THE NEW VANGUARD, 2025 | FLESH & FACADE: Curated by Shui Hoppenstein

The New Vanguard proudly presents its fourth edition, continuing its mission to support emerging and early-career artists who are shaping the future of contemporary art. This independent programme champions a new generation of artists who are at the beginning of their professional journeys and often encounter significant barriers within the art ecosystem. The New Vanguard provides them with the resources, guidance, and visibility needed to navigate this formative stage with confidence and purpose. Working in collaboration with the University of Johannesburg and student curator Shui Hoppenstein, Flesh and Facade, explores the relationship between the body, identity, and material, bringing together a diverse group of young artists whose works reflect on vulnerability, memory, and cultural expression. Now in its fourth edition, The New Vanguard reaffirms its commitment to nurturing creativity, fostering growth, and cultivating a dynamic and inclusive space for artists whose work pushes boundaries and redefines the contemporary landscape.

THE NEW VANGUARD – Flesh & Facade | 2025

Andries Moroaswe | Erin Grice | Ivukuvuku | Leonardo Sitoe | Lesego Nhlapo | Naledi Lebeko | Nicola Roos | Rose Agwa-Ejon | Shui Hoppenstein | Snelihle Maphumulo | Thomas Masingi | Zainab Choonara

Exhibition Statement by Shui Hoppistein

Generational memory, our vulnerable bodies, and cultural identity meet together in spiritual and organic ways. Surreal wooden forms and sentinel rubbery figures stand alongside displays of the past and present. Zainab Choonara, Snelihle Maphumulo, and Ivukuvuku engage with ceremony and materials in techniques personal to them, whilst Thomas Masingi, Rose Agwa-Ejon, and Lesego Nhlapo unpack their vulnerabilities and anxieties. Leonardo Sitoe, Andries Moroaswe, and Nicola Roos investigate accumulated histories. Erin Grice, Naledi Lebeko, and Shui Hoppenstein find new ways to look at the body.

In Flesh and Facade, black and white monotone meets with organic browns and reds, merging sombre tones with themes of natural states of bodies and environments. Each artist places themselves in the world they inhabit, literally and metaphorically, identifying unseen relationships and the nuanced experiences they have to share. Texture becomes paramount, material is key to embedding conceptual depth, and no skilled young hand creates art carelessly – not when imparting meaning is at stake.

This exhibition offers up not just a selection of daring and powerful artworks, but also an introduction for many young artists into the contemporary space. It’s an opportunity for the public to engage with bodies of work they might not be familiar with, but of which they should perforce take note. Flesh and Facade brings into the fore twelve strong artists with practices ranging from sculpture to printmaking to photography to textiles to drawing – but all of whom have the potential and drive to carry them into the centre of fine art dialogue as their careers unfold.