WORDS Palesa Mohola PHOTOS Supplied

Artist Proof Studio is one of South Africa’s leading centres for printmaking, combining professional printmaking facilities with an internationally recognised educational programme. For 35 years, APS has played a pivotal role in developing generations of South African artists while promoting printmaking as a powerful and accessible contemporary art form.

“Our exhibition in KwaZulu-Natal earlier this year was an encouraging experience, and returning for the KZN Art Fair allows us to continue those conversations. We are excited to share the breadth of South African printmaking while learning more about how collectors and audiences in the region engage with the work,” says Nathi Simelane, APS Chief Operating Officer.

Established in 1991 by Kim Berman and the late Nhlanhla Xaba, the renowned Johannesburg-based printmaking centre features the work of 22 artists in a display centred around dialogue. The display includes works by different generations of artists, creating conversations about the different techniques and evolving approaches to printmaking – from archive prints by celebrated South African artists to newly released editions by emerging voices redefining the medium – all to be seen at the annual Hilton Arts Festival.

“Printmaking offers remarkable diversity – not only in artistic expression but also in technique, scale and accessibility. We want visitors to discover work that surprises them and artists they may encounter for the first time, while recognising many of the established names that have shaped South African contemporary art,” says Simelane.

This exhibition is set to reveal an unexpected combination of techniques – including lithography and screen printing — as well as varying scales and materials, demonstrating how printmaking continues to expand beyond its traditional boundaries and highlighting its enduring relevance within South Africa’s visual arts landscape.

Featured artists include

Bambo Sibiya • Cassius Khumalo • Jan Tshikhuthula • Kagiso Diale • Kim Berman • Lebohang Motaung • Lehlogonolo Masoabi • Mashir Kresenshun • Mary Sibande • Moloko Mabota • Mongezi Ncaphayi • Nathi Ndlandla • Nelson Makamo • Norman Catherine • Phillemon Hlungwani • Ramarutha Makoba • Raymond Fuyana • Sue Martin • Thabang Lehobye • Themba Khumalo • Walter Oltmann • William Kentridge

The collaboration between The Hilton Arts Festival, a mosaic of experiences with over 25 000 visitors and a platform for both established and emerging talent; the inaugural KZN Art Fair, which aims to create new opportunities for artists, galleries, designers and collectors; and APS, which has a long-standing commitment to nurturing artistic talent and advancing printmaking as one of the country’s most dynamic creative disciplines, promises long-lasting relationships with collectors, galleries and audiences in the region.

Visitors will not only see beautiful artworks, but will also learn more about the Studio’s internationally respected training programme, which has produced generations of leading South African artists. artistproofstudio.co.za | kznartfair.com

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A soulful way of living begins with pieces made with care, quality and character. Noha creates premium furniture, lighting and decor shaped by genuine craft, natural materials and respect for how homes are lived in.

From solid timber and woven textures to leather, textiles and natural fibres, each piece is designed to bring warmth, depth and lasting beauty into everyday spaces.

Quality in the Craft

Every piece begins with the material. Responsibly sourced wood, reclaimed timber, tactile fabrics and hand-finished details come together through a slower, more meaningful way of making. Materials that might otherwise be overlooked are reimagined into furniture and decor with strength, soul and lasting presence.

Rooted in Honest Materials

Drawing from nature, local craft and the character of real materials, each piece carries a sense of origin. From visible timber grain to textures that invite touch, the beauty is found in quality you can see and feel.

Made for Everyday Living

Made for the moments that give a home its feeling. Quiet corners, shared spaces and daily rituals become warmer and more personal through furniture and decor made with care, craft and soul. | noha.co.za

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WORDS Robyn Alexander/Bureaux PRODUCTION Sven Alberding/Bureaux PHOTOS Greg Cox/Bureaux

“It was an old two-bedroom cottage on a vast 1 200m2 plot,” says homeowner Erica Schalkwyk. This was back in 2018, when she and her husband Werner bought the property, “gave the cottage a lick of paint, and moved in”. Their intention was always to redevelop, creating a new home situated towards the back of the long, relatively narrow piece of land. But, she explains, “We first had to live in it, plan, save and start our family.”

