Discover our picks of Joburg's must-see exhibitions this week, and a few dates to diarise.
As May draws to a close, some excellent exhibitions approach the end of their run. Sunday is your last chance to see a trio of shows at 223 Jan Smuts that are varied in scope and medium, from soulful contemplations of an artist's San heritage to a vivid exploration of chaos. While there, check out Astrid Dahl's awe-inspiring ceramic sculptures in The Creatory space.
This weekend also concludes a retrospective exhibition chronicling the Pretoria Art Museum's 60-year history; catch the Gautrain and make a day of it with our guide. We recommend a visit to Keyes Art Mile to see two luminous exhibitions – one featuring landscapes across time, another dedicated to the great Maggie Laubser – before the works disappear back into private collections.
The old makes way for much that's new and worth your while. The Joburg Contemporary Art Foundation (JCAF) launches Ecospheres – the first in a trilogy of exhibitions exploring worldmaking. Meanwhile, Bambo Sibiya's bold vision comes to Everard Read's Circa Gallery with a solo that celebrates cultural pride and empowerment. Don't miss a walkabout with the artist on Sat, Jun 1.
Elsewhere, the works of photographer Michael Meyersfeld and fine artist Michael Vickers come together in Scapeland, a subtle reflection on how humans interact with and shift landscapes. A survey exhibition at the Wits Art Museum (WAM) is a chance to see Karel Nel's work over four decades of artistic practice and inquiry into human consciousness and the immensity of our universe.
The landmark showcase Resilience and Reflection at the Apartheid Museum joins the chorus in exhibitions celebrating South Africa's unsung art heroes. This presentation of repatriated works by pivotal black artists who recorded township life in the dark days of apartheid makes a brilliant accompaniment to election week.
For rising art stars, the deadline for the 2024 Sasol New Signatures Art Competition is approaching. Start polishing off your portfolios for submission in the first week of June.
For a full guide to what’s on in Joburg, explore our events calendar. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter published every Thursday morning. For extra daily updates, follow our Instagram page.
Art highlights
Opening Fri, May 31 – Ecospheres brings work by a fascinating cohort of artists into dialogue for the Joburg Contemporary Art Foundation's (JCAF) annual exhibition, exploring what it means to live in the right relationship with the Earth. This is the first in a trilogy of exhibitions around the gallery's new three-year research theme, Worldmaking. Viewings are by appointment only; make a booking here.
Opening Fri, May 31 – Bambo Sibiya's work is opulent and dynamic, described as "a visual rebellion that balances chaos and order". In his solo exhibition Ngemva Kokuqubuka (After Precarity) at Everard Read's Circa Gallery, the artist envisions a world restored, foregrounding agency and self-expression in relation to the black experience. Join Sibiya for a walkabout on Sat, Jun 1 from 11:00.
Tue, Jun 4 and Wed, Jun 5 – The Sasol New Signatures Art Competition is welcoming entries for 2024. Get your works ready for submission at one of several collection points across the country. In addition to a R100,000 cash prize, the winner gets a solo exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum. Read our interview with the 2023 winner Nosiviwe Matikinca here.
Until mid-Jun – If you attended RMB Latitudes this year you may have spotted the otherworldly ceramic sculptures of Astrid Dahl at Candice Berman Gallery's booth. For those who've not yet had the pleasure, new works by Dahl are on display in The Creatory space on the second floor of 223 Jan Smuts. Phenomenally delicate in form yet larger-than-life, it's hard to believe these pieces are hand-built.
Until Sat, Aug 3 – Close and Far at Wits Art Museum (WAM) is a survey exhibition of Karel Nel's work across four decades. A fascinating deep dive into the artist's lifelong engagement with the role of thought and consciousness in our interpretation of the world, and the universe at large. The earliest works from the 1980s are Nel's mind's eye drawings that map mental states, while an inquiry into the ideas, insights, images, and raw data that astronomers use inform some of his most recent work.
Last chance to see
Until Thu, May 30 – The title alone for August House resident artist Itumeleng 'Mamase' Koloko's solo show at Rand Club packs a punch: This is a Man's World, but it Wouldn't be Anything Without a Woman or a Girl. Through mixed mediums of oil, charcoal, pastel, and acrylic, it's the artist's ode to the numinous nature of women.Until Fri, May 31 – Lamis Haggag and Mina Nasr explore the connections between the hadeda and sacred ibis (a prominent figure in Egyptian mythology) in Navigating Iridescence at Goethe-Institut.
Until end May – One of the leading South African artists in the Expressionist movement, Maggie Laubser's utterly lovely works show in the Annex of Keyes Art Mile's Trumpet building (viewings are by appointment only; email info@tmrw.art to arrange a timeslot). Also at Keyes Art Mile across the Gallery 1 and Atrium spaces, incredible landscapes spanning mediums, styles, and eras are brought together in Near and Far. These rarely-seen works from a private collection are a joyous journey (viewings are open Wed – Fri from 10:00 – 16:00 and Sat from 09:00 – 13:00).
