Artists We Love: Cassi Namoda

WORDS Lindi Brownell Meiring IMAGES courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery


Maputo-born, US-based painter and performance artist Cassi Namoda, who has exhibited across the globe, from solo shows in Los Angeles and Miami to group exhibitions in New York, Stockholm, Detroit and Bucharest, will be hosting a solo show for the first time on the African continent later this year.

Image credit: Greta Van Der Star, courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery

Goodman Gallery, which now represents Cassi, describes her work as “fleeting snapshots within much larger narratives,” similar to film stills. It’s “an ode to cinematic/narrative principles,” she says. “This dovetails within my practice.”

Embracing her ancestral lineage is integral to her work, and her pieces explore a broad range of subjects, from racial and cultural identity to moments of daily life in post-colonial Mozambique.

Ritual Prayer in Ibo Island, 2019.

Cassi believes her artistic style is “constantly expanding”, putting her love of creating down to the art of storytelling, together with a feeling of catharsis, freedom, amusement and joy. She also highlights the painting process and the assembly of concepts as the most enjoyable aspects of an exciting recent project where she was chosen as one of eight artists to paint the cover for the January 2020 photograph-less issue of Vogue Italia, a move the magazine made to highlight the importance of sustainability in the fashion industry.

Cassi’s solo exhibition, which will feature a new body of paintings, will be held at Goodman Gallery in Cape Town later this year.

For more information and to keep up to date, visit goodman-gallery.com, follow Goodman Gallery on Instagram and Cassi on Instagram.