In The Alchemy of Colour, The Melrose Gallery presents a selection of colour-driven works by bold voices in contemporary African art.The exhibition presents a large number of artists from The Melrose Gallery stable, including the likes of Dr. Noria Mabasa, Dr. Esther Mahlangu, Carol Cauldwell, Ndabuko Ntuli, Paul Blomkamp, Mederic Turay, Aza Masongi, Oscar Korbla Mawuli Awuku, Sifiso Ka-MKam and many others.
Each artist in this exhibition approaches colour not just as pigment but as energy — a living force that shapes space, emotion, and experience. Their works celebrate transformation: of the surface into depth, instinct into structure, imagination into visual harmony, and two-dimensional colour into three-dimensional form.
From Blomkamp's transcendent abstractions, where radiant hues pulse with meditative rhythm, to Turay's explosive compositions, textured with soul and complexity — colour becomes a tool of movement and meaning. Awuku's body-painted forms, captured in photographic stillness, echo ancestral futurism and symbolic power.
The sculptural works add another dimension to this exploration of colour's power, with Dr. Noria Mabasa's sculptures demonstrating how colour can emerge from earth and clay, transforming raw materials into vibrant, spiritual presences.
Set in the heart of winter, The Alchemy of Colour offers warmth, dynamism, and contrast — reminding us that colour can shift mood, space, and thought. This is a celebration of visual richness and an invitation to feel deeply and look again, whether experiencing colour's flow across canvas or its embodiment in sculptural form.
The Alchemy of Colour
In The Alchemy of Colour, The Melrose Gallery presents a selection of colour-driven works by bold voices in contemporary African art.The exhibition presents a large number of artists from The Melrose Gallery stable, including the likes of Dr. Noria Mabasa, Dr. Esther Mahlangu, Carol Cauldwell, Ndabuko Ntuli, Paul Blomkamp, Mederic Turay, Aza Masongi, Oscar Korbla Mawuli Awuku, Sifiso Ka-Mkame and many others.
Each artist in this exhibition approaches colour not just as pigment but as energy — a living force that shapes space, emotion, and experience. Their works celebrate transformation: of the surface into depth, instinct into structure, imagination into visual harmony, and two-dimensional colour into three-dimensional form.
From Blomkamp's transcendent abstractions, where radiant hues pulse with meditative rhythm, to Turay's explosive compositions, textured with soul and complexity — colour becomes a tool of movement and meaning. Awuku's body-painted forms, captured in photographic stillness, echo ancestral futurism and symbolic power.
The sculptural works add another dimension to this exploration of colour's power, with Dr. Noria Mabasa's sculptures demonstrating how colour can emerge from earth and clay, transforming raw materials into vibrant, spiritual presences.
Set in the heart of winter, The Alchemy of Colour offers warmth, dynamism, and contrast — reminding us that colour can shift mood, space, and thought. This is a celebration of visual richness and an invitation to feel deeply and look again, whether experiencing colour's flow across canvas or its embodiment in sculptural form.
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Paul BlomkampUntitled, 2025Acrylic on Canvas90 x 110 x 5 cm$ 10,670.00C008013Copyright The Artist -
Keith CalderThrownBronze67 x 24 x 31.5 cmR 134,170.00C006412Copyright The Artist
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Aza MansongiNo Exit, 2022Acrylic on cotton canvas120 x 120 cm$ 3,910.00C006409Copyright The Artist
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Arno MorlandLittel Miracle, 2023Bronze mounted on stone20,5 x 20 x 12 cmEdition of 12 (#1/12)19,205.00C007645
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Arno MorlandUndead man, 2023Bronze mounted on stone19,3 x 28, 6 x 10,5 cmEdition of 12 (#1/12)C007647
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Arno MorlandUndead man, 2023Bronze mounted on stone19,3 x 28, 6 x 10,5 cmEdition of 12R 19,300.00C007647
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Arno MorlandLittel inside voice , 2023Bronze mounted on stone21,5 x 24 x 14 cmEdition of 12 (#1/12)C007650
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Carol CauldwellBoy with Puppy, 2025BronzeSculpture: 70 x 60 x 92 cm
Plinth:Edition 8 of 8186,780.00C007951Copyright The Artist -
Corne du Plessis#6, 2023Ceramic Porcelain25 x 16 x 16 cmEdition of 5 (#3/5)C007678
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Corne du Plessis#6, 2023Ceramic Porcelain25 x 16 x 16 cmEdition of 5 (#1/5)R 9,800.00C007679
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Corne du Plessis#6, 2023Ceramic Porcelain25 x 16 x 16 cmEdition of 5R 9,800.00C007679
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Marieke Prinsloo-RoweMountain Girl, 2023Bronze38,5 x 8,3 x 22,2 cmR 143,500.00C007822
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Marieke Prinsloo-RoweThe Reader, 2023Bronze68 x 40 x 27 cmC007824
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Aza MansongiDilemme , 2021Collage and acrylic on canvas120 x 120 cmC003935Copyright The Artist
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Bercia RoosMr Chelsea Square Pants, 2025Mixed Media48 x 42 x 10 cmC008244
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Bercia RoosPascale Flamboyant, 2025Mixed Media45 x 18 x 18 cmC008245
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Bercia RoosRusty Celine, 2025Mixed Media46 x 22 x 22 cmC008246
