Elana Brundyn and Lebohang Kganye. File photo
While walking through Cape Town’s busy city centre, it is easy to catch yourself stopping to peek inside Brundyn Arts & Culture, a new space in the art world where collectors and enthusiasts are invited to connect on a deeper level.
Unlike most galleries, which are white-walled, Brundyn Arts & Culture’s are a warmer grey tone decorated with patterned tiles from the outside in while incorporating the raw and industrial vibe of the area.
Under the guidance of its founder Elana Brundyn, who was the founding CEO of the prestigious Norval Foundation and director of institutional advancement at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, the new gallery and cultural consultancy is sure to be a major fixture on Africa’s bursting art scene.
“I’m fascinated by the psyche of the collector,” says Brundyn. “There’s also a lot of deep learning here. Even before the world was all about artificial intelligence and deep learning, this is something artists have been doing forever.”
Previously, Brundyn worked with some of the continent’s most celebrated artists and exhibitions including William Kentridge’s Why Do I Hesitate and Jackson Hlungwani’s Alpha and Omega, which received the Special Commendation from the Sotheby’s Prize body.
Now, through Brundyn Arts & Culture, Brundyn is able to put her stamp of approval on emerging artists who are not represented by any of the major galleries.
Every picture tells a story
You will be hard-pressed to find a spot in the Brundyn Arts & Culture space that is not intentionally designed for deep-rooted connection, whether you’re in the gallery, in the basement or looking in the windows from the street.
Walking through the exhibition with Brundyn, it is clear she and the team are believers in people coming together to celebrate contemporary African artists.
Beyond the exhibition space, there are a number of works by contemporary artists, including a painting by Lulama Wolf in her office.
Until October, visitors and passers-by will see works by Johannesburg artist and photographer Lebohang Kganye in her first solo presentation in Cape Town called Mmoloki wa mehopolo: Breaking Bread with a Wanderer, showcasing work from five projects from the last decade.
“We are particularly proud to launch our exhibition space in Cape Town with a show by Lebohang Kganye because her practice perfectly aligns with our mission and purpose, to foster sincere appreciation and comprehensive knowledge of art in a distinctly African context while promoting meaningful collaboration, deep learning and creative exchange,” says Brundyn.
On the lower floors are works from Kganye’s 2018 series Tell Tale and a short film called Shadows of Re-memory from 2021, which share an aesthetic of shadowy human silhouettes within Karoo-like dioramas, which feel like miniature theatre sets.
The scenes also explore the Owl House in the Eastern Cape’s Nieu-Bethesda, the home of recluse Helen Martins. It’s clear that Kganye is fascinated by how these stories coalesce memory, imagination, and fantasy.
Another theme explored through Kganye’s work is that of female lighthouse-keepers in the 19th and 20th centuries, via Keep the Light Faithfully (2022), which connects to Kganye’s surname, which means “light” in Sotho.
The one photographic series of Kganye’s that stands out is Ke Lefa Laka — Her Story (2023). The works are an ode to Kganye’s late mother.
The artist restages photos taken of her mother throughout her life — by wearing the same clothing and mimicking her stances and poses — and superimposes them on the originals, showing the clear similarity between mother and daughter.
Together, the photos feel like you are walking through a photo-montage of both their lives, which are full of joy and celebration.
But, at the same time, South Africa’s art world can be tricky to navigate as it exists more as an art economy than an art ecosystem, where the value of purchasing and participating in art creates rigid barriers.
Despite having won international awards, Kganye is not represented by any of the major local galleries. Even though she is exhibiting at Brundyn Arts & Culture, she has to remain neutral, explains Brundyn.
“Sometimes a barrier is as simple as buying an admission ticket. At Brundyn Arts & Culture, we are open by appointment or invitation only and that is a barrier, but our Boschendal space is for everyone because it’s not simply a museum setting,” explains Brundyn.
For those who can’t access the gallery, pieces from Kganye’s most recent body of work Mosebetsi wa Dirithi are on display in the large street-facing windows.
These large draping patchworks, featuring three large female figures, are inspired by images pulled from family albums, embodying kinship and strength.
Throughout Mmoloki wa mehopolo: Breaking Bread with a Wanderer, Kganye makes the viewer look back into their own memories and archives to understand what they make them feel today, in retrospect, or whether these memories were even factual representations at all.
If an inaugural exhibition at a new artistic space like Brundyn Arts & Culture has the ability to elicit memory archiving, then they are definitely doing something curatorially compelling. But isn’t that the purpose of an artistic exhibition? To feel like a wanderer in a space that feels like it is speaking directly to you.