Brightly colored corpse flowers with pink stems and roots
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Simphiwe Ndzube, The Bloom of the Corpse Flower, 2020. Acrylic paint on canvas and mixed media; 94-1/2 x 79 in. Denver Art Museum: Funds from the Contemporary Collectors’ Circle with additional support from Vicki and Kent Logan, Catherine Dews Edwards and Philip Edwards, Craig Ponzio, Ellen and Morris Susman, and Bryon Adinoff and Trish Holland, 2021.37. © Simphiwe Ndzube. Courtesy of the Artist and Nicodim Gallery. Photo by Marten Elder.

Simphiwe Ndzube

Oracles of the Pink Universe
June 13, 2021 – October 10, 2021

Simphiwe Ndzube, The Bloom of the Corpse Flower, 2020. Acrylic paint on canvas and mixed media; 94-1/2 x 79 in. Denver Art Museum: Funds from the Contemporary Collectors’ Circle with additional support from Vicki and Kent Logan, Catherine Dews Edwards and Philip Edwards, Craig Ponzio, Ellen and Morris Susman, and Bryon Adinoff and Trish Holland, 2021.37. © Simphiwe Ndzube. Courtesy of the Artist and Nicodim Gallery. Photo by Marten Elder.

In the first US solo museum exhibition for South African contemporary artist Simphiwe Ndzube, Oracles of the Pink Universe presents eight new works exploring the interplay between magical realism and history.

The exhibition integrates themes related to power, conflict, and the search for freedom through a Pink Universe, an imaginative world that combines fantasy with the history of Ndzube’s post-apartheid South Africa. A genre first conceptualized in Latin America, magical realism infuses reality with elements of the fantastical.

Oracles of the Pink Universe is an expansion of Ndzube's visual search that explores a mythological place, drawing from his personal experiences, imagination, and art history. He will present exclusive works that depart from Hieronymus Bosch's painting The Garden of Earthly Delights (1490–1500), depicting a theatrical space where heaven, earth and hell intersect. As visitors step into this alternate universe, they will be confronted with artworks that explore themes of conflict, tension, resilience, strength and a fight for human rights.

Oracles of the Pink Universe will include an entirely new body of work comprised of vibrant paintings and sculptures, some of which ingeniously transform from two dimensional to three dimensional works of art. Ndzube’s mythical world explores boundaries, whether ontological, political, or geographical, and embraces the coexistence of seemingly irreconcilable realities, spaces and systems that confront the viewer’s perception of what is possible.

Share your visit online using #PinkUniverseatDAM
Hamilton Building, Level 2
Included in general admission
Colorful corpse flowers with pink stems and roots

Simphiwe Ndzube, The Bloom of the Corpse Flower, 2020. Acrylic paint on canvas and mixed media; 95 x 79 in. Denver Art Museum: Funds from the Contemporary Collectors’ Circle with additional support from Vicki and Kent Logan, Catherine Dews Edwards and Philip Edwards, Craig Ponzio, Ellen and Morris Susman, and Bryon Adinoff and Trish Holland, 2021.37. © Simphiwe Ndzube. Courtesy of the artist and Nicodim Gallery. Photo by Marten Elder.

Three Black men and women strike pose in front of a fantastical background filled with bright colors and shapes

Simphiwe Ndzube, Assertion of Will, 2020. Mixed media on canvas; 79 x 124 in. (200.6 x 315 cm). © Simphiwe Ndzube. Image courtesy of the artist and Nicodim Gallery. Photo by Marten Elder.

Mixed media painting with a three dimensional wheel and fantastical animal trunk protruding out of it

Simphiwe Ndzube, Iqhawe, 2020. Mixed media on canvas; 76.5 x 112 in. (194.3 x 284.5 cm). © Simphiwe Ndzube. Image courtesy of the artist and Nicodim Gallery. Photo by Marten Elder.

Three dimensional installation of a figure with the head and wings of a bird with the legs and feet of a human

Simphiwe Ndzube, Nguni Landing, 2021. Metal, polyurethane resins, epoxy sculpt, wire, padding, acrylic paint, synthetic fabrics and hair, found clothes, thread; 51 x 32 x 115 in. (129.5 x 81.3 x 292.1 cm). © Simphiwe Ndzube. Image courtesy of the artist and Nicodim Gallery. Photo by Marten Elder.

A Black figure sitting in a fantastical countryside as the sun fades in the sky

Simphiwe Ndzube, Whispering Landscape, 2020. Mixed media on canvas; 74 x 60 in. (188 x 152.4 cm). © Simphiwe Ndzube. Image courtesy of the artist and Nicodim Gallery. Photo by Marten Elder

Portrait of the artist Simphiwe Ndzube at his studio

Photo of Simphiwe Ndzube by Christie Hayden. © Simphiwe Ndzube. Image courtesy of the artist and Nicodim Gallery.

Wide shot of the artist working in his studio while on a ladder

Photo of Simphiwe Ndzube in his studio by Christie Hayden. © Simphiwe Ndzube. Image courtesy of the artist and Nicodim Gallery.

Side view of Simphiwe working in his studio while wearing a mask

Photo of Simphiwe Ndzube in his studio by Christie Hayden. © Simphiwe Ndzube. Image courtesy of the artist and Nicodim Gallery.

Pink is a color rarely found in nature… in a fictionalized natural space, [it] awakens and politely shocks the viewer into attention.

– Simphiwe Ndzube

Videos

Get a glimpse inside Simphiwe Ndzube: Oracles of the Pink Universe and find more videos related to the exhibition on the museum's YouTube channel.

Pink cover for the Simphiwe Ndzube exhibition catalog

Publications

This illustrated companion to Oracles of the Pink Universe explores Simphiwe Ndzube’s practice of unpacking difficult South African histories through mythological narratives. The works inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s painting The Garden of Earthly Delights (1490-1510) depict a theatrical space where heaven, earth, and hell intersect. The catalog is available to purchase at the DAM's Shop or online.

Gallery view of Simphiwe Ndzube artworks

Access Guide

Look closer at the images and wall text in Simphiwe Ndzube: Oracles of the Pink Universe by browsing through our online exhibition access guide.

Share your visit with #PinkUniverseatDAM

Simphiwe Ndzube: Oracles of the Pink Universe is organized by Simphiwe Ndzube and the DAM. It is presented with the generous support of Vicki and Kent Logan and the Birnbaum Social Discourse Project. Additional support is provided by the Hasday Family Trust, the generous donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS4.