For three years, that’s what they did. “We had no timeline; we were enjoying the home as it was,” says Erica. “We waited for life to happen.” The couple now have two sons – five-year-old Mynhardt and three-year-old Migael. They eventually started the build in 2021, moving into the completed house in May 2022, but only fi nished the garage at the end of 2025. It’s been slow, steady going.

The couple asked architect Ruan Marsh of Monograph Architects to assist them with the design of the new house. Ruan and his practice partner Kevin Coetzee like to create work that isn’t style-bound, but that originates in critical regionalism – an idea that stresses the importance of architectural responses to site, local context and climate, as well as the client’s brief and needs. “The condition of the existing house was good, but its position on the site was not ideal, leaving a large, underutilised garden towards the back,” Ruan says. “The house also wasn’t functional for Erica and Werner – they host fairly big gatherings of people regularly, and needed a space more suited to this. Monograph aims to create spaces in which clients can experience delight and form core memories. We want to make great spaces the norm.”

A major part of the Schalkwyks’ overall design brief was that they wanted the biggest garden possible. The site is 15m by 76m, and north-facing on the street side of the narrow end; the land is also quite steeply sloped, with a change in level of just under fi ve metres from one end to the other. And both the clients and their architect wanted to ensure that, in Ruan’s words, “the connection between indoors and out be as seamless as possible”.

The design solution was to push the building all the way back, puncture it with courtyards, and use split levels for the garden level, says Ruan. “Inside the house, we wanted to create a public-private divide using levels as well.” As a result, the bedrooms and more private work and play spaces for the family are situated at the rear of the home, up two short flights of stairs.

“The design plays with light in creative ways, to draw the eye towards certain elements of the spaces and really connect with the outdoors,” says Ruan. This starts right at the front of the home with the wooden slatted enclosure within which the kitchen-diner is situated. “Kitchens should have morning and afternoon sun,” he says – and the timber slats create the variable shade needed within this glass-clad area. The timber is from the original 2018 conceptual sketch, and the fins are a shading device for east and west, with panels that can be opened in sections. In addition, the slats are “used to create oneness vertically in that element of the house” because there is a mini floor underneath for laundry and storage; it functions as a “basement” but is also light-filled and functional.

Adding an extra dimension of light to the dining area beyond the kitchen is a narrow courtyard on the eastern side, which enables morning light to enter this space. There are several compact, planted courtyards across the floor plan; they function as light wells and as a way to create natural air fl ow through the interior. “They create visual interest via the planted greenery, and are a further connection with the outside,” says Ruan.

Another noteworthy aspect of the design is the way undulating – rather than rigidly geometric – connections are made within the house. This “eases transitions between spaces”, says Ruan, adding that this sort of movement has a more human scale and feel, and is part of age-old principles of design encapsulated in traditions such as feng shui. The gradual stepping up of levels towards the more private zones of the house is an additional element of this thoughtful approach to layout.

The striking wooden slats that enclose the front edge of the facade are something of an homage to the design of Johannesburg’s Circa art gallery, creating an effect Erica very much wanted. Having worked as an interior designer for over a decade prior to “giving it up to enjoy this stage of life with small children”, she currently designs and makes jewellery – but she also conceptualised all of her home’s interiors. She and Werner spent many years putting together a collection of South African designer furniture, wall art and sculptures. “I wanted our new home to have that gallery feel,” says Erica. “Every single nook is designed with a specific art piece in mind.” The interiors combine bold, earthy neutrals with a strong monochrome colour theme, with additional visual and tactile interest created through skilful layering of natural textures, from wood and steel to leather and stone.

The house is designed to function as a unified whole in which, Erica explains, “the entire living space – the patio, living room, dining area, kitchen and pool – is in use daily.” And when asked about her favourite among these areas, she responds, “The patio! We spend all our time there.” Warmly welcoming, always connected and very much a true reflection of everything the Schalkwyks value and enjoy, their home is perfectly attuned to their wants and needs. | monograph-architects.com

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PHOTOS Thea Cogil/Courtesy of Curación Collection

Sourcing clay from the land around him, South African clay artist Mick Haigh forms each vessel by hand before firing it in a long wood-fired kiln. Each piece carries the marks of flame, ash and chance, shaped as much by nature as by the maker.

