© Zwelethu Mthethwa

This past spring Aperture released the first comprehensive monograph of work by South African photographer Zwelethu Mthethwa. The artist’s first solo museum exhibition in New York will open at The Studio Museum in Harlem this week, accompanied by a number of opportunities to hear the artist speak and sign copies of his acclaimed book.

Thursday, July 15th join Mthethwa and associate curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem, Naomi Beckwith, in conversation amidst the setting of this momentous exhibit. On Friday, July 16th, Zwelethu will also give an artist’s talk followed by a reception and book signing at Museum of Contemporary Diasporan Arts in Brooklyn.

Zwelethu Mthethwa, the exhibition and the Aperture book, present Mthethwa’s powerful series of portraits portraying black South Africans as relentlessly dignified and defiant, even under the duress of social and economic hardship. Working in both urban and rural industrial landscapes, Mthethwa documents a range of issues pertaining to South Africa – from domestic life and the environment to landscape and labor issues.

The Artist’s Voice: Zwelethu Mthethwa in Conversation with Naomi Beckwith
Thursday, July 15th, 7:00pm

Zwelethu Mthethwa: Inner Views
Exhibition on view:
Thursday, July 15-Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Studio Museum in Harlem
144 West 125th Street
New York, New York
(212) 864-4500

Zwelethu Mthethwa Artist’s Talk, Book Signing and Reception
Friday, July 16th, 6:30pm

Museum of Contemporary Diasporan Arts (MoCADA)
80 Hanson Place
Brooklyn, New York
(718) 230-0492

Click here to read more about the Zwelethu Mthewhwa: Inner Views exhibition on Cool Hunting

Click here to view Zwelethu Mthethwa’s self-titled monograph