-1.jpg)
As the first comprehensive survey of Mackintosh's work, Now is Not Forever offers a look back at how her style and preoccupations have evolved, and is an immense celebration of a distinct voice in South African art. Based in Pretoria, Mackintosh has built a substantial career working across painting, sculpture, printmaking, animation and digital media. Her work is held in numerous public and private collections both locally and internationally, and she has held solo exhibitions at Standard Bank Gallery, Kalashnikovv Gallery, KwaZulu-Natal Society of Arts Gallery and Gallery MOMO.
Now is Not Forever announces itself boldly with large-scale oil paintings, the central focus of Mackintosh's practice. Mackintosh's gestural, colour-saturated canvases demand your full attention as simplified figures emerge through layers of mark-making. The paintings are visceral and Mackintosh's probings of the psyche make walking through the exhibition strangely unnerving. This is offset by her polished, cartoon-like fibreglass sculptures of imagined creatures which intersperse the canvases.
Upstairs, a crowd of her iconic Tina figures welcome you, giving the space an uncanny social presence. These are among a slew of paintings ranging from text-based works to the abstract. Fans of Mackintosh's work will find the row of archival material particularly fascinating, where old journals and preparatory sketches offer a rare window into her intuitive process. Now is Not Forever is an immersive exhibition, and Macktintosh's works create a dream-like atmosphere, with her figures and forms rhyming and melding into each other.
Exhibition details: Now is Not Forever by Theresa Anne-Mackintosh
Dates: Thu, Apr 9 – Sat, Jul 4, 2026Times: Tue to Sat from 10:00 – 16:00
Tickets: Free admission.
Venue: Wits Art Museum (WAM)