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Bercia RoosOldtimer Nelson, 2025Mixed Media38 x 16 x 16 cmC008247
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Oscar Korbla Mawuli AwukuRed Hoodie, 2021Acrylic on canvas100 x 120 cm$ 4,784.00C008020
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Oscar Korbla Mawuli AwukuUntitled, 2021Acrylic on Canvas130 x 101 x 2 cmC008024Copyright The Artist
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Oscar Korbla Mawuli AwukuWave Rider, 2021Digital Archival Photo on Hahnemuhle Rag84 x 60 cm
91.5 x 64 x 5 cm (framed)Edition of 10$ 4,050.00C005359 -
Paul BlomkampLight of Lights, 2025Acrylic on Canvas100 x 100 x 5 cmR 138,000.00C008008
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Paul BlomkampThe Last Iceberg #5, 2025Acrylic on Canvas50 x 50 x 5 cm$ 2,860.00C008010
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Paul BlomkampThe Last Iceberg #4, 2025Acrylic on Canvas50 x 50 x 5 cm$ 16,500.00C008011
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Paul BlomkampThe Last Iceberg #7, 2025Acrylic on Canvas50 x 50 x 5 cmR 37,950.00C008012
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Paul BlomkampThe Man Who Talked to Himself, 2025Acrylin on Canvas150 x 120 x 5 cmC008014Copyright The Artist
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Paul BlomkampThe Man Who Stepped Forward, 2025Acrylic on Canvas50 x 50 x 5 cmC008015
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Paul BlomkampThe Man Who Stepped Forward, 2025Acrylic on Canvas50 x 50 x 5 cmC008016
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Paul BlomkampThe Man Who Stepped Forward, 2025Acrylic on Canvas50 x 50 x 5 cmC008018
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Paul BlomkampThe Man Who Stepped Forward, 2025Acrylic on Canvas50 x 50 x 5 cmC008019
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Christiaan DiedericksBloodroots II (Elegy: The Pretender), 2017Etching and aquatint on 300 gsm Hahnemuhle etching paper40 x 20 cm14/20R 12,910.00C001715
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Sfiso Ka-MkameMother, 2019Oil pastel on paper120 x 90 cm (Framed)R 82,455.00C001706
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Mederic TurayThe People's Voice, 2024Mixed Media on Canvas250 x 180 cmC006387Copyright The Artist
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Mederic TurayWelcome Home, 2024Mixed Media on Canvas100 x 100 cmC006389Copyright The Artist
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Mederic TurayThe speaking Totems , 2024Mixed Media on Canvas200 x 200 cm$ 31,395.00C006393Copyright The Artist
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Noria MabasaUntitled , 2025Bronze
70 x 26 cmEdition of 8 plus 2 artist's proofs$ 12,500.00C005274 -
Noria MabasaUntitled , 2025Bronze
82 x 28 cmEdition of 8C005281 -
Papytsho MafoloAll Lord All Honor , 2021Mixed media on canvas200 H x 238 W x 05 cm$ 14,750.00C005374Copyright The Artist
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Cecilia Wilmot BallamWoman on HorseBronze65 x 52 cm7/12R 38,330.01C002235
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Corne du Plessis#6, 2023Ceramic Porcelain25 x 16 x 16 cmEdition of 5 (#4/5)C007680
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Noria MabasaUntitled , 2025Bronze
71 x 24 cmEdition of 8$ 12,500.00C005277 -
Noria MabasaUntitled , 2025Bronze
68 x 24 cm$12,500.00C005280 -
Ella CronjeShadow (Geppetto)Patinated bronze on granite base40 x 22 x 25 cmEdition of 10R 37,380.00C000051
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Paul BlomkampThe Last Iceberg, 2025Acrylic on Canvas50 x 50 x 5 cmR 37,950.00C008009
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Simon ZithaSibongile , 2021Bronze and stone118 x 48 x 48 cm
62 kgR 320,000.15C005141 -
Simon ZithaFace Up , 2020Bronze50 x 47 x 84 cmR 220,000.00C003602
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Ndabuko NtuliIncasa I, 2024Mixed Media50 x 36 x 36 cmR 57,500.00C008158
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Carol CauldwellRabbit Mom and Baby, 2025BronzeSculpture: 44 x 32 x 76 cm
Plinth:
21.2kgsEdition 4 of 15C007952Copyright The Artist -
Ndabuko NtuliIncasa II, 2024Mixed Media50 x 36 x 36 cmR 57,500.00C008155
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Keith CalderGoal keeperBronze39 x 105 x 43 cmEdition of 10 (#1/10)R 306,700.00C006149Copyright The Artist
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Christiaan DiedericksMonstrum est Scriptor Festum IV (State III), 2017Linocut on 300gsm Hahnemühle etching paper28 x 78 cm11/15R 11,600.00C000490
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Arlene Amaler-RavivUntitled, 2020Oil on canvas71 x 71 cmR 51,750.00C006671Copyright The Artist
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Arlene Amaler-RavivUntitled, 2023Acrylic on Canvas70 x 70 x 3 cmR 34,500.00C008038
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Arlene Amaler-RavivFootprint, 2019Oil on Canvas180 x 180 x 4 cmR 92,000.00C008037
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Arlene Amaler-RavivPeaceful, 2020Acrylic on Canvas110 x 175 x 3 cmC008039
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Arlene Amaler-RavivWAITING GAME, 2022Oil on canvas150 x 150 cmR 109,250.00C006375
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Arlene Amaler-RavivPROTEA, 2022Oil on canvas110 x 173 cmR 90,850.00C006374
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Arlene Amaler-RavivDOWNTOWN JOBURG, 2019Oil on canvas140 x 140 cmR 103,500.00C006373
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Profile of Zolani Mahola Image Credit: Gary Van Wyk
