MELROSE GALLERY

THE MELROSE GALLERY The Gallery of The People www.themelrosegallery.co.za

A leading Pan African Contemporary space. Opposite Page: Aza Mansongi, Parcours du Combattant

Dubbed ‘The Gallery of the People’ by Pitika Ntuli, The Melrose Gallery is a leading Pan African Contemporary space perfectly located in the economic hubs of Melrose Arch in Johannesburg and One&Only Cape Town.

Passionate about African culture and traditions, the gallery has become a home in which artists, collectors and the public gather as a community to present and celebrate their stories, lives and creative practices in contemporary ways.

Our stable boasts iconic names of the likes of Dr Esther Mahlangu, Mam Noria Mabasa, Dr Willie Bester and Professor Pitika Ntuli amongst others. These globally celebrated stalwarts provide a stable foundation for an exciting group of young guards who are swiftly rising from the African Continent.

The Melrose Gallery coordinates a busy exhibition calendar of solo and group shows with well attended openings that are a highlight of the South African arts calendar. We coordinate SculptX, the largest annual sculpture fair in South Africa, every September. The third instalment in 2019 was a resounding success featuring over 290 sculptures submitted by more than 90 artists.

We participate in several Art Fairs each year and also conceptualise and implement importantnon-commercial exhibitions with museums and national galleries.

The Melrose Gallery – Johannesburg The Melrose Gallery is a beautiful 350 sq m space situated in the exclusive Melrose Arch urban precinct. We host regular solo and group exhibitions with extremely popular openings.

Melrose Arch is conveniently located and provides a safe retail experience with ample parking, hotels, restaurants and outdoor areas that allow for an exciting urban sculpture park that runs throughout the year. The gallery is open from Mon to Sat from 9 to 6pm and from 9 to 4pm on Sundays.

The Melrose Gallery – Cape Town The Melrose Gallery is an intimate space located at One&Only Cape Town, one of the most exclusive hotels in South Africa, situated at the V&A Waterfront.

We curate 4 captivating exhibitions per year in this space that work to expose our talented stable of artists to international and local art collectors and enthusiasts who live and visit Cape Town.

The gallery is manned from 9 to 5pm from Monday till Friday but access can be granted over weekends by the reception or concierge.

Dr Mbongeni Ngema and friends perform at the media launch of the Nelson Mandela Musical

Above: Esther Mahlangu, Abstract Left: Paul Blomkamp, Summer Cipher’s

Clint Strydom, Red Shoes/Prison Number Four

“The gallery has become a home in which artists, collectors and the public gather as a community to present and celebrate their stories, lives and creative practices”

Adejoke Tugbiyele – BISO and Prizm 2019: We are pleased to be showing Adejoke Tugbiyele at BISO ( the International Biennial of Sculpture of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso) in October and November 2019 and at the Prizm Art Fair in Miami early in December 2019. Adejoke has been awarded the Prix Leridon at BISO 2019.

Adejoke Tugbiyele is a talented, awardwinning international visual artist, sculptor, filmmaker, writer, activist and Fulbright scholar. Born in Brooklyn but of Nigerian descent, Adejoke has a Bachelor or Science degree in Architecture from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a Masters in Fine Arts in sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

She has exhibited at The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, The Brooklyn

Museum, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, The Newark Museum, The Jewish Museum of New York, The United Nations Headquarters in New York, The Museum of Arts and Design and the Centre for Contemporary Art in Lagos Nigeria amongst numerous others.

She was awarded the Rinehart School of Sculpture’s Amalie Rothschild Award in 2013, the Janet and Walter Sondheim Prize in 2013 (semifinalist) and the William M. Phillips Award for best figurative sculpture in 2012.

Bold and exploratory in her work, she challenges deeply held complacency and disturbing notions about her own gender and sexual identity in society. She currently lives and works in Johannesburg.