The 2023 FNB Art Joburg is divided into six specialised sections and this clean layout offers a considered and holistic way to engage with the works and projects on show.
1. SEE VISIONARY YOUNG ARTISTS AT BKHZ GALLERY
As an artist himself, it's only natural that Banele Khoza's own BKhz Gallery is uncompromising in its ethos of putting the vision and needs of artists first. This type of authentic support can be difficult to find in the art world, yet it's an approach that fosters brilliant work. As such, BKhz Gallery's group exhibit at FNB Art Joburg is one not to miss: we're particularly looking forward to the thought-provoking works of multidisciplinary artist Oratile Papi Konopi; the arresting paintings of Sphephelo Mnguni, an artist challenging stereotypes; alongside the gorgeous, conceptually rich photography of Tatenda Chidora.
2. LAKIN OGUNBANWO'S FIRST FORAYS INTO COLLAGE WITH WHATIFTHEWORLD
WHATIFTHEWORLD brings something new from an artist who has only been going from strength to strength since he arrived on the scene. Nigerian-born Lakin Ogunbanwo is known for his immaculate photographs that bridge the worlds of high fashion and classical portraiture, with an emphasis on form and striking silhouettes. What a remix is to the original, Ogunbanwo's new body of work sees him venturing into the medium of collage to cut, splice and repeat. The surprising compositions that result invite a world of potential meanings that simply cannot be contained within a single frame.
3. FREE STATE DISPATCHES IN JABULANI DHLAMINI'S GOODMAN GALLERY SOLO
Goodman Gallery is home to art legends such as David Goldblatt, William Kentridge and Sue Williamson, and selected work from these and more influential artists will be on show at FNB Art Joburg this year. Make sure to seek out the gallery's other offering too: a contemplative solo exhibit from one of South Africa's most prominent documentary photographers, Jabulani Dhlamini. With this body of work we travel to the Free State countryside of the artist's childhood, exploring collective memory as it relates to personal reflections in the post-apartheid era through Dhlamini's characteristically subtle, meditative eye.
4. SERGE ALAIN NITEGEKA'S ARRESTING SCULPTURES PRESENTED BY STEVENSON
Serge Alain Nitegeka describes his monumental sculptures as "suitably large as to be imposing to the human body and spectacular so as to hold one's gaze long enough for wonder and quiet contemplation." You'll have the chance to encounter them firsthand at this year's fair as Stevenson spotlights a series of large-scale works from Nitegeka's Liminal Cargo series. Drawing first from his own experience as a refugee of the Rwandan genocide, the artist's intriguing, abstract forms speak metaphorically to the ineffable experiences of asylum seekers around the world. These are works worth pondering; head to the MAX section and see for yourself.
5. FOUR CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS TO WATCH WITH WUNIKA MUKAN GALLERY
From its base in Lagos, Nigeria to sub-Saharan Africa and the diaspora beyond, Wunika Mukan Gallery has its finger on the pulse and is a fantastic springboard for emerging contemporary artists, four of whom will be exhibited at this year's fair. Discover the pared-back yet highly expressive work of Nigeria-born multidisciplinary artist Chinezim Moghalu alongside that of native New Yorker Adolphus Washington, exploring black history and culture through collage. Shown too will be the wonderfully constructed, future-forward tapestries of Alabama-born Erin LeAnn Mitchell as well as a glimpse into the surreal imagination of Nigerian-American artist Nkechi Ebubedike. If you don't already, these are names to know.
6. RISING ART STARS HAVE THE EDGE AT CHURCH
Cape Town's brilliantly offbeat CHURCH project space comes to town for FNB Art Joburg, bringing a piece of the vibrant Church Street inner-city art hub with it. What makes this a collaborative space unlike any other is that, due to its independent nature, it allows artists to take risks, test boundaries and engage in conversations that wouldn't be welcomed in more traditional arts spaces. For FNB Art Joburg, CHURCH is exhibiting three bright young talents to watch. Make sure to visit this booth for Vida Pamela Madighi-Oghu's curious, Hieronymus Bosch-inspired works, spellbinding photographs by Mikhailia Petersen and Pia Truscott's delightful dance with textiles.
7. THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM: DIANE VICTOR X ATELIER LE GRAND VILLAGE
Atelier le Grand Village is a printing studio in the south-west of France reviving the medium of stone lithography through collaborations with artists from around the world, including our very own Diane Victor. The atelier will present the result of its collaboration with the artist at this year's fair: an arresting triptych which, in true Victor fashion, is full of subtle tricks and illusions. In The boy who cried wolf, The goat that led the flock and The girl that started the trouble, predatory acts lurk behind childlike veneers. Also exhibited will be rare multiples from Bambo Sibiya’s Swenka series together with abstract prints from Mongezi Ncaphayi, making this an essential stop on your FNB Art Joburg voyage.
8. iwalewabooks' NEW PUBLICATION ON ARTIST AND TRICKSTER, YASSINE BALBZIOUI
As a publishing house for art, discourse and archives with a special focus on the Global South, iwalewabooks splits its operations between Nigeria, South Africa and Germany. This year's fair is a chance to view new publications, most notably a chronicle of multimedia Moroccan artist Yassine Balbzioui titled Identity to Rent. With an incredibly diverse output spanning oil paintings to murals and performance, Balbzioui's work has a destabilising effect, earning his reputation as a trickster of the art world. For a taste of the artist's sensibilities ahead of the fair, catch An Ode to Punk with Yassine Balbzioui and friends for Open City: a night of jazz and anarchy at the Sophiatown Arts Akademy on Wed, 6 Sep from 20:00.
9. SOUTH AFRICA'S FIRST PIONEER FILM RE-EXAMINED BY PHUMULANI NTULI WITH DAVID KRUT PROJECTS
David Krut Projects has had a presence in Johannesburg since its 2002 space opened up in Parkwood. At FNB Art Joburg, the organisation will showcase a new collaboration with renowned Soweto-born artist Phumulani Ntuli titled Kunanela iphuzu emafini/Echoes of the Point Cloud. As much a futurist as he is a historian, Ntuli uses cinematic devices and AI model training as artistic enquiries in a series of mixed-media collages and painterly works that concentrate on South Africa's first pioneer film Jim Goes to Joburg, later re-titled African Jim. Sure to spark conversation, these works contrast the country's seminal film tradition with Johannesburg's complex and ever-changing socio-political landscape and ask the question, "Is this a place we'd like to call home?"
10. KICK IT WITH KENDELL GEERS X EXHIBITION MATCH
The original enfant terrible of South African art, Kendell Geers comes home for this year's fair with an interactive installation presented by Exhibition Match. Now in its third year of operations, Exhibition Match is part artistic project, part social initiative, fostering collaboration, collective participation, community building and play. And you'd be right to interpret the name literally, pointing to a two-pronged approach that consists of an art exhibition on the one hand and, on the other, a football game played by gallery workers, artists, curators, art writers and collectors alike. This iteration brings us a series of footballs by Geers, each covered in a latex mask of a different president's face, which visitors are invited to kick around. We certainly wouldn't pass up this opportunity to see and participate in a rare showing of Geers on home soil. A worthy incentive to don some comfortable shoes for your day at the fair, to boot.BONUS: FNB ART JOBURG AND BEYOND
11. SEE FNB ART PRIZE 2022 WINNER DADA KHANYISA'S SOLO SHOW, CAPE TOWN
This solo exhibition of the FNB Art Joburg 2022 Prize winner Dada Khanyisa at Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) reflects a sense of homecoming for the artist, who grew up in Johannesburg (his younger self would visit JAG for inspiration). Khanyisa now lives in Cape Town, and the exhibition is a meditation on nostalgia, as well as the relationship between place and self-authorship. There will be a number of walkabouts and activations throughout the run of the show, which runs until Feb 15, 2024.12. OPEN CITY: TWO WEEKS OF MUSIC, PERFORMANCE, FOOD, AND FASHION EVENTS AROUND JOHANNESBURG
Before we know it, FNB Art Joburg will have come and gone, but fret not: Open City is FNB Art Joburg's initiative to spotlight independent and emerging cultural practitioners, with over 16 days of programming that celebrates the city's art and culture all the way up until Tue, 16 Feb. From the fair's managing director Mandla Sibeko, "Open City takes our ethos of economic stimulation, inclusivity and better access for all, out of the convention centre, into essential hubs across Johannesburg." Find the full programme here.
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