His Kiln IV collection speaks to ritual and slowness, offering vessels made to be held, used and lived with.

Curación Collection shares this focus on process, material and intention: a commitment to the quiet beauty of everyday ritual. Here, Mick tells us about his practice and current body of work.

What do you hope people feel or carry with them after encountering your work in this space?

“Connection, that humans are not just visitors but part of this living planet. Finding your place at home here in this wild world changes a lot.”

Your work is shaped by earth, fire and time. How do these forces influence your approach to making?

“My approach is not cerebral; clay comes from the earth, not a plastic bag. Wood comes from trees and time from the sun. All these raw elements speak for themselves; I connect the conversation. My approach is counterintuitive: what can this clay around me do, what temperature will it vitrify at, how thick does the vessel wall have to be to stand up to fire, and how long will the fire heat take to vitrify the clay? So materials influence the making as much as my ideas about what to make.”

Can you speak to the role of slowness and process in your practice?

“Slowness and process intertwine through materials. Clay air dries at its own rate based on airflow and humidity, and wood burns at the rate of oxygen supply. My practice is governed by how my materials behave, and how much I can modify them.

“The sun and moon cycles happen independent of how busy we are. Our minds bend time. Natural materials like clay and wood behave outside of time. My practice captures this time, recording the slow process of turning malleable clay born of eroded rock over millions of years into hard, enduring rock again. Bending time through material provenance.”

What inspired you to create this body of work?

“My inspiration comes from knowing that living with meaningful objects can create meaning in our lives. How objects make you feel enhances your quality of life. Do we need more objects in this world? I think we need more feeling in this world.”

How does your current body of work explore a sense of place?

“Provenance is very powerful, connecting humans to source. Being rooted in the familiar warmth of earth, the non-challenging warmth of things made by hand for human comfort gives a sense of I am part of this place, not a superior observer but part of this living world which I affect and which affects me. Connection.”

What values do you feel you share with the Curación Collection, and the body of work you’re creating?

“Human living/leisure environment can only be as good as the evolved thought put into its creation. I create pieces which I feel are not available. I have thought about how I can supply vessels, artworks, pieces to enhance living spaces and quality of life. I feel much goes into the building and designing of structures, and not enough attention goes into how they feel because of what we put in them and how we use them. What we choose to live with. After decades of designing and making tabletop ceramics, I am now using my clay knowledge and skill to explore vessels as art pieces as feelings of expression. I strongly feel the living/workspace edit is long overdue. The values we have in common lie in the quality of feeling and expression, no more average to get the job done.” curacion-collection.co.za | mickhaigh.com

Mick Haigh’s work will be on display at Curación – 9 Orphan Street, Cape Town – from 6th August until the 30th August.

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WORDS Martin Jacobs PHOTOS Aiste Rakauskaite, Andrew Lee, Iwan Baan, Tom Powel Imaging© 2025 Calder Foundation New York/Artists Rights Society New York, Jason keen, Jason O’Rear

LOST SHTETL MUSEUM Šeduva, Lithuania

When architect Rainer Mahlamä ki, of Finland’s Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects, fi rst visited the Lithuanian town of Šeduva a decade ago with the intention of better understanding the site of the museum he was to design, it was the landscape that lingered. “I was struck by the open sky, the vast agricultural landscape, the adjacent cemetery, the quiet sound of the wind, and the grey houses of the countryside,” he says. Ten years on, the recently opened Lost Shtetl Museum is not just sitting in that landscape, it’s in dialogue with it. In August 1941, just short of 700 Jewish residents of Šeduva were executed in a nearby forest, an act marking the town’s destruction. The museum, built to commemorate not only the loss of life but also of Jewish and European culture, takes the form of a small shtetl (or village).

A collection of individual houses – each echoing the dimensions of a single-family dwelling, their interiors canopied by the pitch of their roofs rather than ceilinged – are interconnected by short passageways. The effect is twofold: it nods to Šeduva’s pre-war skyline while cleverly allowing for possible future expansion. The facades are constructed from shingle-like recyclable aluminium sheets which, up close, are textured, setting up a constant play of light across their silvery-white surfaces. For Mahlamäki, this wasn’t simply a reference to the weathered farm buildings that dot rural Lithuania, but an intentional counterpoint to the darker, rougher material palettes that characterise many Holocaust memorials.

