A pleasing aroma to the Lord (Leviticus 23:18), Dimensions: height:50cm x width:50cm x depth:4cm, Media: oil paint on stretched canvas, Year: 2023.

Lethamaga Richard Mabula is a University of Cape Town (UCT) BA Fine Art graduate. He receives numerous scholarships, mentorship, and academic excellence awards from institutions in South Africa, the United States of America, and the Dominican Republic. The University of Tennessee Knoxville Graduate School awarded Richard the J. Wallace and Katie Dean Graduate Fellowship for the 2024-2025 academic year. He exhibited his work in South Africa, the USA, and China. He was awarded the Tim Reynolds Scholarship and spent two months as a visiting artist at Ani Art Academies in the Dominican Republic. He is also an experienced art educator, and his most recent post was at Concordia International School Shanghai in China. Richard is a Graduate Teaching Assistant and a candidate for a Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in Painting and Drawing at the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s School of Art.

Artist Statement

My artistic journey is guided by the revelations I experience in dreams and moments of discernment. In my paintings, I strive to capture these revelations with utmost accuracy, refraining from analysis until the painting is complete. I work exclusively with oil paint on stretch canvas and panels, a choice that allows me to immerse myself in the process of creation fully. My work falls under the genre of Magical Realism, as while it is primarily grounded in the real world, it contains supernatural elements considered normal in this world. I grew up in a home where perceptions of the natural and the supernatural co-existed, and the lines between sleep and wakefulness were blurry. Raised Christian, my work will sometimes have titles that relate to Biblical scriptures if I discern a relevant relationship. The dominant narratives and ways of perceiving don’t always communicate the nuances in our unique stories as individuals and fluid groups. By painting these intuitions, I offer the audience an ambiguous perspective that could lead them to new ways of looking at something instead of dictating specific responses. Through my paintings, I seek to expand our ways of perceiving and understanding by blurring the lines between what we perceive as reality and what we consider supernatural or superstition.