As the Northern Hemisphere is welcoming the cold winter months, the hot summer season is starting in African countries. Nel Art Gallery, an artist-owned gallery in Cape Town, celebrates this period with its annual Summer Salon. The exhibition opens on November 30, 2024, at 11am, welcoming all fans of contemporary art with a unique, carefully curated selection of artworks, featuring different materials, media, and styles.
Highlights of the Summer Salon 2024 | 2025
The Summer Salon at Nel is always varied and diverse, helping all kinds of contemporary art meet under one roof and find their audiences. Among this year’s highlights are works by Kagiso Reuben, a South African artist working in Native Expressionism, Oupa Sibeko, an established interdisciplinary artist with a unique visual language, and Steven Sack, a talented artist whose primary medium is sculpture.
What’s the Summer Salon at Nel Art Gallery About?
White Christmas and New Year festivities look pretty different for the residents of sunny South Africa. Here, it’s the festive season that people spend and celebrate outside. This period is also a high tourist season, with many newcomers arriving to experience South Africa and get acquainted with the unique cultural and artistic landscape. The Summer Salon at Nel serves these goals and allows every visitor to find artwork with a unique appeal, from Christmas gifts to high-end art acquisitions ready to occupy a deserved place in a prestigious collection.
The Malleable Nature of the Summer Salon
Curators at Nel Art Gallery have followed the wisdom of Diana Vreeland, saying, “The eye has to travel.” That’s why the nature of the Summer Salon is malleable, meaning that artworks are changing places, being rotated and exhibited in shifts throughout the two months of the exhibition. The salon style of artwork placement also presupposes the seemingly chaotic hanging of many art objects from the bottom of the wall up to its top. This approach guarantees fairness and visibility to both emerging and established artists, giving visitors a new set of impressions and bringing overlooked voices to the forefront.
The Summer Salon at Nel always looks fresh, allowing tourists and local art enthusiasts to attend it multiple times. The exhibition will last until January 31, 2025.
Photo courtesy of Nel