Johannesburg’s Kalashnikovv Gallery and Pablo House Boutique Hotel are collaborating on their second and winter edition of Gallery Nights with the exhibition ‘Boundless.’ Originally showcased at Kalashnikovv Gallery in February, this exhibition features the next generation of young Black women artists with limitless potential to grow in a multitude of directions in their careers. Working with a variety of media and materials that span across acrylics, oil, collage and pastel, yarn on burlap, canvas and paper, this selection echoes the spirit of Cape Town Art Fair’s 2024 theme ‘Unbound.’ This speaks to the manner in which artists are encouraged to have an unrestrained approach to develop what it means to be an emerging voice and young working artist in South Africa at the start of a career.
‘Boundless’ sees Pablo House’s hotel suites, lounge, and reception areas adorned by the art of 10 young and emerging female artists. Viewers who book a room can see the artist dedicated to an individual suite, allowing for a relaxed setting in which the works can be viewed and purchased. At the core of this collaborative series is a focus to uplift the creative economies sector and re-examine what a holiday memento could be. The motivation to go with an all-female exhibition speaks to the global art market status quo where the most recent Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report confirmed what we all know — that even though there have been some improvements, the persistent underrepresentation of women artists continues. Kalashnikovv associate director, Zanele Kumalo, stated that according to the report the share of female artists represented inched up to 40% across all dealers working in the primary market or both the primary and second markets. This is an annual increase of 1%, and a more significant rise from 35% in 2018.
The report adds that although most collectors may not be biased in their choice of artists, and gender may play a minor role in purchasing decisions, the availability of artists’ works through dealers and other channels ultimately influences the composition of collections, and hence the minority of female artists represented at galleries (and appearing in auction sales) has affected these ratios reported by collectors.
‘Boundless’ features work by Chuma Adam, Buqaqawuli Thamami Nobakada, Kay-Leigh Fisher, and Yolanda Mazwana to name a few. The exhibition opened on the 5th of June and will be running until the 15th of September 2024.
