Exhibition Details

Southern Guild Cape Town is pleased to announce 'In the Present Tense', a solo exhibition of enamel-on-glass paintings by contemporary South African artist Jozua Gerrard, on view from 29 August 29, 2024 until October 31, 2024.
The large-scale paintings depict lone subjects in moments of contentment and containment, reflecting a shift towards a more studied gaze. Leaning further into simplification and the essentialising of both bodily and inanimate form, Gerrard’s figurative series is led by atmospheric articulation of colour, studied composition and the artist’s evolving survey of contemporary culture.
'In the Present Tense' is marked by a distinct development of the mask that is the artist’s signature motif. While figures in Gerrard’s earlier paintings all bore a red, horned mask, the new series depicts masks without horns or bared teeth, rendered in a softer shade of coral pink. Though each subject’s face remains largely obscured, psychological narratives are suggested through an economy of subtle bodily expression. The softening of a mouth, the tilt of a head or the pronounced positioning of hands signal to the emotionality of these characters’ interior worlds. Gerrard utilises ambiguity as a seductive experience for both maker and viewer. Far from ambivalence, his figures are inclined to hold pluralities: they are inclusive, rejecting traditional binary prescriptions of what is this or that, suggesting more space for change, self-formation and discovery.
'In the Present Tense' draws its title from a quote by American painter Alex Katz – a seminal influence of the artist. Katz speaks of attempting to “paint in the present tense”, compressing the energetic flux and colour of life into a single frame. Gerrard’s body of work is a perceptive exploration of themes of identity formation and nostalgia, tracing our evolving relationship with the virtual realm.