NY, US
2002
Aids in Africa, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, US
2001
Sample E.C., Gertrude Posel Gallery, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, ZA
Open House Exhibition, Umeå Arts Campus, Umea, SE
2000
Margins in the Mainstream, Namibian National Gallery, Windhoek, NA
Translation/Seduction/Displacement: Post-Conceptual and Photographic Work. South African Artists, WhiteBox, New York, NY, US
Porträt Afrika, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, DE
Art Region End of Africa, Listafen Reykjavikur Kjarvalsstadir, Reykjavík, IS
1999
Market Photo Workshop Exhibition, Rembrandt van Rijn Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
Postcards From South Africa, Axis Gallery, New York, NY, US
Truth Veils, Getrude Posel Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
1998
Family Ties, Sandton Civic Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
Democracy's Images, Bildmuseet, Umea, SE
Women's Voices, Mercedes-Benz Museum, Stuttgart, DE
1997
Not Quite a Christmas Exhibition, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
Martienseen Prize Exhibition, Gertrude Posel Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
RESIDENCIES, GRANTS, AWARDS
2023
K21 Global Art Award 2023, Düsseldorf, DE
Still Art Residency, Betrays, Johannesburg, ZA
2009
Devon Arts Residency, Devon, UK
2008
Ampersand Foundation & Axis Gallery Residency, New York, NY, US
2002
Upstream Grant, Amsterdam, NL
Thami Mnyele Scholarship, Amsterdam, NL
Absa L’Atelier Art Competition, Johannesburg, ZA
2001
Kokkola Fine Arts Academy, Vasa, FI
Visual Cultures in Dialogue Exchange Programme, Umea University, Umea, SE
2000
Artist in Residence, South African National Gallery, Cape Town, ZA
COLLECTIONS
Museum of Modern Art, (MOMA), New York, NY, US
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, US
The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ, US
South African National Gallery, Cape Town, ZA
Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, US
Rand Merchant Bank, London, UK
BHP Billington Collection, Johannesburg, ZA
Museum of Modern Art, (MOMA), New York, NY, US
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, US
The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ, US
South African National Gallery, Cape Town, ZA
Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, US
Rand Merchant Bank, London, UK
BHP Billington Collection, Johannesburg, ZA
K21 Museum, Düsseldorf, DE
Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
Kadist Collection, Paris, FR
Smithsonian Museum of African Art, Washington DC, US
University of South Africa, Pretoria, ZA
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, ZA
Dokolo Collection, Luanda, AO
University of Cape Town, Cape Town, ZA