Joburg Art Highlights: Thu, Jan 12 – Wed, Jan 18, 2023

more than a year ago

With Joburg slowly trundling into gear for 2023 most of its galleries are still showing their last exhibition of 2022 as they prepare their programmes for the year. Here are the exhibitions running into this year which we think you need to see.

For a full guide to what’s on in Joburg, check out our online events calendar and subscribe to our weekly newsletter published every Thursday morning.

**Kate Gottgens: The Swimmer at SMAC Gallery**

*The Au Pair*, 2022, Kate Gottgens, Oil on canvas.

With Joburg's weather forecast finally beginning to look more like summer the only thing better than a pool is Kate Gottgens new exhibition The Swimmer. Gottgens' hazy depictions of lazy days and nights poolside capture suburban Joburg's nostalgia for the pool and the intimate and transgressive moments which take place around them.

**William Kentridge: Studio Life Gravures at David Krut Projects Gallery**

*The Bullet Has Left the Barrel*, 2021, William Kentridge, photogravure and drypoint.

The photogravures for William Kentridge's Studio Life Gravures are the result of three years of cross-continental collaboration between print studios. Viewers can expect Kentridge's characteristic layered mark-making techniques and rich symbolism but the works are filled with a unique playfulness and vigour as Kentridge turns his gaze on his studio practices. To find out what went into this exhibition read our interview with master printmaker Jillian Ross.

**Keiskamma Art Project: Umaf’ evuka, nje ngenyanga at Constitution Hill**

Detail from one of Keiskamma Art Project's *Intsikizi Tapestries.*

Keiskamma Art Project's retrospective exhibition at Constitution Hill was one of the most memorable, and remarkable, exhibitions we saw last year. The exhibition brings together all their work over the past 20 years and includes the Keiskamma Altarpiece, Keiskamma Guernica and their newest Covid Tapestry. The scale, technique and craftsmanship is astounding but seeing them all together gives you a sense of the deep thought, care and stories which make up these tapestries.

**Pieter Hugo: Polyphonic at Stevenson Gallery**

One of the portraits on show for *Polyphonic.*

Pieter Hugo's portraits for polyphonic range from judges and celebrities to eccentric people on the street and a collection of photos of people sleeping on planes. In all of them, Hugo captures the humanity of each individual and you feel a strange mix of emotions as you walk through the gallery space as the photos seem to contain, or hint at, the essence of the people Hugo photographs.