Until end May – Offbeat Cape Town-based graffiti artist Slegh (aka @krinkywinky) gets his first solo exhibition of paintings, prints, embroidery, and more in Infekted by Dolphins at Braamfontein's Grayscale Gallery.
Until Sun, Jun 2 – Sculptor and ceramicist Natalie de Morney honours her San ancestry in her first solo exhibition, Re-Connections, at Berman Contemporary. Alongside, the gallery shines light on seven emerging and early-career artists in the group showcase, The New Vanguard. Also at the dynamic 223 Jan Smuts space, Dalingcebo (Dali) Ngubane explores the concept of chaos in religion, mathematics, community, and the individual, in Chaos, A Theory with Candice Berman Gallery.
Until Sun, Jun 2 – Pretoria Art Museum gets its moment in the sun with 60 Years of Artistic Journey, a retrospective exhibition chronicling the museum's evolution since it was founded in 1964.
Solo shows
Until Sat, Jun 8 – Jonathan Freemantle unveils a series of paintings and woodcarvings created during his seven-month residency at the Hugo Burge Foundation in Scotland. The Fallen Tree at Gallery MOMO draws on diverse influences from Jackson Hlungwani, an artist Freemantle has long admired, as well as Japanese Zen painting, African ritual masks, and the natural world.Until Fri, Jun 14 – Pop culture and personal responsibility intersect in Lebogang ‘Mogul’ Mabusela's playful yet no less serious critique of South African petrol-head culture and, more specifically, the relationship between men and their cars. Showing at Bag Factory, the solo exhibition iVum Vum borrows its title from kwaito star Brown Dash's song of the same name.
Until Sat, Jun 15 – Michael MacGarry's solo exhibition The System Absorbs All Opposition at Everard Read continues his legacy as an artist refusing neat definition. You'll have to see it for yourself.
Until Sat, Jun 15 – In Still Waters at Goodman Gallery, the artist's first major solo exhibition on the continent, Remy Jungerman continues his exploration of Surinamese Maroon culture, the larger African diaspora, and 20th-century modernism.
Until Mon, Jun 17 – There's no denying his artful eye when it comes to garment construction, but Lukhanyo Mdingi is venturing further into the art world with The Provenance Part II. Showing in the Women’s Jail at Constitution Hill, the exhibition is concerned with the preservation of archives – textiles, literature, and music – as they relate to Bantu heritage. Read our reflections on the show here.
Until Wed, Jun 19 – The result of seven years of archival and field research, writer and artist Bettina Malcomess's film cycle Sentimental Agents tracks the journey of "a technician of minor histories, trying to tell the story of cinema's place in the South African War". Public programming around the exhibition at Wits Art Museum (WAM) responds to the resonance between this war history and our contemporary moment, making this a show you'll want to revisit.
Until Sat, Jun 29 – The vivid imagination of Georgina Gratrix sings in Between Two Palms: New Works from Durban, a solo show by the painter at Stevenson. Ranging between still life and portraiture, it's an intimate love letter to the artist's hometown.
Until Sun, Jul 7 – Tatenda Magaisa's multimedia exhibition It wearies me; you say it wearies you at Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) explores themes of sanity and overwhelm with a dose of humour.
Ongoing – Renowned artist and photographer Roger Ballen's semi-permanent exhibition End of the Game at the Inside Out Centre for the Arts chronicles the practice of unrestrained hunting. Ballen will host walkabouts of the show, which will change periodically with input from various collaborators, on the first Saturday of every month. Follow @insideoutcentre on Instagram for details.
Group exhibitions
Until end Jun – Change of Season at the gallery (adjoining the atelier) at 44 Stanley explores the theme of transformation through work by Sitaara Stodel, Fiona Pole, Nokukhanya Charity Vilakazi, and more.
Until mid-Jul – You’ll never look at a weed growing out of a crack in the pavement the same way after seeing Scapeland at W17 Gallery in Rosebank. The dual exhibition brings work by photographer Michael Meyersfeld and fine artist Michael Vickers into fascinating conversation, teasing out themes around the built environment and nature.
Until Wed, Jul 31 – In Resilience and Reflection, the Apartheid Museum showcases works from the Ifa Lethu Foundation's phenomenal collection. Created by black South African artists like Dumile Feni, Winston Saoli, and David Phoshoko Mothapeng, these pieces have been repatriated from 16 countries and provide a record of township life during apartheid.
Ongoing – The South African Gold Coin Exchange and the Scoin Shop are behind a permanent exhibition, We Love Mandela, at The Marc in Sandton Central. The group show charts some of the most important milestones in Nelson Mandela's life through paintings, textiles, and sculptural works.
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