The new wave: the local appetite for art buying in SA is gaining momentum

These bright young acquisitive things share their favourites and tips on which artists to watch out for.

ROHAN HORN

For Rohan Horn, a creative director in the film and media industry, beginning an art collection was a natural development. He took art as a subject in high school and later went on to study interior design. “When you do art direction for a particular project you invest a lot of time researching a specific period, and also understanding a character,” he says. There’s no denying that researching and developing a detailed visual reference in this way has informed his interest in art.

But there was a time as a kid when the term “collection” equated to what
was seen on the walls of galleries and museums he visited. “It was only later
on in my life, settling down and earning an income, that I realised I could
build up my own collection,” he says.

Now, at 42, collecting means buying and investing in art that he loves and appreciates. “It’s the desire to collect and to familiarise yourself with the art world, knowing who is who; who was, but still is; and who is going where,” he says. 

A friend of Horn’s, an avid collector, introduced him to the art scene and subsequently taught him a lot of what he knows today. Beginning with a Walter Battiss pen and ink on paper entitled Orgy, he now owns about 15 pieces, but admits to selling and acquiring new ones regularly. Many of these works are displayed en masse on a large gallery wall in his loft apartment in Milpark, bringing the space to life. 

Much of what Horn owns comprises portrait works and oils; of late, however, he is mindful of leaning too heavily towards a particular style or theme. “I’ve learnt to experiment and put things together that traditionally wouldn’t work together; I think it opens me up to being more adventurous when collecting and appreciating each piece individually,” he explains.  

You’ll find a few of the country’s greats hanging throughout his apartment, such as Walter Battiss, Diane Victor, Nandipha Mntambo, and Robert Hodgins, but his treatment of art remains playful, with uncanny combinations and a few affordable DIY works, including prints he has scanned and enlarged. He admits to having a weakness for Diane Victor’s smoke drawings, of which he owns two, saying: “The smoke creates a multitude of fragile layers, it’s quite captivating to look at.” 

When it comes to local emerging artists, Horn’s gaze is set on Kirsten Lilford, Jared Ginsburg, Mary Wafer, and Jonah Sack. “This year’s Joburg Art Fair has me looking forward to seeing work by Marion Boehm, Maurice Mbikayi, and the 2016 featured artist, Wangechi Mutu,” he says. Throughout the year his usual haunts include galleries such as Smac, WhatiftheWorld, the Goodman Gallery, and Stevenson, and he cites the Wits Art Museum’s Ginsberg collection of more than 700 Walter Battiss works as the show that recently blew him away.

KHOLISA THOMAS

“We like artists that speak to the struggle, victories and hope of South Africa. As a young black couple living in post-apartheid South Africa, their stories are our stories,” Kholisa Thomas comments on her and husband Ciko Thomas’s art-buying preferences. When it comes to supporting local artists, the couple is building an impressive local collection. Their anthology of about 100 artworks
is almost entirely South African, with work by the likes of Sam Nhlengethwa, 
Zwelethu Mthethwa, David Koloane, John Mohl, and Robert Hodgins. 

The Thomases started their collection 10 years ago when they were newly married. “We had a common love of the Joburg art scene and spent a lot of time visiting galleries,” Thomas says.

It began with a Santu Mofokeng print entitled Easter Sunday, found in a Paris gallery doing a retrospective of Mofokeng’s work. “We were drawn to this particular photograph and his series of church-goers on Easter Sunday because of his intimate portrayal of black people in a religious setting, countering the widespread images of brutality and oppression that dominated the global media’s characterisation of South Africa at the time,” she recalls.

“At this stage we’re able to really consider what we collect and we try not to always go for the obvious or safe artists,” she says a decade on from those first purchases, citing lesser-known artists such as Mongezi Ncaphay.

“Currently, I’m keeping my eye on Mpho Mokgadi, Mbali Mdluli, Mack Magagane, and Senzeni Marasela. Senzeni’s work deals with gender inequality, and apartheid injustices inflicted on women, particularly relating to forced migrant labour. It’s incredibly powerful content,” she says.

Thomas left a career in head-hunting to answer her creative calling by starting The Art Talks (TAT). TAT, which launched recently, has already garnered a following with art lovers who want a more real connection to the working art world, something that galleries don’t traditionally provide for them. The gathering, facilitated by Thomas, initiates conversation between artists and art fans in a relaxed, social environment.  

As a result, she knows most of the creators of their anthology first hand, and spends a lot of time at places such as August House in downtown Joburg, not always looking to buy, but speaking to the artists who work there and getting a first-hand look at their processes. “It’s vitally important for me to meet the artists. Once I talk to them and understand their practices I really appreciate their work,” she says.

She also frequents Room Gallery for its fantastic selection of photographers, and MK and Artist printmaking studio. “It’s my go-to studio for limited edition prints by artists such as David Koloane, Colbert Mashile, and Senzo Shabangu,”
she says of the latter. 

Thomas says the couple would like to set their sights further afield within Africa, once they’ve built up their South African collection. She envisages spring-boarding a new collection by attending fairs such as the Dakar Art Show and I:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London. But she’ll start by getting a good taste of what Africa has to offer at the Joburg Art Fair, where Turiya Magadlela with Blank Projects and Merikokeb Berhanu from Addis Fine Art are of particular interest to her. Thomas comments of the latter: “I can’t take my eyes off her abstract forms, her bursting flowers in bloom, and ripe fruit.”

