Gerald Tabata is a self-taught artist, who was born in 1975 and spent his childhood in Khayelitsha, CapeTown. Enamored of art from young age and Gerald has trained in a variety of disciplines including sculpture, photography and painting, which he took to immediately.
Tabata participated in the Community arts project (cap) between 1988 and 1990 where he received mentorship and training and became an artist in residence at Greatmore Studios in 2004, where he participated in number of group exhibitions and solos. In 2005 he attended the Thupelo International Programme.
Tabata’s history places him firmly within the framework of his artworks speaking to place, time and social politics. Whether waiting for a taxi, walking down the street, or waiting for the world to turn, Tabata captures these moments like a visual story-teller or documenter. The subjects that people his canvases, although framed by circumstances of poverty, carry on about their business of life; while some of the figures have become reduced to an anonymous symbol, they are not a caricature. The subjects do not engage with the viewer, in many instances, the subject has their back turned, or is walking away, out of the picture frame, excluding the viewer from the narrative of their life. Tabata states, “As artists, we stand for the people, we are the voice of the masses, we can not keep quiet or pretend things are ok whilst they are not. We should expose poverty and make it our responsibility to let the world know our backyard problems.”
Selected Exhibitions
2020
Solo show, Lerotholi gallery in Langa, Cape Town
2016
Two-man show - Finland
2012
Solo exhibitrion at Casa Labia, Muizenberg
2011
Two-man show 'Ubuntu Bethu' at Casa Labia, Muizenberg
2010
Group exhibition 'iDiski' - JArt Gallery for the World Cup
2006
Group exhibition 'Farrago' - AVA Gallery, Cape Town
Group exhibition - Thupelo International, Cape Town
2004
Group show Celebrating 10 Years of Democracy - Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town
Working in a refined, painterly technique with a thoughtful use of colour, Tabata is concerned primarily with evoking the mood and atmosphere of the township scenes synonymous to African culture. Critics have commented that his work has the touch of Rembrandt; with seductive impasto paint he sculpts figures using colour sparingly. Gerald has found himself a studio in Observatory, Cape Town where he lives out his childhood dream of being an artist.