The surrounding gardens and cemetery, conceived in collaboration with Enea Landscape Architecture, form a memorial park shaped by the idea of the last journey. The garden rooms – an orchard, wetlands and a flowering meadow – reimagine the landscapes that Jewish residents may have encountered en route to the forest, translating absence into a verdant presence. | lostshtetl.com

CALDER GARDENS Philadelphia, USA

Hemmed in by a highway, on-ramps and the city’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway – and with the Barnes Foundation, Rodin Museum and Philadelphia Museum of Art within a stone’s throw – it was inevitable that Pritzker Prize-winning architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron would embrace a novel approach to the design of Calder Gardens. The museum is dedicated to an ever-changing selection of work by the late (and great) Alexander Calder, a Philadelphian sculptor best known for his kinetic mobiles.

“Form, colour and movement are the most obvious aspects in Calder’s art,” says Jason Frantzen, senior partner at the firm. “When the concept for Calder Gardens was conceived, it sought to avoid rather than adopt the use of these characteristics as possible design elements. Likewise, the design avoids the monumental architecture of the museums that line the parkway. With these parameters in mind, it was decided that the face of this project should not be a building – instead, it is a garden with a building within.”

Designed by lauded Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf, the garden is a showstopper, with his trademark pairing of plants and time as mediums. Heavily season-, weather- and light-dependent, the plantings are in a constant state of flux, unfolding across outdoor rooms that include a woodland, prairie matrix (composed of mostly North American species) and perennial meadow. On entering the garden, the architecture slowly reveals itself, initially in the form of a disc-shaped plaza (which doubles as a roof to the subterranean museum). Flanking the plaza are sunken open-air galleries carved into the ground; these off er protected outdoor spaces for sculptures, and draw natural light into the interiors, most a fusion of off -shutter, polished and shotcrete concrete. | caldergardens.org

NEW MUSEUM New York, USA

First opened in 1997 and in its current lower Manhattan premises since 2007, New Museum is the only one in our roundup that – ironically, given its name – isn’t entirely new. (It’s the only museum in Manhattan dedicated exclusively to contemporary art, describing itself as “future-facing, not a place for preserving and recording history”.) A recently completed addition, adjacent to the museum’s iconic flagship building by architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA, doubles New Museum’s exhibition space.

While it’s not uncommon for architects to be commissioned to design new wings alongside significantly older buildings, here the brief was trickier: contemporary beside contemporary. The architects helming the project – OMA’s Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu – had to grapple with that notion. “While maintaining the architectural integrity of the original building, our design seeks to create a new whole rather than two halves, adding space and openness with its own distinct identity,” says Shigematsu of the solution, which mirrors SANAA’s language in a manner that’s more suited to our times.

Located on Prince Street in the Bowery, the seven-storey extension connects to the original building on three floors, with ceiling heights accurately aligned. But while SANAA’s building is visually impenetrable from outside, OMA’s design opts for laminated glass with a metal mesh interlayer across its facades. Broad stripes running down the street-facing facade of the faceted structure are rendered in mesh-free glass, lending a heightened sense of transparency – especially at night – that connects those inside with the city, and engages passers-by with the goings-on and displays indoors. Semi-outdoor terraces with triangular apertures further encourage a dialogue with Manhattan. | newmuseum.org

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WORDS Martin Jacobs PHOTOS Mathij S Labadie, Marcin Rusak Studio, Kasia Bielska, Pion Studi

When last did you stop to consider a cut-flower bouquet – impulse-bought from a market, gift ed on an occasion, arranged at a wedding? We admire the easy hit of nature at home, the colour, occasionally the fragrance. But the engineering behind cut flowers – the genetic tweaks for scale and speed of transport, the straightened stems for easier shipping and arrangement in vases, the bolder blooms bred at the expense of scent – rarely crosses the mind. Like most things we live with, flowers have become just another consumable. Except in the hands of Marcin Rusak.

