There’s no shortage of art exhibitions to visit in Joburg – and this week is no exception. Our city is bursting with creative energy and our local galleries and art spaces bring this energy straight to you.
Here’s this week’s pick of the biggest art events to look out for.
OPENING EVENT: Goodman Gallery at Keyes Art Mile
OPENING SAT JUL 16 While Goodman Gallery is currently renovating its space on Jan Smuts Ave, this won’t stop them from sharing an exciting selection of work by their artists this winter. Goodman Gallery’s new pop-up exhibition space opens at Keyes Art Mile with a revolving programme of top artists throughout July and August. Find out more here.
OPENING EVENT: Sizwe Khoza: At least for now…
OPENING SAT JUL 16 FROM 11:00 The Lizamore & Associates gallery space at Rosebank FireStation hosts the latest exhibition by Sizwe Khoza. In his striking canvases, bright, hopeful and serene backgrounds are juxtaposed with the stark reality of the ”have nots”, as the artist explores the alternating perspectives of yearning for more while also not taking time to be grateful for the present.
WALKABOUT: William Kentridge: In black and white. And read all over
WALKABOUT SAT JUL 16 at 12:00, Art collector Jack Ginsberg leads an exclusive walkabout of the current William Kentridge book exhibition at the Jack Ginsberg Centre for Book Arts at Wits Art Museum. The selection on show includes monographs on Kentridge and his acclaimed career gathered over 35 years, ranging from the 1987 Standard Bank Young Artists Award booklet to the 2021 publication William Kentridge: Domestic Scenes, a precursor to a multi-volume catalogue raisonné of prints, plus plenty of books made by the artist himself. Find out more.
OPENING EVENT: Black Sonic: Heritage As Heresy
OPENING EVENT THU JULY 14 at 18:00 VIAD (Visual Identities in Art and Design Research Centre) and CSSJ (Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice at Brown University) present Black Sonic: Heritage as Heresy, a new exhibition at FADA Gallery at the University of Johannesburg. The exhibition is part of a long-term project between the two institutes that explores, through research and critical exchange, African and African-Diasporic art practices as they relate to questions of history, archive and the alternative imagination(s) of radical Black tradition. Through the past three years the project has produced numerous online ‘volumes’ now brought together as a new immersive audio-visual exhibition that includes film and sound installations, print media, photography, and classical African art. Find out more here.
EXHIBITION: Dream Invisible Connections, Strauss & Co
ON SHOW UNTIL AUG 12, Strauss & Co brings another dynamic duo – creating a fictional conversation between two artists from different eras in their latest special exhibition. Previous specially curated exhibitions have included an outstanding pairing of the work of George Pemba and Robert Hodgins. This time contemporary artist Mary Sibande and 20th Century artist Dorothy Kay (1886-1964) have been paired in a fascinating exhibition highlighting key dynamics between their lives and work. A must-see, it makes for powerful conversations between the works, re-enlivening historical context and shedding new light on the contemporary. Find out more here.
EXHIBITION: Fleamarket by Kylie Wentzel, Kalashnikovv
ON SHOW UNTIL END JULY Durban-born artist Kylie Wentzel conquers large canvases with acrylic paint and a signature graphic style. This exhibition presents brand new works and the artist’s statement simply reads as a list of things you find at a stereotypical, proudly South African flea market: Clothes piles, boerie rolls, an Isuzu Bakkie, Gold Jewellery, Fondue set, car boot cowboys, ceramic Yorkies, safety boots, potions, poisons, soap in bulk, Tupperware, favourites… TVs, radios, towels, vetkoek, and much, much more. Check out the details here.
EXHIBITION: Cult of One by Vusi Beauchamp
ON SHOW UNTIL END JULY Vusi Beauchamp’s latest solo exhibition at David Krut Projects presents provocative work that interrogates current societal ills against a backdrop of the postcolonial, post-Apartheid and post-‘Rainbow Nation’ era. Vusi employs popular culture, satire and stereotypes in service of a visual political commentary. Find out more.