Current Artists

Born in 1969 in Kabwe, Zambia the family relocated to Gauteng (then Transvaal) South Africa, where he grew up. In 1993 Emmanuel obtained his BA Fine Art degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. While working as an assistant printer in Mark Attwood’s renowned print studio the Artist Press, Paul was the first recipient of the prestigious Ampersand Fellowship, giving him a three-month residency in New York.

Subsequently, he has received several other awards including the Visas Pour La Creation, Institut Français, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France in 2012 and in 2009 a residency award at the Kunst: Raum Sylt Quelle Foundation, Rantum, Sylt, Germany. In 2021 Emmanuel was selected for a Writer’s Fellowship at the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS).

His work has been acquired by several museums in South Africa and by the National Smithsonian Museum of African Art, Washington DC, USA. Many prestigious corporate and private collectors have included Emmanuel’s work in their collections.

Paul Emmanuel’s exhibition history reflects his extensive participation in numerous group and solo exhibitions over the years. He has shown in South Africa, Dakar, France, Bulgaria, The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and the USA amongst other countries.

His practice is project based. Les Cohn of Art Source South Africa manages Emmanuel’s projects. Namely, transitions a solo museum touring project which included his non-narrative award winning film 3 SAI: A Rite of Passage. This exhibition toured South Africa, Germany and to the USA; Emmanuel’s The Lost Men project. An ongoing counter-memorial project comprising of a series of site-specific, temporary, outdoor, installations which aim to engage with memory, memorials and public grief. The first installation was The Lost Men, Grahamstown (2004). Followed in 2007 by The Lost Men, Mocambique (installed in Maputo) with The Lost Men, France (2014) installed on the Somme, N. France. The final installation is planned for Washington DC, USA (2024-5).

Her role as Project Manager has included several subsequent shows. Namely, his solo exhibition Remnants exhibited at the 808 Gallery, Boston, USA in 2016 and later at Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa in 2017. In March 2020 Emmanuel’s extensive solo exhibition Men and Monuments with his video work – remember dismember opened to acclaim at the Wits Art Museum (WAM), Johannesburg. This exhibition is currently still up and can be viewed by appointment with the museum. WAM has published a book on Emmanuel’s practice edited by Prof Karen Von Veh (University of Johannesburg) with contributing essays by Associate Prof. Emerita Pam Allara (Brandeis University USA), and internationally renowned French WW1 historian Prof. Annette Becker (University of Paris-Nanterre).

A Substance of Shadows opened to great acclaim on 11 September at the UJ Art Gallery, Johannesburg. It closes on 2 October 2021. This exhibition displays a new direction taken by the artist by his creating 3D free standing “sculptural” works for the first time. A virtual tour of the exhibition including the artist’s new video work rising/ falling can be viewed on the UJ Moving Cube platform. https://movingcube.uj.ac.za