Given the Polish multidisciplinary designer’s lineage, you could argue this was inevitable: that cut flowers, in his hands, would come to carry the weight of consumption, commodification, time, preservation and decay. “When the family history of over a century of flower growers and botanists ended with my birth, I felt there was nothing of a grower in myself,” he says. “What I remember from growing up surrounded by abandoned glass houses is mostly their textured industrial materiality, and the presence of disappearance and decay at every step I took exploring.”

Those glass houses loom large for Marcin. Across interviews and features – from Cabana and Vogue Poland magazines to Financial Times and Dezeen – he returns to them obsessively: their shattered panes, broken glass and scrap metal; their scents of rust and rot. Former sites of cultivation and beauty turned feral, they became his playground – spaces where collecting, assembling and an early fascination with decay laid the formative groundwork for a practice centred on transformation.

Born in Warsaw, where he lives and works today, and now in his late 30s, Marcin studied conceptual design at Design Academy Eindhoven before continuing his studies at London’s Royal College of Art. It was in London that a second pivotal encounter with flowers would reshape the trajectory of his practice. “I clearly remember the first time I thought of plants as a substance, a raw material,” he says. “It was at one of London’s flower markets that I realised the economics behind it, and the amount of waste it produces. There’s a common rule that what hasn’t sold in the first two days at the market has to be tossed. I’d collect the binned waste – wilted, fragrant, already in decline – and drag heavy garbage bags across the Underground to the eighth floor of the RCA in Kensington. The smell was unforgiving.”

Having explored the possibilities of resin as a material while at Design Academy Eindhoven, many years of experimentation followed – first in London and subsequently in his Polish studio (which he describes as a laboratory), working with discarded floral matter. In bringing these threads together, something akin to alchemy emerged: Flora, a material Marcin regards less as a product than as an ongoing process of transformation. “Flora is the result of years of research driven by my desire to capture and preserve the perishable beauty of flowers, which here float under the shiny surface of resin,” he explains.

“The process of creating each piece is very labour-intensive, as everything from collecting and processing the flowers to finishing the resin is done by hand. Each piece is composed like a painting – I choose flowers for their sculptural qualities, colour and symbolic significance. I make several compositions, and only when the effect is satisfactory do I translate them into the material.”

Much like Flora – available in a spectrum of coloured resins and floral compositions spanning themes such as baroque, tropical, classic and field, arranged either densely or with a more open spatial logic – subsequent materials extend the same inquiry under different conditions. Perma is machine-cut, revealing cross-sections of preserved fl owers, where petal forms and leaf flowers, where petal forms and leaf structures emerge within a more stone- like resin body. Glaes, by contrast, lends itself to solid, monolithic forms, its process deliberately producing light-catching fractures throughout the material, giving it an amber-like depth.

These materials extend the lifespan of what would otherwise be fleeting, and – due in part to their synthetic composition – are intended to endure for thousands of years. They take shape as credenzas and cabinets, tables, screens, lighting and sculptural objects that, while preserving floral waste, also prompt a reassessment of what we consider valuable, and how beauty is consumed and retained. Most are made to commission – an approach that itself resists excess production. Larger works are conceived as future heirlooms, developed in dialogue with each client, often incorporating floral matter that holds personal or emotional significance.

In parallel with his ongoing resin explorations, Marcin has, in recent years, turned to metal. His Tephra series takes its name from the geological term for fragments ejected during a volcanic eruption – a reference that nods to the works’ Pompeiian silhouettes. “These objects are built using specially treated flowers mounted on sculptural forms made of hand-welded steel wire and jute,” he says of the complex process, which allows plant growth to gradually envelop the structures. “They’re then metallised using a thermo-coating technique that covers the dense textures in a layer of molten metal.” Floral matter becomes ornamental within a restrained, monochrome palette. By contrast, in his Protoplasting Nature series, a similar thermo-coating process is applied to foliage rather than flowers, allowing organic growth to assume a more structural role in cabinets that reference 17th-century furniture typologies.

