Michele Mathison

Born in South Africa in 1977 and raised in Zimbabwe, Michele Mathison explores Southern Africa’s shifting political, social, and economic dynamics through sculpture and installation. A 2000 BFA graduate from the Michaelis School of Fine Arts, University of Cape Town, Mathison has exhibited widely.

Key solo shows include CIVILIAN (2023), Over and Over (2021), and States of Emergence (2017) at WHATIFTHEWORLD, as well as Dissolution (2018) and Uproot (2016) at Tyburn Gallery, London. His Venice Biennale (2013) work Harvest was later showcased at the Zeitz MOCAA during its 2017 opening. Mathison’s notable public works include Parallax at Frieze Sculpture (2018) and Angular Mass (2017) for Zeitz MOCAA and the V&A Waterfront.

Residencies include time in Italy (2019), and in 2021, he completed major public sculptures for North-West University. Recent group exhibitions feature Fallow (Germany, 2024), That Hidden Thread (Johannesburg, 2021), and Inner Landscapes (Rome, 2019). Mathison’s work is included in notable collections, including the Norval Foundation’s Homestead collection, the Zeitz MOCAA permanent collection, the Leridon Collection, Spier Arts Trust, and the Standard Bank Art Collection. 

Mathison is the inaugural recipient of Tyburn Foundation’s La Foce Residency.