Celebrating contemporary portraiture at KZNSA Gallery

Portraits by two KwaZulu-Natal artists will form part of an exhibition featuring some of the country's best artists.

Durban is set to welcome the Rust-en-Vrede Portrait Awards, South Africa's premier competition celebrating excellence in contemporary portraiture, arrives in the city as part of its national tour.

Artworks of the winner and the top 40, from across the country, will be exhibited at the KZNSA Gallery in Bulwer Road, from February 11 until March 1.

Among the top 40 finalists showcased in this year's tour are two talented artists hailing from KwaZulu-Natal, Senzelw'umusa Mathe and Gary McIver.

Mathe, 22, who is now based in Johannesburg, has garnered attention for her unique artistic approach, creating intricate portraits entirely in tapestry crochet.

Her piece, Bazali Bami (“My Parents”), is based on a photograph of her parents, Khumbuzile and Themba Mathe, and celebrates the care and effort they invested in raising her.

For Mathe and her family, the exhibition represents a cherished opportunity to witness her work on their home turf.

She said crocheting was passed down through generations in her family.

"After learning to crochet and make basic things such as bags and jerseys, I started to crochet on wearable items. I then decided to do the portrait of my parents. I then entered two pieces for the competition.

"It is such an incredible feeling to be selected for a crochet piece. And to be included with such talented artists from across the country," said Mathe.

Mathe said she was fortunate to have grown up with two parents who poured immense love, patience, and intention into raising her.

"When I began thinking about the piece I wanted to submit for the Portrait Award and who I wanted to represent, I naturally returned to them. At the same time, I found myself reflecting on the medium itself. Crochet, especially tapestry crochet, is a slow and demanding process that depends on care, precision, and countless deliberate actions.

"As I thought more deeply about this medium, I realised that there is a clear parallel between building something slowly, stitch by stitch, and the process of raising a child. Both require consistency, dedication, and care. This reflection made me think of my parents. The love they gave me is something I could never truly repay. Instead, I became interested in how to honour it. Choosing tapestry crochet felt like the most sincere way to express that gratitude," said Mathe, who is a candidate architect.

She said creating the portrait became an act of acknowledgement.

"The final piece is my way of holding their love with intention and offering it back in the language I know best. It is something carefully made, something built over time and something stitched with meaning," said Mathe.

Fellow finalist, McIver, an art teacher at Durban Girls' College, created At the Louvre, an oil-on-canvas portrait that blends classical technique with a contemporary classroom narrative.

McIver said the oil painting is of one of his learners, shown drawing in the warm Durban afternoon light of a school classroom.

"The title began as a lighthearted joke with my class about the louvre windows in the hall, but it also grew out of an art history lesson on Neoclassicism and Marie-Denise Villers’s Young Woman Drawing (1801), a painting set inside the Louvre Museum more than two centuries ago.

"Some of my learners even re-enacted the pose during a lesson, which helped spark the idea for the final work. I painted the portrait in oils on canvas using a classical, layered technique, with an emphasis on light, observation, and careful drawing. For me, the painting reflects how classrooms are often where artistic aspiration first takes shape and why it’s so meaningful for students to see both a familiar face and their teacher’s work on the gallery wall," said McIver.

He said it was such an honour to have his portrait up with other amazing artists.

"This was born out of a class lesson and a fun joke about a window design. I will definitely be taking my learners to see the exhibition," said McIver.

Donavan Mynhardt, curator at Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, said this was a rare opportunity for an exhibition of this scale to travel across the country, adding that portraiture has a unique ability to connect with people on a deeply human level.

"The tour’s goal is simple but significant, to celebrate South Africa’s artistic talent and give audiences in different provinces the chance to experience these portraits in person. Together, the Portrait Awards and the Top 40 Tour highlight the value of showcasing homegrown creativity while reaffirming portraiture’s enduring power to tell stories.”

"You don’t have to be an art connoisseur to engage with it. I’m excited that the Top 40 tour will allow audiences across the country to experience these works first-hand and share in that connection,” said Mynhardt.

Since their inception in 2013, the Rust-en-Vrede Portrait Awards have established themselves as a celebration of portraiture, recognising outstanding artistic talent and fostering a deeper appreciation for contemporary identity through the medium of portrait art.

The awards invite submissions of original two-dimensional portraits from oil and mixed media to realism and abstraction, the finalists offer a vivid snapshot of contemporary identity and artistic talent.

Other artists whose work forms part of the tour include Malik Mani, Ashley Ogilvy, Baxolise Hanise, Richard Bollers, Lauryn Arnott, Elmarie Smuts, Heidi Botha, Hannah Anderson, Tiffany Baxter and Joseph Dolby.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE