Art in March: exhibitions worth a visit

The Freedom Trail | Gallery 2

Landscape painter Bruce Backhouse presents The Freedom Trail, a visual narrative after the journey of the Freedom Trail across SA. This is a 2,150km mountain bike route from Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal to Wellington in the Western Cape, tracking most of SA’s mountain systems. Every year mountain bikers ride the gruelling Race Across SA — set up by founder Dave Waddilove — after the Freedom Trail in 26 days. Backhouse’s series of paintings document the ever-changing terrain and captures the environment the riders experience.

The Freedom Trail Exhibition is on at Gallery 2 until April 6. Gallery 2 is open Tuesday to Friday 10am-5pm and on Saturday 10am-2pm.

Brood | Everard Read Johannesburg

Brett Murry’s new sculptural work, Brood, picks up from the artist’s 2021 show, Limbo, created during Covid-19 lockdown, focusing on the value of family and friends in uncertain times. The “fragile tenderness” of Limbo is continued as an intimate exploration of symbols of the family unit together while reflecting on prevailing zeitgeists. The new series of sculptures speak to how “we wage a war for a better world because of those we love”.

Brood is on at Everard Read Johannesburg until March 30. The gallery is open Monday to Friday 9am-5pm and on Saturday 9am-1pm.

Oppressor of the Oppressed | Everard Read Cape Town

Alongside his new body of work, Oppressor of the Oppressed, Johannesburg-based artist Blessing Ngobeni launches his latest book, Ntsumi Ya Vutomi, which translates into “Messenger of Experience”. Known for his potent collage paintings featuring distinctively fragmented and distorted characters, he now reflects on the negative and positive sides of history. The three large-scale works on canvas examine historical legacies and contemporary challenges, focusing on the complexities of oppression in African societies.

Oppressor of the Oppressed opens at Everard Read Cape Town on March 9 until March 23. The gallery is open Monday to Friday 9am-5pm and on Saturday 9am-1pm.

The Sea is History and Mmoloki wa Mehopolo: Breaking Bread with a Wanderer | Boschendal x Brundyn Gallery

Contemporary SA photographer Lebohang Kganye partners with Boschendal and Brundyn Arts & Culture in a landmark exhibition. With the works The Sea is History and Mmoloki wa Mehopolo: Breaking Bread with a Wanderer, Kganye presents an ensemble of sculptures, photographs and steel pop-up books. Her inventive approach to photography offers insights into heritage, migration and family archives.

The exhibition is open until end-March and the sculptures will remain on display until the end of the year. The gallery is open Monday to Sunday 9am-5pm. On Friday it is open until 7pm. There are daily walk-through tours at 11am.

A Sculptural Symphony | Berman Contemporary South African Art

SA visual artists Amogelang Maepa, Chrisél Attewell, Lee-At Meyerov, Mellaney Roberts and Paballo Majela are challenging and redefining aesthetic and conceptual parameters of contemporary sculptural art in a group exhibition, A Sculptural Symphony. The curation explores sculpture through diverse conceptual and technical approaches.

The exhibition is on until April 14. The gallery is open Monday to Friday 9am-5.30pm and on Saturday 9am-4.30pm.