From Wall Murals to the BMW 750Li Individual; Esther Mahlangu Collaborate with BMW to take Local South African Art to the World

Esther Mahlangu and the BMW 750Li Individual || BMW 

Born into her craft, South African Artist, Esther Mahlangu has started making her first foray into the generational Ndebele Art at age 10. She grew up watching her mother and grandmother make Murals of the fascinating art form. The primary occupation of the women, the Ndebele Art is a painting of initiation. It is done to mark significant life events such as birth, death, and weddings. The Ndebele art is a painting of patterns. These patterns are geometric, colorful, vibrant and uniquely fused to emanate an artistic appeal, and -in the hands of an expert such as Esther- awe.

Now 83, Esther Mahlangu is credited with being the first artist to transfer the mural painting to canvas. A self-proclaimed missionary of the art form, She told Artsy, ‘I started painting on canvas and board as I realized not everybody will be able to see the Ndebele painting in Mpumalanga where I live, and I felt I need to take it to them to see’. This yielded an acceptance and admiration for the art that even Esther could not have dreamed possible. Since she was ‘founded’ in 1989 by a traveling art historian and invited to participate in a living art exhibition in the Pompidou Centre, Paris, Esther has never looked back.

Esther’s paintings are fluid, transitional and rich in the culture she sets out to promote. She gives a voice to visual art that goes beyond the natural constraint of genres. Her art is easily an intersection between graphic, abstract and pop art. Her superhuman precision and the fact that she paints without any prior composition or rough draft further sets her apart.

It is, therefore, a testament to her genius that she was recently commissioned to paint the interior panels of a BMW Individual 7 Series -25 years after her first work for the same company. In 1991, she became the first woman to be commissioned to design a BMW art car; a series that included the works of Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, and many other well-known male artists of the Western world.

Esther Mahlangu’s 1991 BMW Art Car

Esther Mahlangu’s latest work on the BMW 750Li Individual further pronounces her unique ability to fuse the modern with the traditional. While being aesthetically appealing to the newer generation, it also spoke volume of the aged Ndebele tradition she wishes to express and preserve. The panels, painted in the vibrant colors that characterize the art is a contrast of periods when compared to the car’s Merino Smoke white leather seats and black Piano finish dashboard and steering wheel. Yet, this vibrancy does not erode the modern outlook of the car’s interior. On her design, Esther enthused;

“The patterns I have used on the BMW panels marry tradition to the essence of BMW. When BMW sent me the panels to paint, I could see the design in my head and I just wanted to get started! I started by painting the small ones first to get the feel of the surface and then it was easy as the design follows the lines of the panels.” 

The car is now under the ownership of The BMW Group South Africa. It will be a part of BMW Group South Africa’s Heritage Collection and will be on display at numerous Art and Culture events. Both local and foreign art enthusiasts will be given a chance to admire a piece inspired by South Africa’s indigenous heritage and the history of the Ndebele people.

Despite her age, Esther still plans on circulating the Ndebele art of South Africa to the world for as long as she can. ‘Painting is in my blood, it happens naturally. My wish is to keep traveling the world so that people can get excited about my painting’