Botswana-born, Culver City artist Meleko Mokgosi has been given the Mohn Award by the Hammer Museum at UCLA for a work on view at the museum entitled “Pax Kaffearia: Sikhusselo Sembumbulu.” The painting is part of a series the artist created dealing with post-colonial Africa and is currently viewing in the group exhibit “Made in L.A. 2012.” Mokgosi, a recent graduate of the UCLA Fine arts program, was selected from among the 60 artists participating in the show, and will receive a $100,000 prize. Additionally, a monograph about his work will be published as a result of the award.
Mokgosi was one five semi-finalists selected by a panel of professional curators and visitors to the museum. The work reflects on the Xhosa cattle killings of 1856-57, which were intended to drive away colonial powers and simultaneously resurrect the ancestors.
Made in L.A. 2012 is the Hammer Museum’s first large-scale biennial survey of the work of Los Angeles-based artists. This exhibition includes work by 60 artists, shown at three locations across the city–at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, LA>
