Natalie Knight has exhibited the powerful wood sculptures of Johannes Maswanganyi in the Natalie Knight Gallery, Hyde Park since 1981. Johannes was born 1948 in Msengi Village, near Giyani in Limpopo Province. He is one of South Africa’s most respected self-taught sculptors learning his craft from his uncle and father. He began by making traditional items such as cooking utensils and medicine containers for sangomas.

These items developed into larger, expressive sculptural figures which spanned the traditional and contemporary worlds. Johannes first attracted National attention in 1985 when his nyamisoro (female figures with removable heads) were included in the influential Tributaries exhibition. After many decades his sculptures developed to include modern portraits, (Mandela) biblical themes, (Jesus walking on water) and dynamic group scenes in wood and paint.

Johannes’s work was featured in the Divination and Healing exhibition and catalogue held at Museum Africa,in 2013 when The Museum launched the African Art Wing sponsored by the Spiegel/Stein Lessing Trust. Johannes Maswanganyi’s work is held in major public and private collections, including the Iziko South African National Gallery (Cape Town), Johannesburg Art Gallery, Durban Art Gallery, University of the Witwatersrand, Sanlam Art Collection, and the University of Pretoria Art Collection, among others.