Sizwe Khoza: Memory, Identity, and Monotype in Contemporary South African Art

Sizwe Khoza is a contemporary South African artist whose work in monotype printmaking, painting, and portraiture has earned him national and international acclaim. Born in Mozambique during the final years of that country’s civil war, he moved with his family to South Africa in 1995, growing up in a context shaped by both displacement and cultural transition. His early experiences between two national identities inform his deep engagement with memory, belonging, and personal history. After completing his schooling, Khoza began intensive art training that would define his lifelong commitment to visual storytelling. 

As a student at Nkumbulo Comprehensive School, Khoza attended Saturday classes at Artist Proof Studio in Johannesburg, where he first encountered printmaking techniques like monotype and linocut. He graduated from the studio’s complete training program in 2012. In 2013, he was awarded a residency at the William Humphrey Art Gallery in Kimberley under the mentorship of the late Dumisani Mabaso. This mentorship broadened his technical repertoire and deepened his conceptual approach to making art. 

Medium and Technique
Khoza’s artistic practice centers on monotype, a printmaking technique known for producing unique, one‑of‑a‑kind prints that cannot be exactly replicated. He chooses monotype because it mirrors his belief that life’s moments and experiences are singular: even when a process is repeated, the result is always different. This philosophical commitment to uniqueness distinguishes his artistic voice. 

Alongside monotype, Khoza works with linocut, drypoint, silkscreen, and painting, blending techniques to achieve textural richness and emotional depth. In linocut works like Ukuhamba ukubona (2019), he carves into the surface to reveal form and then hand‑colors the print, using the negative space as part of the visual narrative. This work’s title, meaning “to travel and see,” reflects the artist’s ongoing exploration of looking back in order to move forward. 

Examples such as Langisani (2018) and Masimba (Power) demonstrate his range within printmaking: Langisani is a large monoprint on paper emphasizing human presence and nuanced expression, while Masimba combines hand‑colored screenprint with embossed markings to create a layered visual experience. 

Themes and Artistic Vision
Khoza’s work is rooted in a profound exploration of identity, memory, and human experience. His portraits often focus on Black figures, especially women and children, drawing from his own biannual visits back to Mozambique to take photographs and gather visual references. These return trips connect his art directly to lived experience, anchoring his imagery in personal and cultural memory. 

A recurring motif in his practice is the metaphor of chess, symbolizing life’s strategic decisions, the unpredictability of outcomes, and the balance between agency and circumstance. Through this metaphor, Khoza explores how individuals move through life, navigating challenges and opportunities with intention and vulnerability. 

His portraits also examine the joy and curiosity of youth, particularly in how children engage with the world without fear of the future. He has spoken about the way children live in the moment, celebrating wonder and possibility — themes that recur in works featuring expressive faces, vibrant colors, and dynamic compositions. 

In some works, symbolically rich elements such as crowns or floral patterns appear as metaphors for strength, potential, and cultural pride, especially in depictions of female subjects. This visual language imbues his images with layers of meaning that reward close looking. 

Exhibitions and Professional Recognition
Khoza’s career is marked by a growing list of exhibitions that chart his evolving visual language. In 2022, he presented the solo series At Least For Now… in Johannesburg, a body of work examining contentment and desire through vibrant yet contemplative compositions. This exhibition juxtaposed serene backgrounds with stark reminders of scarcity, using everyday objects like pillows and blankets to meditate on the tension between yearning and appreciation. 

In 2025, his solo show, The People and I, In Contemplation, at Keyes Art Mile Annex Gallery in Rosebank, expanded on these themes with introspective works reflecting on solitude, connection, and inner dialogue. The curatorial note for the exhibition described Khoza’s use of visual metaphors — including birds and figures in stillness — to investigate spiritual presence and the inner world of the self. 

His work has also been included in group exhibitions and print fairs, such as the Fine Art Print Fair, where his contributions helped showcase the technical range of contemporary South African printmaking. 

Khoza’s international presence includes a 2020 solo exhibition at the Boston Arts Academy in the United States, and in the same year, he was awarded the prestigious Ampersand Foundation Fellowship. This recognition supports artists with promising global potential. 

Awards, Collections, and Market Presence
In 2019, Sizwe Khoza won the first prize at the annual Thami Mnyele Fine Arts Awards, a national competition with hundreds of entries. His winning piece, Hold Your Head as High as You Can, was praised for its emotional honesty and technical mastery in monotype and etching print, addressing early adulthood’s challenges and resilience. The award included R100,000 and public recognition that helped solidify his rising reputation. 

His work has been acquired by corporate collections and commissioned for institutional projects, including a monotype for Rand Merchant Investment and a mural adaptation for Hollard Insurance’s Parktown campus. These placements demonstrate both the commercial appeal and broader cultural relevance of his art. 

Critical Impact and Artistic Legacy
Critics and curators recognize Khoza for his ability to fuse personal narrative with shared human experience. His portraits resonate not only because of their vibrant surfaces, but also because they convey emotional depth and cultural insight. By grounding his practice in lived experience and visual memory, Khoza creates works that speak to both individual identity and collective cultural presence. 

His role as a mentor and teacher further extends his influence beyond his own studio practice. After his residency and early training, he served as an instructor at Artist Proof Studio, helping nurture new generations of printmakers and reinforcing the importance of technique and experimentation in contemporary South African art. 

Moreover, his annual return trips to Mozambique speak to a sustained dedication to place, memory, and cultural dialogue, positioning his art as a bridge between the personal and the political, the remembered and the imagined. 

Final Note

Sizwe Khoza’s artistic journey reflects a dynamic blend of technical innovation, emotional resonance, and cultural rootedness. From his early training in printmaking to his evolving body of work in monotype, painting, and portraiture, Khoza consistently explores how identity, memory, and lived experience shape visual expression. His exhibitions, awards, and critical presence underscore his contribution to contemporary African art. At the same time, his commitment to narrative depth and conceptual clarity ensures that his work remains both visually compelling and intellectually resonant.