As much as Marcin’s materials and objects engage with preservation, they are equally concerned with decay. In his Nature of Things installations, vessels and domestic forms are composed from biodegradable materials, which include waste flowers, beeswax, sugar, sand and shellac, and are designed to decompose over time. These works embrace impermanence as both a process and an outcome. As Marcin says, “They provide a field for experimentation that takes as its starting point a critical commentary on the ideas of consumerism and planned obsolescence that contribute to the culture of waste.”

Marcin’s philosophical approach ultimately unsettles a broader cultural fixation on permanence. From his Warsaw studio – where, depending on the project, he collaborates with a team of up to 12 specialists with expertise in everything from artisanal production to digital modelling – he interrogates how beauty is consumed and how value is assigned. “Our desire to create, to make, to invent, is not something that we can – or should – suppress. It is fundamental,” he says. “But we can begin to question what needs to be preserved and what can be released. Loss, in this context, isn’t failure – it’s a recalibration. It reveals what matters. It invites reflection. It slows us down. It asks us to listen. What if loss was not an absence, but an alert system? A way of navigating? A reminder that our time with things – objects, people, places – is limited, and therefore precious?” | marcinrusak.com

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There are moments in design when restraint gives way to expression. When subtle whispers are replaced by confident statements. This is one of those moments.

Across architecture, interiors, fashion and jewellery, we’re seeing a renewed appetite for pieces that command attention rather than politely blend in. Sculptural silhouettes, unapologetic proportions and confident craftsmanship are defining a new era of luxury, one where individuality is the ultimate indulgence.

At the forefront of this movement is Van Deijl Jewellers, where exceptional design has never been about following trends, but about creating timeless pieces with unmistakable presence.

Fearless Design isn’t simply a style direction. It’s a philosophy.

It celebrates jewellery that transforms an outfit into a statement, a moment into a memory and the everyday into something extraordinary. Think sweeping curves of precious metal, vibrant gemstones chosen for their character rather than convention, and silhouettes that blur the line between jewellery and wearable sculpture.

Yet fearlessness isn’t measured by size alone.

True luxury lies in confidence, in pieces that reflect the personality of the wearer while showcasing the extraordinary skill of the artisan. Every Van Deijl creation balances striking visual impact with meticulous craftsmanship, resulting in jewellery that feels both contemporary and enduring.

This fearless approach resonates with a new generation of collectors who value authenticity over excess. They seek investment pieces that tell a story, spark conversation and become part of their own narrative.

Whether it’s an structured dress ring, an oversized pair of sculptural earrings, or a dramatic pendant that anchors an entire look, these are designs intended to be worn with purpose.

Because great design is made to be appreciated today and treasured long into the future.

In a world that increasingly values originality, Van Deijl Jewellers reminds us that great design has always required courage: the courage to reinterpret tradition with fresh perspective, to embrace craftsmanship without compromise, and to create pieces that are as distinctive as the people who wear them.

This season, bigger isn’t simply better. It’s bolder. It’s braver. And it’s unmistakably beautiful. vandeijl.co.za | @vandeijljewellers

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Spring has a way of drawing us outdoors. As the days grow longer and the air becomes warmer, patios, poolside spaces and gardens become natural extensions of the home: places to unwind, entertain and spend time with the people who matter most.

As part of this outdoor refresh, Fired Earth, Garden Master and Design House come together to show how colour, greenery and outdoor styling can transform everyday outdoor spaces into inviting retreats designed for real life.

A foundation defined by surface and colour

A successful outdoor escape begins with a strong foundation, where surface, colour and setting work together. In this outdoor refresh, Fired Earth’s considered finishes are complemented by Garden Master’s greenery and Design House’s outdoor furniture, creating a cohesive base for everyday living.

The pool deck sets the tone. Finished with Fired Earth Velvet Wood Deck Dressing, the timber surface is protected while retaining its natural warmth and texture, allowing it to stand up to daily use around the pool while ageing beautifully over time.

Painted exterior walls introduce another layer of intention. Fired Earth Severe Weather in Blizzard White adds softness and depth, creating a calm backdrop that enhances both planting and natural light. Garden Master pots, refreshed with Fired Earth Pot Paint in Black Coal, bring cohesion and contrast to the greenery, tying surface and planting together visually.

Colour here is not merely decorative. It defines mood, frames the architecture and creates balance, setting the stage for the outdoor furniture and lifestyle moments that follow.