JONATHAN AND AIMEE LIEBMANN

Jonathan Liebmann is the maverick property developer behind Maboneng, and his wife Aimee owns Malica interior design studio. Both are 33 years old, and they have a rapidly growing collection that is unique, because much of it has
been acquired by way of exchange from tenants and friends, with rental space being paid for in artworks. “We tend to buy art from artists we know and interact with so the works in our collection have an additional layer of meaning behind
them,” Aimee Liebmann says.

Art plays a vital role in Maboneng and the precinct’s growing number of galleries is an important platform for visitors and residents. “Art has always been a catalyst for change in society. It brings diverse people together and can encourage a collaborative approach to the way that individuals work with each other,” Jonathan Liebmann says. 

The couple’s anthology predominantly comprises emerging SA artists such as Lorenzo Nassimbeni, Rodan Kane Hart, Bronwyn Lace, and Marcus Neustetter. All of their works are a fitting addition to their edgy apartment in the precinct’s Artisan Lofts. The largest body of work by a single artist comprises a series of six drawings by Neustetter, created during a stay at Jonathan Liebmann’s then Monaghan Farm property. Each drawing was the result of a car journey between two points, which was documented, pen in hand, with the motion of the car marking the paper. It’s a captivating series that represents a moment in time, captured in fine, drifting pen marks.

“Art is an asset class that performs two functions — financial value and emotional value,” Aimee Liebmann says. A great example of the latter is a Nassimbeni sketch that was commissioned to mark the couple’s wedding. It depicts, in pen, the turret of the old Cuthberts building that the Liebmanns were married in, on the corner of Eloff and Pritchard streets in central Joburg.

Other favourites include a work on paper by Clifford Charles (Untitled), produced while the artist was in residency at the 12 Decades Art Hotel. “The work possesses a subtle, soft touch that gives off a quiet energy,” Jonathan 
Liebmann says. Another cherished piece in their collection is one by underground street artist Gustav Love entitled Voluptuous Valleys; the artwork was a rare gift given to Jonathan Liebmann during on a trip to Bavaria. 

Their advice to beginner collectors is to book a studio visit with an artist to obtain insight into their work before buying from their gallery, to look out for street artists whose works are cropping up at some of Joburg’s galleries, and not to overlook the smaller, more experimental galleries. They’re eager to see what Cape Town galleries WhatiftheWorld and Smac bring to the table at this year’s Joburg Art Fair.

DAWOOD PETERSEN

Forty-year-old attorney Dawood Petersen got into art collecting 10 years ago when he met Joost Bosland (the Stevenson gallery’s current director) who was, at the time, doing an internship at Michael Stevenson gallery in Green Point. The two developed a friendship, with Bosland ultimately imparting a great deal of knowledge that nurtured Petersen’s appreciation of art. 

“I don’t come from a family of people collecting art,” Petersen says. “Honestly, my only awareness of art back then was the curio art I used to see at 
Greenmarket Square. 

“I have always been drawn to the artists, more so than the art itself, which means I can live with a variety of  art,” he says. It’s the way in which the artists work, their  approach, belief systems, and theories of art that he is most 
interested in – the artworks are a product of that. “Because each artist’s energy is embodied in their work, I have to be sold by that person,” he says. 

Consequently, Petersen admits to not really buying into a style of art. “I like work that’s generally a bit uncomfortable, and art that others might not typically read as art. It has to occupy a position and invoke something for me,” he says. His immense anthology contains the works by Zander Blom, Bogosi Sekhukhuni, Serge Alain Nitegeka, Kemang wa Lehulere, Lawrence Lemaoana, 
and Avant Car Guard, to name a few. 

“I try to stretch myself by buying art I wouldn’t normally gravitate towards, like a life-size installation of Chloe Hugo Hamman’s Cultural Village, and a series of stills from a performance of Lerato Shadi’s involving a knitted woollen umbilical cord,” Petersen says. “I also try to buy art when (the artists) are young, I don’t buy art for investment purposes, but I think at that point in time they make the most exciting work.” A case in point is when he was fortunate enough to have bought one of Serge Alain Nitegeka’s early work, entitled Foreign Body, when the now famous artist was still a student at Wits.

Art collecting is an outlet for Petersen that provides a counterpoint to his work
as an attorney, and he has embraced the lifestyle that comes with it, occasionally travelling abroad to visit major international art fairs such as Frieze, and attending exhibitions on the local scene. He’s also on the board of a project space in Joburg called NGO (Nothing Gets Organised). The first piece bought that really excited him was a painting by Avant Car Guard called The Poor Man’s Picasso, which poked fun at the art world in a manner that was characteristic of the collective at the time. “This particular one was of William Kentridge with text across his forehead that read HOLLYWOOD. That same evening I saw Kentridge and asked for his honest thoughts on the work: he just told me to buy it,” Petersen says. 

He’s presently keeping an eye on local artists Bogosi Sekhukhuni and Laura Windvogel. “I like that she’s vocal and has an opinion,” he says of the latter. Of the artists he looks forward to seeing at the Joburg Art Fair, he makes special mention of Nolan Oswald Dennis.

THE FNB JOBURG ART FAIR Opens at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg from September 9-11. fnbjoburgartfair.co.za