Turiya Magadlela, born in 1978 in Johannesburg, South Africa, is a renowned artist whose innovative work pushes boundaries and engages with pressing social and political issues.

Magadlela works primarily with everyday yet symbolically charged fabrics such as pantyhose and correctional service uniforms. By cutting, stitching, folding, and stretching these materials across wooden frames, she creates abstract compositions that explore personal narratives of womanhood, motherhood, and Black South African history. Her art elevates traditional craft techniques to the realm of fine art, honoring the often-overlooked labor of women in her community. Her works address broader themes of gender, trade, colonization, and exploitation, using aesthetics as a powerful storytelling tool to illuminate African history and contemporary life.

She studied at Funda Community College (1998) and the University of Johannesburg (1999–2001). Magadlela has held six solo exhibitions, including at the Johannesburg Art Gallery and blank projects, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions locally and internationally. Highlights include Blue Black (Pulitzer Arts Foundation, 2017), The Past is Present (Jack Shainman Gallery, 2017), and Blackness in Abstraction (Pace Gallery, 2016).

In 2015, Magadlela won the prestigious FNB Art Prize, and in 2018, she was listed among the “10 African artists to invest in now” by TimesLive. She has also been shortlisted for the Jean-François Prat Prize, cementing her place as a leading voice in contemporary African art.