Designing for how we live outside

An outdoor space succeeds when it invites you to spend time in it. Garden Master’s Sienna Italian and Furu round pots introduce layered greenery, softening hard surfaces and creating moments of visual interest throughout the garden.

The planting wraps around the pool area, blurring the boundary between built form and nature.

Poolside living is elevated with Design House outdoor furniture chosen for both comfort and style. The Annecy rope patio set creates an inviting area for entertaining, while the Knysna Sun Lounger paired with lounger cushion covers offers a relaxed place to unwind beside the pool. Positioned around the deck, these elements encourage slow spring afternoons by the pool, easy transitions from sun to shade, and relaxed evenings spent outdoors long after sunset.

As evening approaches, lighting becomes part of the experience. Design House outdoor wall lights add structure and warmth to exterior walls, while Design House Filament Bulb String Lights introduce a softer, atmospheric glow that extends outdoor living well beyond sunset.

Even the pool itself is designed for ease, with the Bluechem Aquarius pool cleaner ensuring the space remains inviting with minimal effort.

An extension of the home

What sets this outdoor refresh apart is its sense of continuity. The materials, colours and finishes used outside echo the same design principles applied indoors, allowing the garden and pool area to feel like a natural extension of the home rather than a separate zone.

By starting with surfaces and colour, the space becomes adaptable. It can host quiet mornings by the pool, casual afternoons with family, or relaxed evenings of entertaining – all without needing to change or add a thing.

Where outdoor living begins

Whether it’s a quiet morning coffee on the patio, a warm afternoon beside the pool, or an evening spent entertaining under soft lighting, great outdoor spaces are designed to be lived in. Through thoughtful colour choices, layered greenery and considered styling, outdoor living begins long before the finishing touches are added.

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PHOTOS Courtesy of RK Contemporary

Innovative Threads II returns to RK Contemporary from 2–30 August 2026, with an exhibition spotlighting eight South African contemporary fibre artists.

Originally founded by Margie Garratt in 1996, Innovative Threads championed contemporary fibre art long before the medium gained the widespread recognition it enjoys today. The exhibition established an international reputation over a decade of touring exhibitions in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan and New Zealand. With Margie’s blessing, Astrid McLeod, owner and curator of RK Contemporary, has revived the exhibition that helped shape her own journey into the contemporary art world, with the aim of re-establishing it as an annual celebration of innovation, creativity and contemporary fibre art.

“What excites me most about this exhibition is the individuality of the artists. Although they all work with fibre, no two approach the medium in the same way, creating work that reflects distinctly different perspectives and challenges traditional perceptions of textile art. Each artist brings a completely different perspective, making this an exhibition full of discovery, conversation and unexpected connections,” says Astrid McLeod, owner and curator of RK Contemporary.

From deconstructed protea fibres and meditative patchwork to sculptural felt vessels and hand-woven wool works, the exhibition features works by Katja Abbott, Willemien de Villiers, Dineo Ponde Mafora, Leah Johnson, Leila Walter, Nina Kruger, Virginia McKenny & Margaret Courtney-Clarke and Berdine van der Mescht.

More than a showcase of exceptional textile practice, Innovative Threads II demonstrates how contemporary artists are redefining the possibilities of fibre.

Innovative Threads II is showing at RK Contemporary, 32 Main Street, Riebeek-Kasteel from 2–30 August 2026. | rkcontemporary.com

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WORDS Neyani Mphephu PHOTOS Supplied

For Nwabisa Ntlokwana, sculpture has always been about what cannot be photographed. Growing up with a mother who captured memory through a lens, she gravitated towards something slower and more physical – materials that hold weight, carry history and demand presence. That instinct has since evolved into Motherwood, her most significant body of work to date, which uses leather, wood and found materials to explore the relationship between motherhood, memory and legacy. The recipient of the inaugural DLO Energy Resources Group Artist Prize at RMB Latitudes, Ntlokwana is among South Africa’s most compelling emerging sculptors. Here, she reflects on her process, her materials and the stories she still feels compelled to tell.

