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Andile Dyalvane

Born in 1978 in the small village of Ngobozana, near Qobo-Qobo in the rural Eastern Cape province of South Africa, Dyalvane grew up farming and looking after his father’s cattle herd – sewing a deep connection to the land and his Xhosa culture that resonates powerfully through his work today.

Dyalvane completed a National Diploma in Art and Design at Sivuyile Technical College in Gugulethu, Cape Town, followed by a National Diploma in Ceramic Design from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in 2003.

In 2005, he and Zizipho Poswa co-founded Imiso Ceramics, whose handmade tableware and vessels have earned the studio an international following. Through his functional designs for Imiso, he developed a language of incision marks inspired by the African tradition of body scarification that continues to inform his work today. 

Dyalvane’s ouevre for Southern Guild serves as a distinct, but aligned, space from which to explore more complex ideas in greater depth with a focus on sculptural and monumental qualities. He made his international solo debut with Camagu, a ground-breaking collection of over-scaled ceramic vessels, lighting and furniture at New York gallery Friedman Benda in 2016. The exhibition’s title is a Xhosa term expressing gratitude, spoken in particular when acknowledging one’s ancestors, and it has become a much-used mantra for the artist. 

© Christof Van der Walt and Southern Guild Gallery

Guided by a deep spiritual connection to his Xhosa ancestors, his complex, large-scale ceramic artworks are a metaphorical vessel through which he seeks to honour his cultural traditions and share his journey of healing. 

© Christof Van der Walt and Southern Guild Gallery

© Christof Van der Walt and Southern Guild Gallery

Dyalvane’s work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Denver Art Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art, Pérez Art Museum Miami, Design Museum Gent, Vitra Design Museum, New Taipei City Yingge Ceramic Museum, Iziko South African National Gallery and NMMU Art Museum in Port Elizabeth. 
Exhibitions
2025
From the Vault – Stellenbosch Triennale, Stellenbosch University Museum – Stellenbosch, South Africa
2024
OoNomathotholo; Ancestral Whispers – Solo Exhibition, Friedman Benda – New York, US
By Design: Stories and Ideas Behind Objects – Denver Art Museum – US
Liberatory Living: Protective Interiors and Radical Black Joy – Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) – San Francisco, US
Homo Faber: The Journey of Life – Fondazione Giorgio Cini – Venice, Italy
Mother Tongues – Southern Guild – Los Angeles, US
LOEWE Lamps – Palazzo Citterio – Milan, Italy
LOEWE: Crafted World – Shanghai Exhibition Centre – China
2023
Tel Aviv Biennale of Crafts & Design – MUZA Eretz Israel Museum – Tel Aviv, Israel
Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design at Chatsworth – Friedman Benda, Chatsworth House – UK
2022
Uyalezo – Song of the Desert River – Kwasukasukela Arts Collective, Stonehenge Private Reserve, Tankwa Artscape Residency – South Africa
LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize Finalist Exhibition – Seoul Museum of Art – Republic of Korea
2021
iThongo – Solo Exhibition, Friedman Benda – New York, US
Jinju Traditional Crafts Biennale – Republic of Korea
Indian Ocean Craft Triennial – Western Australia
Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room – Metropolitan Museum of Art – New York, US (ongoing)
2020
iThongo – Solo Exhibition, Southern Guild – Cape Town, South Africa
Selected Works from the Leach Pottery Residency – Southern Guild – Cape Town, South Africa
What Would Have Been – Friedman Benda – New York, US
Solace – Southern Guild – Cape Town, South Africa
Closer, Still – Southern Guild – Cape Town, South Africa
2019
Our Cultures in Constant Collaboration – Solo Exhibition, Leach Pottery – St. Ives, UK
Communion – Southern Guild – Cape Town, South Africa
Mess – Expressionism and Experimentation in Contemporary Ceramics – Future Perfect – New York, San Francisco & Los Angeles, US
Iidonga Collection – 100% Design South Africa – Johannesburg, South Africa
2017
Idladla – Solo Exhibition, Southern Guild – Cape Town, South Africa
2016
Camagu – Solo Exhibition, Friedman Benda – New York, US
Gebak – Stellenbosch University – Stellenbosch, South Africa
2015
Homecoming – Southern Guild – Cape Town, South Africa
Christie’s Design Auction – London, UK
2014
Central Saint Martin University of Art – London, UK
Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design – Vitra Design Museum – Weil am Rhein, Germany
Terra Nova – New Taipei City Yingge Ceramic Museum Biennale – Taiwan
D-Street Gallery Exhibition – Western Cape, South Africa
2013
The Craft of Ubuntu: An Exploration of Collaboration through Making – Iziko Heritage Museum – Cape Town, South Africa
Southern Guild 2013 Collection – Museum of African Design – Johannesburg, South Africa
Heavy Metal – Southern Guild – Cape Town, South Africa
2012
Long Table 101 Place Settings and Retrospective – Iziko Heritage Museum – Cape Town, South Africa
ReCollect – Southern Guild Gallery – Cape Town, South Africa
Southern Guild 2012 Collection – Johannesburg, South Africa
Everyday Discoveries: Tradition Reinterpreted – International Design House – Helsinki, Finland
South African Pavilion – Royal Festival Hall – London, UK
KKNK Festival Exhibition – Oudtshoorn, South Africa
2011
Conversations – AMARIDIAN Gallery – New York, US
2009
Brotherhood – RED BLACK & WHITE Gallery – Cape Town, South Africa
2006
Picasso and Africa – Iziko Museum – Cape Town, South Africa
2003
Solo Exhibition – UCT Irma Stern Museum – Cape Town, South Africa

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