Kim Mobey was born in Cape Town in 1980, to a professional musician father and a published poet mother. Her family moved around frequently and she went to a variety of schools but always read widely on mythology, science and art. She studied ballet, piano and violin and began taking paid commissions for friends and school events from age 12.
In 1995, at age 15, she sold her first sculpture through the Adler gallery in the idyllic, bohemian suburb of Harfield Village. 1998, after finshing school she left home and continued writing, sculpting and painting as she tried various careers in eclectic fields including emergency medicine, writing, computer game development and teaching. in 2010 she devoted herself entirely to art. She moved to Knysna and had her first solo exhibition at the Knysna Gallery sponsored by Sanlam Private Wealth.
In 2013 she returned to Cape Town and began investigating Africa and the human diaspora. She founded her current studioand began working in art collectives and exhibiting at various galleries around Cape Town.
In 2016 her work gained wider recognition and was shown at the major South African art fairs in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pretoria. She also gained recognition for her sculpture in the PPC Imaginarium art awards.
In 2018 she created installations for the V&A Waterfront and World Water Day as well as designing prototypes for the “Shadow House” eco-buildings, the pilot project of which is to be launched in 2019.
She continues to complete commissions and sell works through selected galleries and through her studio to local and international collectors.
Selected Exhibitions
2011 – Knysna Gallery, “In This Skin”
2012 – Western Cape Premier, Official Residence Cape Town “See the Point, Darling”
2013 – Knysna Fine Art Gallery , Knysna “Pink Loerie Group Show”
2015 – Grand Daddy /Group Shows, Cape Town
2015 – MOMO Gallery Johannesburg “Les is More”
2017 – The Architect, Cape Town, PPC Imaginarium Finalist show
2017 – The V&A Watershed, Cape Town Inaugural “Art Africa Fair”
2017 – The Cape Gallery, Cape Town “Dream Now, Dream Not”
2017 – UJ Gallery, Johannesburg, PPC Imaginarium group show
2017 – Turbine Hall, Johannesburg “Turbine Hall Art Fair”
2017 – September – Art @ The Clocktower, Cape Town. “It is not all Black and White”
2017 – November – Art @ The Clocktower, Cape Town. ”Tides of Talent”
2018 – February – Investec Cape Town Art Fair “Art at Africa”, Cape Town
2018 – March – The Cape Gallery, Cape Town “Illusive Reality”
2018 – V&A Waterfront SOS World Water Day Group Installation Projects
2018 – September – Art Africa, V&A Waterfront “Heritage Day Exhibition”
Curator
2012 May – The Knysna Gallery “The Naked Truth”, A group show of life drawings and paintings
2014 September to December – First Thursdays “Grand Daddy Hotel” Group Show, Cape Town Featuring John Bower, Peter Van Straten and Janet Ranson
Competitions
2017 January – Sculpture Finalist, PPC Imaginarium Awards
2017 September – World of Design Competition finalist: For the Love of CONCRETE Cape Town
Charities and Projects
I support these causes with donations of artwork for auction, public speaking, teaching and participation in group projects.
2014 – City of Cape Town, World Design Center “Hands of Honor” – Part of the “Man on the Side of the Road” employment initiative
2014 – City of Cape Town, World Design Center “WDC/MURP Co-design workshop” – facilitating community involvement in urban upliftment in impoverished areas
2014 (Ongoing) – Paint it Forward – A collective of artists painting uplifting murals in the children’s wards of public hospitals
2014 (Ongoing) – Call to Care “Paint and Sip” – Teaching, events and creative projects raising funds for sustainable food gardening workshops in impoverished areas
2016 – The AfrAsia Bank Cape Wine Auction, Cape Town, Groot Constantia Wine Farm – in aid of education for farm workers in the South African Winelands
2017 (Ongoing) – Catwalk to Freedom – In aid of education and sanctuary for child brides in Sudan, Uganda and Kenya
2018 (Ongoing) – SOS Save Our Schools & Water 4 Cape Town – In aid of practical, ongoing water collection and delivery to vulnerable communities during the Western Cape Drought.
Links
Interview with Nosana Sondiyazi
Photo Essay by Melody Chironda on AllAfrica.com