Your practice is deeply rooted in personal experience, particularly your journey through motherhood and the legacy of your late mother. How did these dual influences first shape your decision to work with sculptural materials, and how do they continue to guide the stories you tell through your work?

“I grew up watching my mother capture memory in an instant, a single frame and fixed forever. That shaped me more than I realised at the time, but when I started working with sculpture I realised I was reaching for the opposite of what my mother did. Sculpture for me is about holding weight and presence, it’s not something that you can glance at and move past. I think I wanted to give her a way of seeing the body.

“Then motherhood came and closed a loop. I became a daughter who continues to carry a memory of her mother as well as a mother who is now creating memories of her own and the legacy I’d want to leave for my child.”

Your current body of work, Motherwood, explores the relationship between wood and leather as materials that mirror the life cycles of motherhood. Could you walk us through how you chose these specific materials and what they represent for you?

“I wouldn’t say I choose the materials that show up in my work – it’s really the other way around. My approach to materials is very childlike: with an open mind, curious, unafraid to ask questions I don’t know the answers to yet. That’s what gives me the freedom to experiment without worrying about getting it right. In that process of poking and playing and figuring things out, I end up learning something about myself and the materials become a kind of mirror for how I see who I am.”

You work primarily with leather, wood and found materials, many of which are unconventional or discarded. What draws you to materials that have had a previous life, and how does the idea of transformation play into your creative process?

“This is honestly the best part of my process. It’s quite a journey. Growing up, I had always been drawn to old things. They carry so much memory and endurance, and that’s something I relate to deeply, both as a mother and as an individual. I don’t think I would be the person I am today without my personal experiences. They have shaped how I see and touch everything I create. And nothing beats the joy of watching these objects come back to life, taking on a new form while still holding onto all the memory they carry within them.”

Receiving the inaugural DLO Energy Resources Group Artist Prize at RMB Latitudes is a significant milestone. How do you think this recognition will shape the trajectory of your career, and what does it mean for you as an emerging artist in South Africa?

“This achievement is an investment in what comes next, giving me space to breathe with the opportunities it’s created. The exposure fuelled by the DLO Energy Resources Group Artist Prize has already given me a freedom to create without fear rather than chasing opportunities simply to stay afloat. It’s also a reminder that our stories and our labour hold value – not just aesthetically but also economically. As creatives, we are often told to separate art from the business but this prize does the opposite. It’s empowering me as an artist and as a business which is something that you need to have a sustainable practice.”

What does the reality of being an emerging artist in South Africa look like day to day, and what are the biggest challenges you face in building a sustainable career?

“It’s a day to day balancing act. The romanticised idea of a full time studio practice is not a reality for many emerging artists. You are building a practice around everything that keeps you afloat. The biggest challenge is the cost of existing as an artist before you have made a cent, then there’s materials, studio space, transportation of the work to galleries. None of this is cheap, you are spending money before making any and nothing is guaranteed.

“Visibility is also a factor. In South Africa, there is a pool of artists who make exceptionally great art but there is a small collector base relative to the number of artists. This means we are all competing for the same opportunities, fairs, open calls, residences and gallery space. Getting in front of the right people often matters as much as the quality of the work.”

Your work speaks to how women carry memory across generations and continually reinvent themselves. How do you see your role as both an artist and a mother influencing the way you think about legacy and what you pass on, both creatively and personally?

“Becoming a ‘mother’ has completely changed how I view legacy. How I create is truly how I raise my child. Both are about what gets carried forward and what gets left behind. I think about the woman who came before us, like my mother. What they carried that was never written down or documented – but it lived on through the stories they shared with us, how they cooked, cared and held themselves through hard seasons. My work is partly an attempt to hold on to those memories and pass them on to the next generation. As a mother, I also feel a huge responsibility about what gets passed on – so I have to tread carefully.”

You’ve mentioned your ambition to create monumental sculptural works. Where do you see your practice heading next, and what stories do you still feel compelled to tell?

“Scale is the next step – these stories deserve to take up space. So it will bring on new challenges to my practice and my journey. As for stories, motherhood is a fraction of my identity and I don’t have a solid blueprint of life yet, so I will let the journey continue and let the work speak when it’s ready.” | @nwabisantl0kwana

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