THE MELROSE GALLERY PRESENTS: A SPECTACULAR CELEBRATION OF SCULPTURE The Largest Annual Sculpture Fair in South Africa themelrosegallery.com
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he Melrose Gallery is proud to announce that the fourth instalment of SculptX, the largest annual sculpture fair in South Africa, will run from 2 September to 24 October 2021 at Melrose Arch
Over 200 artworks created by more than 70 established and emerging sculptors will be showcased in numerous indoor and outdoor spaces throughout the Melrose Arch Precinct and online, on a viewing room on www. themelrosegallery.com. SculptX was formed by The Melrose Gallery, in association with Melrose Arch to provide a valuable platform to promote sculpture and sculptors to those who live, work, and play in the precinct, as well as art collectors and enthusiasts in general. Sculpture has seen a strong increase in demand over the last 5 years leading to the establishment of many new foundries. But we have traditionally witnessed underrepresentation of sculpture created by female artists and those from the previously disadvantaged communities which we hope to positively impact on. SculptX provides emerging sculptors with the opportunity to exhibit alongside some of our most established artists, which is often not the case. Participating artists include such notables as Noria Mabasa, Willie Bester, Pitika Ntuli, Andries Botha, Wilma Cruise, Gordon Froud, Elizabeth Balcomb, Andre Stead and Strijdom van der Merwe amongst numerous others. The SculptX team have considered more than 350 works in order to select over 200 sculptures for showcase this year. These come from different cities throughout South Africa and include numerous mediums ranging from bronze, steel, found objects and stone to wood, crystal, glass, grass, fibre glass and carbon fibre.
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“We feel that it is important to present SculptX this year considering that many of the largest art fairs and major shows have been cancelled. The line-up is very strong and we look forward to presenting and celebrating to wealth of talented sculptors that exist in South Africa once again this year”, Craig Mark – The Melrose Gallery director. The Fair is accompanied by the ‘Sculpture Dialogues’ which consist of a panel discussion involving experts who will discuss issues of pertinence to sculpture in Africa. We have put much effort into sourcing female and young artists from the previously disadvantaged communities to give them the benefit of this valuable platform as they are often over looked and under-represented in this genre. Education also plays an integral role in SculptX, both for emerging sculptors who have the opportunity to hone their practice and to learn from so many different mediums and styles, and the public by making sculpture more accessible. SculptX is a testament to the increasing number of talented sculptors who are working with a diversity of materials, new mechanisms and technologies that are testing their production and creativity, the growing demand for sculpture from local and international collectors seeking powerful Pan-African narratives and a desire to encourage the continued growth of the genre within South Africa and the African continent at large. SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: Andries Botha: We are pleased to be presenting a large sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist Andries Botha. The work titled Amissa Anima Mea (Lost Soul) is created from hot dipped, galvanised mild steel, leadwoods and Nguni cow skin.
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