Valente Malangatana Ngwena (1936 -2011)
Born in Malatana, Southern Mozambique, Valente Malangatana Ngwena is Mozambique’s most renowned artist and a leading African Contemporary Artist.
His bold vision of life depicts a communal co-existence between humans, animals and flora but it is not always a happy scenario. Early themes of folklore, mythology and legends, religion and family life reflect his disparate childhood; growing up in a rural environment with his mother, (the district teeth-sharpener)… and a mission school foundation. Fanged monsters, crucifixes,skulls and fowl would find their way into his compositions.