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TAIL OF
THE DOG

Repurposing

he Johannesburg Contemporary building itself is in exposed red brick, The current exhibition, of three
Art Foundation is a relatively with a beautiful English Bond brick international female artists – Irma
Tnew gallery on the art scene. It pattern one row sideways on, one Stern, Frieda Carlo, Amrita Sher-Gil
is in leafy Forest Town, in a renewed row end on. Layers of paint had to - is magnificent in this setting. There
building that used to be a tram shed, be sandblasted off the original walls are only three actual paintings, one by
and then an electric substation. to re-expose the face brick. The each artist. The first room leading up
new sections of brickwork remain to the exhibition space shows large
The architects responsible for the faithful to the old, with extremely high photos of places each artist would
revival are StudioMAS, and in ceilings, again maintained, and the have known, in the next space are
2022 they won the Herbert Prins link between the existing buildings more intimate photographs of them in
Colosseum Award, which celebrates is in steel and glass. Another nice their studios, with their families, and
Heritage achievements, for saving touch is the colour used on the metal then in the final gallery, each painting
and restoring this old Council building. work – what my mother disparagingly is housed in a ‘room’ in a colour and
called PWD Brown (she hated shape hinting at their origins.
Electric trams ran through brown) – Public Works Department
Johannesburg, and the shed near the Brown. It is a rich rust red and is on The visit to the Art Foundation, to
top of the Jan Smuts Avenue hill was the rainwater hoppers, drainpipes, the actual building, as well as to the
used for housing the double decker metalwork, and is an inspiring change exhibition, was a real treat.
trams for the lines that serviced from the popular contemporary black
Rosebank and the Zoo Lake. As a or charcoal. Third time lucky for this building – may
memento of the tram rails, the gallery it be much admired in its new format.
entrance has a sweeping metal roof As a gallery, it is also refreshing
over the actual place where the rails to have the red brickwork on the
ran into the building (they still exist inside as well, instead of the white
below the concrete pathway). The spaces so revered by art curators. Gill Butler

PLUSH

BOLT

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