Madala IV belongs to the intensely productive moment of the mid-1960s when Kumalo’s career was shaped by Egon Guenther’s gallery in Johannesburg. Guenther, a German émigré dealer and collector of African sculpture, offered Kumalo early solo exhibitions and hands-on guidance in bronze casting, working closely with the Vignali foundry and exposing him to historic African carvings as well as European modernism. Under this aegis Kumalo helped form the Amadlozi Group in 1963, a circle convened by Guenther that included Skotnes, Villa and others and sought to anchor modern art in African spiritual and formal traditions. Madala IV emerged from this milieu between 1966 and 1968 as part of the celebrated Madala series, in which the “elder” becomes a compact vessel of ancestral memory and moral authority. Exhibited through Guenther in Johannesburg and then in London and European centres, these bronzes were crucial in establishing Kumalo’s international reputation and in articulating a distinctly African modernism that could stand alongside contemporaneous European sculpture while refusing the category of “tribal art”.

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Sydney Kumalo’s Madala IV (1967) demonstrates his exceptional ability to merge African cultural traditions with the modernist aesthetic championed by Egon Guenther in the 1960s. This period was a high point in South African modernism, with Kumalo’s bronzes achieving widespread critical and commercial success. Characterised by elongated forms, hand-rasped textures, and rich patinas, these works cemented Kumalo’s reputation through groundbreaking exhibitions in Johannesburg, London, and European cities such as Rome, Venice, Florence, and Milan. And his participation in the Venice Biennale in 1966 established him as a leading figure in African modernism.

By the mid-1960s, Kumalo had transitioned from teaching at the Polly Street Art Centre to focusing exclusively on his own career. Between 1966 and 1968, he created the celebrated Madala Series, a collection of twelve small but monumental works centred on the motif of the male elder. The term Madala, meaning “elder” or “old man” in Zulu, conveys reverence for wisdom, memory, and cultural continuity. These bronzes transcend their physical form to become vessels of contemplation, deeply imbued with ancestral and spiritual significance. Madala IV, created at the height of this series, is an extraordinary example of Kumalo’s thematic and technical mastery.

The figure is depicted crouched, its weight resting on a bent right knee while the left leg remains poised with the heel raised. This posture creates a dynamic tension between rest and potential movement, a signature feature of Kumalo’s work. The scarified and textured torso is compact yet monumental, with the arms held close in a gesture of introspection or devotion. The oversized, elongated head – which features Kumalo’s distinctive long, barrelled nose, pursed lips, and deeply set, contemplative eyes – tilts upward as though absorbing sunlight or caught in a moment of memory. This positioning imbues the figure with an aura of dignity and introspection. The richly textured surface, achieved through meticulous hand-rasping and laceration, adds a tactile quality, while the patina enhances its earthy, timeless appeal.

Kumalo drew heavily from traditional African sculpture, particularly its ability to convey spiritual and symbolic depth. The seated or crouching posture in African art often signifies reverence and devotion, themes Kumalo reinterpreted to reflect his own cultural and personal experiences. In Madala IV, the interplay of stability and motion represents a delicate balance between contemplation and action, stillness and vitality – forces held in symbiotic harmony.

During this era, Kumalo’s work was closely supported by Egon Guenther, who championed his vision and oversaw the casting of his sculptures. While early works like Seated Woman (1962) and St. Francis of Assisi (1962) demonstrated his technical brilliance, the Madala Series solidified his reputation as a sculptor capable of monumental expression within intimate forms.

Madala IV is a profound example of Kumalo’s ability to elevate African themes within a modernist framework, creating works that are both deeply rooted in African identity and universally resonant. These sculptures are not mere representations; they are meditations on dignity, courage, and the enduring strength of the human spirit.

First exhibited in 1967 at the Transvaal Academy in Pretoria, Madala IV is a tribute to Kumalo’s artistic vision and his unwavering dedication to portraying the cultural and spiritual essence of African identity within the broader context of modernism.