Artist Proof Studio is one of Johannesburg’s most essential creative educational spaces. Founded in 1991 by Kim Berman and the late Nhlanhla Xaba, APS has pushed its own model of creating accessible art education and art prints, while still retaining artistic rigour and excellence.
Xaba and Berman founded APS with the belief that printmaking could empower individuals to thrive both creatively and economically. This means providing high-quality art education to students who would otherwise not be able to afford it, while also running a professional printmaking studio. It has been a successful combination, and since its inception more than 500 students have graduated from the Artist Proof Studio programme, many of whom have gone on to gain international recognition, such as Phillemon Hlungwani, Mbali Tshabalala, Nelson Makamo and Lindo Zwane, among others. Through its Pro-Shop, APS produces exceptional print editions, while its gallery and participation in art fairs and other events allows artists to gain visibility. The education programme, Pro-Shop and gallery work together to create a more sustainable system for artists.
The journey has not always been easy, and in 2003 Xaba died in the fire that destroyed the original studio premises. Although a significant blow, with prints at the exhibition from this period bearing the marks of the fire, APS has continued to grow, first from a studio at Bus Factory in Newtown, and now at its current home in the Isle of Houghton Office Park.
The exhibition is a survey of 35 years. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you first walk into the exhibition room at Strauss & Co. Salon-style, the walls are covered in prints from the hyper-detailed portraits of Bambo Sibiya to the monotype abstractions of Mongezi Ncaphayi, and literally everything in between. But then you stop to look closer, and consider the work of specific artists, and you realise that 35 years is not something to be taken lightly. This is an exhibition at which you need to slow your pace, as the beauty is in the detail.
The works are arranged chronologically and offer a timeline of the different artists who flourished at APS over the years, along with accompanying bios that have been taken from interviews by historian Maru Attwood. They offer a more personal insight into the artists and their work. Many of the artists returned to APS in the run-up to the exhibition, and it is refreshing to be able to see the evolution from their earlier works to what they're creating now.
We had to do a few rounds to take it all in. Even the wall at the entrance, comprised of portraits of the artists made by current students at APS, is densely packed with different styles and mediums. Each go around a different work would jump out at us, and often we would be left wondering how we hadn’t noticed a print before. So make sure to set aside a decent chunk of time when you visit.
The exhibition is a remarkable document of what APS has built over the years, with a handful of works being particularly telling. Nelson Makamo's two monotypes, Wild Dog I and Wild Dog II, were both pulled for this anniversary, and that Makamo, now one of South Africa's most commercially celebrated artists, returned to APS to make fresh prints shows how the studio, even years after the artists have moved on, still holds deep significance to their practice.
This is also evident in the works made by William Kentridge in collaboration with APS, and the linocut Eight Figures makes clear the precision and dynamism that the printing studio is able to imbue in its work for artists. Here too, Feeling Blue and Swenkas Out to Play feel like a full-circle moment as Bambo Sibiya revisits the Swenka series which he first developed at APS, and which have become central to his reputation as one of South Africa's most talented artists working in print.
Then we were struck by two quietly powerful prints by Nompumelelo Tshabalala, whose work now forms part of the collections of the William Humphreys Art Gallery and the Smithsonian. The Matriarch and Memories of Home: Homemaker's Gadget explore domestic life and femininity with a soft beauty that belies the subject of her works. Tshabalala's works are among many that level both overt and more subtle social and political critiques, something which APS and its artists have never shied away from. This is perhaps captured most succinctly with the title of Mario Soares' work, Even People of Johannesburg Still Fighting against poverty. This sentiment carries through the exhibition: APS produces artists who are technically excellent while also never losing sight of the lived realities of South Africa.
The prints by the current student body are a nice touch and reaffirm how APS does not just serve the artists of today, but those of tomorrow. And we're sure that many of the students will become common names within the art world, whether as an artist, printmaker or curator. As Wilhelm van Rensberg, senior art specialist and head curator at Strauss & Co, says, "The APS legacy is not confined to the past, but remains an active, unfolding commitment to access, imagination and collaboration."
This commitment to access – and the role APS artists play in shaping not just the visual impact of their work, but its deeper meaning – speaks directly to the organisation’s belief in a transformed South Africa. It’s this connection that Lwando Xaso, author and lawyer, highlighted when reflecting on the importance of the arts and APS in driving real change. Referencing anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko’s vision of giving South Africa “a more human face”, Xaso explained that institutions like APS help shift the country’s psychological landscape from something cold, repressive and inaccessible to one that is compassionate, just, and dignified for all. And while the arts alone cannot achieve this transformation, APS shows the meaningful role they can – and will continue – to play.
Artist Proof Studio at 35 is on show until Fri, Apr 17, 2026 at Strauss & Co's Houghton viewing room. An auction of the works held by Strauss will run alongside it. You can view the lots here. And follow Artist Proof Studio on Instagram as there are a range of exhibitions, activations and publications planned through 2026 as part of the studio's birthday celebrations.
