Where the work has walked

“Each exhibition is a chapter in a journey, not just of art, but of spirit.”

- Nelson Makamo

Nelson Makamo’s work has travelled far, carried not just by collectors and curators, but by a force deeper than geography: resonance. His exhibitions, like his portraits, are encounters. Between soul and surface. Between viewer and vision. Between Africa and the world.

From the cobblestone streets of Paris to the canyons of Los Angeles, from solemn halls in Scotland to sun-drenched studios in Cape Town, each exhibition invites the world to meet Makamo’s subjects: the dreamers, the defiant, the joyful, the becoming.

Below is a glimpse into where the work has breathed and been held. Where walls became windows into new ways of seeing.

Photograph by Jack Hall / BFA

Photograph by Jack Hall / BFA

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2022 — BLUE, Jac Forbes Gallery, Malibu, USA
2021 — BLUE, Independent Showcase, Los Angeles, USA
2021 — FORTITUDE, Makasiini Contemporary Gallery, Turku, Finland
2021 — Human Grace, Everard Read, Cape Town, RSA
2020 — Botho, Motho, Batho, Botho Project Space, Johannesburg, RSA
2019 — NELSON MAKAMO IN, Paris, France
2017 — Souls of Azania, Gallery of African Arts, London, UK
2016 — Re-awakening, Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town, RSA
2015 — New Works, CIRCA, Johannesburg, RSA
2014 — Generations, Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town, RSA
2014 — A New Lease on Life, Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, RSA
2010 — Movement, Factory Gallery, RSA
2009 — Sharing Realities II, African Studies Centre, Leiden, Netherlands
2009 — Walk with Me, UTS Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
2009 — A Place I Call Home, Gallery on the Square, Johannesburg, RSA
2008 — Moving into Light, KZNSA Gallery, Durban, RSA
2008 — Sharing Realities, Gallery Izarte, Zutphen, Netherlands
2005 — Walk with Me, Obert Contemporary Art Gallery, Johannesburg, RSA

Selected Group Exhibitions

2021 — Emancipate Imaginaries, AKAA x Manifesta, Lyon, France
2020 — SAY IT LOUD, Christie’s, New York City, USA
2019 — AKAA, Paris, France
2018 — 1:54, Gallery of African Art, London, UK
2018 — Afro Rencontres avec Afriques, France
2017 — Salon Zürcher Africa, New York City, USA
2017 — DDessin, Paris, France
2016 — Opening Exhibition, CIRCA Gallery, London, UK
2015 — 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, CIRCA Gallery Booth, London, UK
2015 — FNB Joburg Art Fair, Everard Read Booth, Johannesburg, RSA
2015 — Winter Show, Everard Read, Cape Town, RSA
2010 — Young Contemporaries, Galerie Nikki Diana Marquardt, Paris, France
2010 — My City, Arts on Main, Johannesburg, RSA
2009 — City Link, Gallery 23 (Amsterdam) & Gallery on the Square, Johannesburg, RSA
2007 — Cultural & Business Art Exhibition, Somma Lombardo, Italy
2006 — Ten Years of Printmaking, David Krut Print Studios, RSA
2003 — Student & Staff Artists Proof Studio, Wits University Substation, RSA
2003 — Print Marathon, RAU Art Gallery, Johannesburg, RSA
2003 — Print Marathon, Boston, USA

Photograph by Jack Hall / BFA

Photograph by Earl Abrahams

Echoes Beyond the Wall

Each exhibition is a call and response, between Nelson and the viewer, between Africa and the world. The locations may shift. The walls may change. But the emotion, the energy, the eyes... remain unmistakably Makamo.

Want to walk through one of Nelson’s past exhibitions or be first to hear about what’s next?

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Studio visits are by appointment only.
Phone: +27 72 505 0917
Email: info@nelsonmakamo.africa.com
Socials: @nelsonmakamo