Local Art Exhibitions: What To See in 2023

Here’s our round up of local exhibitions and shows for you to enjoy in 2023. Bookmark it and check back frequently as we will continue to update it as we move towards 2024.


JANUARY

Barnard Gallery

17 January – 14 February 2023

Looking Out by Jo Hummel

South African Art Exhibitions

UK-based artist Jo Hummel describes her chosen material (paper) as domestic and ephemeral. An everyday surface which is manipulated with urgency using household tools such as scissors and knives. Her paintings are built up in layers and with joinery, often revealing fault lines and scars. ⁣Her‎ solo‎ exhibition‎ Looking Out,‎ will be her first‎ on‎ the‎ African‎ continent.

For more information, visit barnardgallery.com.


99 Loop

Until 26 January 2023

A bad night’s sleep by Benjamin Stanwix

South African Art Exhibitions

Containing undertones of socio-political commentary, Benjamin Stanwix’s work points to his interest in the labour economy and social history. This body of work in particular is inspired by the form and content of a heavily-redacted news clipping from 1978. Using a variety of mediums, Benjamin creates layers of meaning in his pieces, many of which are playful in their subject and execution.

For more information, visit 99loop.co.za.


Southern Guild

Until 2 February 2023

uBuhle boKhokho (Beauty of Our Ancestors): Zizipho Poswa

South African Art Exhibitions

Zizipho Poswa‘s latest solo exhibition is a new series of ceramic and bronze sculptures inspired by and in homage to the elaborate art of hairstyling practised by Black women across the African continent and diaspora and, more specifically, its profoundly symbolic relationship to Blackness.

Almost a year in the making, uBuhle boKhokho a continued exploration of her own cultural story as a Xhosa woman: she created and wore 12 hairstyles over a period of five months, documenting each embodiment photographically as part of her process. Through this charged metaphoric lens, hair becomes a personal script for language, for the carrying of meaning and the celebration of self as an act of defiance.

For more information, visit southernguild.com.


FEBRUARY

Barnard Gallery

23 February until 4 April 2023

Strange Light by Alexia Vogel

Q&A with Artist Alexia Vogel

This new collection of work sees Alexia Vogel continuing to refine a signature visual language which, while echoing the floral and tropical motifs of previous work, now appears in its most distilled form yet. In these bold, abstract new works brushstrokes hold their own significance, marks made become events in and of themselves.  Having always been directed first and foremost by process – the spontaneous flow of paint canvas, the instinctual thrust of gesture – Alexia now brings the physicality and movement of paint to centre stage.

For more information, visit barnardgallery.com.


Gallery Eleven at Spice Route Destination

Until 28 February 2023

Dawn to Dusk: Marie-Louise Koen

South African Art Exhibitions

Artist and interior designer Marie-Louise Koen launches solo show Dawn to Dusk in conjunction with the opening of joint venture Gallery Eleven at Spice Route Destination in Cape Town. Dawn to Dusk is Marie-Louise’s largest single collection to date and an ode to the Cape featuring a collection of enigmatic oceanic and beach scenes that document the transient dance of sunlight throughout a summer’s day.

For more information, visit spiceroutedestination.co.za


WHATIFTHEWORLD X KRONE Gallery

Until March 2023

Seeds of the fig curated by RESERVOIR

South African Art Exhibitions
The more you share, the less you need (2022) glazed ceramic sculpture (130 x 50 x 50 cm) by Ben Orkin.

Located in Tulbagh at the scenic Twee Jonge Gezellen farm, KRONE x WITW Gallery presents Seeds of the fig, a new exhibition curated by RESERVOIR. Showcasing work by 24 artists, the exhibition focuses on contemporary sculptural practice from the continent and includes the likes of Abdus Salaam, Ben Orkin, Cameron Platter, Ibrahim Mahama, Nicola Bailey, Richard Forbes, Serge Alain Nitegeka, Thamsanqa ‘Thami’ Kiti, Unathi Mkonto and Wim Botha.

For more information, visit whatiftheworld.com/krone.


HUB, Union House

7 February until 31 March 2023

Cunning Stunts by Frank Van Reenen

South African Art Exhibitions

Gentle satire, human fallibility, nostalgia and cartoon culture inform the sculptures, paintings and prints of Frank Van Reenen. The artist is mounting a new solo show, playfully titled ‘Cunning Stunts’, which will run at HUB in Cape Town from February through March 2023.

For more information visit frank.co.za and follow @house_union_block on Instagram.


The Yard, Silo District

9 February until 9 March 2023

Plant Babies by Lauren Shantall

South African Art Exhibitions

Plant Babies is a series of plant portraits in acrylics by head of award-winning communications agency Scout PR & Social Media Lauren Shantall. See them at The Yard in the Silo District, V&A Waterfront, from 9 February until 9 March 2023.

Lauren is fascinated by the pervasive plant movement on social media and beyond, its link to the rise of Organicism as a lifestyle philosophy and what it says about our society. “It makes me happy when I see the plant world taking pride of place in urban homes and spaces, and how the two seem to be moving closer together,” she says. “In this societal shift, we can read so many things: there’s reverence for nature, heightened awareness of greening and green issues, the place for plant therapy as an antidote to digital disconnection and the need to express care and nurture growth and positivity.”

Plant Babies will open to the public at 18h00 on Thursday 9 February 2023. There will be an artist’s
walkabout combined with a plant display and talk on plant care by Flourish Plant Studio from 11h00 to 12h00 on Saturday 11 February 2023. All free to attend. For more information, visit

For more information, visit laurenshantall.com, rkcontemporary.com or flourishplantstudio.com.


Everard Reed Gallery Johannesburg

Until 11 March 2023

Lion’s Breath by Ferdi B Dick

South African Art Exhibitions

Lion’s Breath’ is Inspired by the lion’s breath yoga practice loved by yogis for its ability to inject some humor into their practice, release tension and dispel negative energy. This role-play Yoga practice serves to encourage emotional healing and rejuvenation by encouraging you to shirk off inhibitions and surrender to your inner child. Ferdi B Dick’s whimsical and brightly coloured artworks strive to foster feelings of excitement and invite audiences to step into his exhilarating imaginative world.

For more information, visit everard-read.co.za.


APRIL

The Barnard Gallery

18 April – 23 May 2023

Tributaries – Contemporary Zimbabwean Narratives

South African Art Exhibitions – The Barnard Gallery

Tributaries – Contemporary Zimbabwean Narratives; a group exhibition of contemporary Zimbabwean visual artists including Richard Mudariki, Wilfred Timire, Franklyn Dzingai, Tega Tafadzwa and Dan Halter.

Represented in this exhibition are a generation of contemporary artists who speak most vocally and accurately about their country – its people, challenges, hopes and dreams. Collectively their works span diverse media including, but not limited to painting, printmaking, mixed media and sacking cloth tapestries. These artists possess a clear commitment to their practices and identify with the narrative that is Zimbabwe, exploring sociopolitical notions relating to identity, belonging, memory and geography in a post-colonial African context. With 18 April being Zimbabwe Day, Tributaries is an opportunity to celebrate their artistic prowess and commitment to their homeland.

The exhibition is co-curated by Alastair Whitton, Barnard’s Art Director and Richard Mudariki, founder of artHARARE, a pre-eminent platform to experience contemporary art from Zimbabwe. Established in 2020, artHARARE is engaged in contemporary dialogue and the promotion of the visual art and artists from Zimbabwe and its diaspora.

For more information, visit barnardgallery.com.