Through drawings, models and installations, Dennis’s practice maps out how systems of power shape time and space. The artist also visualises the material quality and conceptual framework of decolonisation, exploring what they term as a “black consciousness of space”.

Known for stitching contrasting materials into arrangements that gesture to the body, Nicholas Hlobo’s work explores the dualities and tensions that come with navigating life as a gay, Xhosa man. The conceptual thread of challenging gender binaries also runs through Hlobo’s performances, in which he typically animates or inhabits the sculptural forms he sews together.

Senzeni Marasela often uses the body and memory in her work to excavate systems of exploitation. Marasela explores this through textile art, performance, photography, printmaking and installation; often invoking the alter ego, Theodora Mthenyane. Born of her mother’s personal experience, this character embodies the feelings of longing and loss felt by many black women during apartheid, as men migrated into urban areas for labour.

Thania Petersen’s practice is deeply rooted in the artist’s Islamic and Cape Malay heritage. Through self-portraits, performance pieces and installations, Petersen aims to subvert the colonial gaze and the oppressive histories this framing is connected to.

Johannes Phokela draws inspiration from 17th and 18th-century Old Master paintings, reinterpreting their style and iconography into critiques of colonialism and contemporary socio-political conditions.

Frequently working with her own body, Berni Searle’s lens-based practice intimately explores the impact of history on one’s identity. In Searle’s most notable works, she engages with spices, fabric and the land to uncover the complexity of memory, belonging and selfhood, particularly in post-apartheid South Africa.

Mmakgabo Mmapula Helen Sebidi is renowned for the rich spiritual symbolism, colourful palette and vibrant figures in her paintings. The artists’ scenes depict the lived experiences of black South Africans during apartheid, in both urban and rural settings. Importantly, Sebidi highlights the role that community, spirituality and the safeguarding of culture play in surviving the harsh realities her work reflects.

Primarily through performance, sculpture and installation, Buhlebezwe Siwani’s practice grapples with the impact of colonial violence and contemporary life on the black female body. She also explores practices of memorialisation and the healing force of spiritual rituals in her work. Though we have yet to offer works by Siwani, Strauss & Co gladly welcomes consignments for the artist.

Kemang wa Lehulere uses drawing, sculpture, installation and performance to explore how personal and collective narratives are intertwined and shaped by painful histories. The artist frequently incorporates salvaged objects and materials that carry great symbolic weight in South Africa into his artworks. With this, items such as desks, tyres, blackboards and ceramic dogs are repurposed to comment on oppression, mechanisms of control and the role of decolonisation.

Billie Zangewa’s (Malawian-born and Johannesburg-based artist) hand-sewn silk collages offer an intimate glimpse into her life as a black woman and mother. Alongside tender depictions of daily life and moments of leisure, the artist’s delicate tapestries include portraits of loved ones and busy urban scenes, subtly layered with social commentary.

The inclusion of these artists is even more significant considering the challenges the country’s Arts and Culture Sector is facing and the consequent absence of a South African pavilion in this year’s Biennale. With this in mind and driven by our belief in the value of championing Modern and Contemporary South African art globally, Strauss & Co is once again a sponsor of the African Art in Venice Forum (AAVF), in partnership with African Art Dialogues and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.

The Forum’s free public programme has been held during the opening week of the Venice Biennale since 2017 and facilitates important dialogue about the scope, influence and visibility of African art. Under the theme Beyond Visibility: A Method of Inquiry, this year’s Forum will kick off with an opening breakfast on Tuesday, 5 May 2026, at the Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal.

RSVP below to join the opening event, should you be in Venice at the time.

The official African Art in Venice Forum programme and information about previous events can be found on: https://www.aavforum.com/.