Kamohelo Blessing Rooi (b. 2001, Gauteng, South Africa) is a contemporary painter whose practice is deeply rooted in the lived experiences and social rhythms of Soweto, where he resides and works. Through his work, Rooi reflects on the township not only as a physical environment, but as an emotional and cultural terrain shaped by memory, identity, and collective presence.

Introduced to art through school arts and crafts classes, Rooi developed an early visual awareness informed by figures such as Nelson Makamo and Wonder Buhle Mbambo. Their influence is evident in his confident figuration and expressive approach to colour, yet Rooi’s voice remains distinctly his own—grounded in observation and personal narrative.

Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, Rooi’s ongoing body of work, Kasiflavour (“Location Flavour”), serves as both homage and archive. The series draws from photographs, personal encounters, and everyday scenes, reimagining them through saturated palettes and flattened spatial compositions. His paintings frequently evoke the atmosphere of Soweto after dark, where fashion, friendship, music, and quiet contemplation converge, capturing moments that oscillate between intimacy and monumentality.

Rather than documenting the township in a purely descriptive manner, Rooi constructs images that sit between remembrance and reinterpretation. Figures appear poised within familiar yet stylised landscapes, embodying both individuality and shared experience. At the core of his practice lies a sustained commitment to portraying Soweto with nuance and dignity, foregrounding its vibrancy while honouring the layered realities of its community.
Through this evolving visual language, Rooi positions the township not at the margins, but at the centre of contemporary cultural discourse.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2026
EXPO Chicago, EBONY/CURATED, Chicago, United States of America
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town, South Africa

2025
'News of Spring', Curated by Bilal Da DJ & Abigale Calisse, Neighbarhood, Johannesburg, South Africa
RMB Latitudes Art Fair, EBONY/CURATED, Franschhoek, South Africa
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town, South Africa

2024
'A Very Loop Street Summer III', EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town, South Africa
'...as we see it', EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town, South Africa
'A Wall of Aspiration', Homie.Lover.Friend, Johannesburg, South Africa
'REKAOFELA', The Manor, Johannesburg, South Africa

2023
'Hiatus', EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town, South Africa
'Home Away From Home', The Manor, Keyes Art Mile, Johannesburg, South Africa

COLLECTIONS
The Spier Art Collection, Cape Town, South Africa
First Rand Collection, Johannesburg, South Africa

PRESS

Kumalo-Valentine, Z. (2025). the eyes. House and Leisure, 18, 4 September, pp. 48-52

Gibbson, A.-J. (2025) 'The outsize artistic legacy of Koyo Kouoh,' Vogue, 14 May. https://www.vogue.com/article/artistic-legacy-of-koyo-kouoh.

Blessing Rooi captures capture Soweto’s nocturnal charm through his art. 2024 [online]. [October 3] Available from: https://iqhawemagazine.com/kamohelo-blessing-rooi/.

Five @ Five: with Blessing Rooi. 2023 [online]. [August 25] Available from: https://wotbwm.wordpress.com/2023/08/25/five-five-with-blessing-rooi/