Virtual Tours: 5 Online Exhibitions & 3D Galleries to Check Out During Lockdown

South African galleries might have shut down due to the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19, however, this has not stopped galleries across the country from showcasing artwork. They have found new ways to make their artwork and spaces accessible online with 3D tours and online exhibitions.

Here, we will take a look at some of these galleries and running exhibitions that can be ‘visited’ during this period.

BKhz Gallery

After the Absa Art Gallery, owner of BKhz gallery, Banele Khoza became the first local gallery owner to have 3D tours available online. BKhz has made all of its most recent exhibitions available on their website. Start your 3D tour here.

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We are pleased to share that @bkhz has 3D Virtual Tours available of our most recent exhibitions. See our bio or visit our website: www.bkhz.art for a full on virtual tour experience of BKhz. "In 2018 I realized the importance of 3D Virtual Tours as each exhibition became permanent for as long as you had the link. Also for easy access; anyone and everyone can have immediate access to our activations with no boarder in between. Having the knowledge that it is not always easy to make it to openings I have made it my priority to ensure we bring the show to you." – Banele Khoza (founder) More details: info@bkhz.co.za

A post shared by BKhz Gallery (@bkhz) on Mar 20, 2020 at 8:27am PDT

Goodman Gallery

Currently, the Goodman Gallery has a number of exhibitions available at their main galleries in Johannesburg and Cape Town. View one, or more of the exhibitions here.

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Ewa Nowak’s speculative work 'Incognito' (2018) aims to protect the individual from facial recognition algorithms used in surveillance cameras installed in public spaces and online. These cameras are able to recognise our age, mood, or sex and precisely match us to a database. Incognito disturbs the characteristic elements of the human face, making it difficult for this technology to operate. “The object is speculative,” says Nowak, “it can be assumed that in the future it could be a kind of commonly worn jewellery.” _____________ Pictured: Ewa Nowak, Incognito, 2018

A post shared by Goodman Gallery (@goodman_gallery) on Mar 16, 2020 at 7:38am PDT

Skin, Bone, Fire: The First Album by Philiswa Lila – NWU Main Gallery

North West University’s Main Gallery is pleased to present Skin, Bone, Fire: The First Album, a solo exhibition by 2018 Absa L’Atelier Gerard Sekoto winner, Philiswa Lila. The exhibition, which is the gallery’s first 3D exhibition, opened online on the gallery’s website on 2 April and will run until 5 May. View the exhibition here.

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It's here! The online 3D Exhibition is live! Philiswa Lila – SKIN, BONE, FIRE: THE FIRST ALBUM In 2018 Philiswa Lila walked away with the ABSA L'Atelier Gerard Sekoto award. Exhibiting her art at the NWU Gallery in collaboration with the Alliance Française Potchefstroom as part of her travelling exhibition of award-winning works. @afpotch @lila_newearth Follow the link in the bio! #MYNWU #nwugallery #absalatelier #philiswalila #Art #frenchalliancepotchefstroom #alliancefrançaise

A post shared by NWU Gallery (@nwugallery) on Apr 2, 2020 at 4:10am PDT

Gymnasium by Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi – Stevenson Gallery JHB

Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi, an award-winning painter and multimedia artist, hosted her first solo exhibition with Stevenson Gallery, Johannesburg. Gymnasium launched on Stevenson’s Instagram feed as well as its website. View the exhibition here.

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We're pleased to present 'Gymnasium', Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.⁠ ⁠🤸🏽‍♀️ ⁣ ⁣ Remarking on the origins of this series, the artist relates how, after a period of almost exclusively painting portraits, she found herself drawn to a painting she had made years earlier. The work depicts the inside of a gymnasium, an architectural form she found arresting at the time. In it, a group of young gymnasts are painted warming up in front of a mirror. ⁠⠀⁣ ⁠⠀⁣ This pictorial microcosm echoes shifts across the world of contemporary art as figures navigate the possession of talent and the politicisation of their bodies. Traversing vulnerability and visibility, the projected subversion in Nkosi’s figures becomes an embodied interrogation of hegemonic notions of excellence. She writes, ‘Ideology is at work in this sport. Gymnastics has been used as a tool of propaganda, of control, of patriarchy and of nationalism. Defining what bodies should look like, what perfection is, what the ideal human is. And here we are now – referencing the dominance of Simone Biles, currently the most decorated gymnast in World Championship history – when that “uber human” is a young, Black woman.’ ⁠ ⁣ ⁣ ‘Gymnasium’ will be on display at Stevenson Johannesburg from Thursday 26 March, during the gallery's normal business hours.⁠ There will be no formal opening.⁠⠀⁣ ⁠⠀⁣ 'Team', 2020⁠⠀⁣ _⁠⠀⁣ #ThenjiweNikiNkosi⁠⠀⁣ #Gymnasium

A post shared by STEVENSON (@stevenson_za) on Mar 16, 2020 at 5:20am PDT

Udludlilali by Mawande Ka Zenzile – Stevenson Gallery CPT

On 12 March, Stevenson, Cape Town opened Mawande Ka Zenzile’s solo exhibition titled Udludlilali. For those of you who did not get to see this exhibition before the lockdown, installation views are available here.

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Thank you for coming out to the opening of 'Udludlilali' by Mawande Ka Zenzile last night! 🐐⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Stop by to see the immersive exhibition at Stevenson Cape Town, running from 12 March to 25 April.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ 'Ingethe', 2020⁠⠀ ⁠ 📸: @acmrichards1

A post shared by STEVENSON (@stevenson_za) on Mar 13, 2020 at 1:04am PDT

Virtual Tour of Eclectica Galleries

Eclectica Galleries is currently hosting two solo exhibitions by artists Asanda Kupa and Hussein Salim. Visit the exhibitions here.