Brett Murray goes wild at Norval

WISHFUL thinking is thinking one can attend three exhibition openings in one day.

- UNATHI KONDILE

BRETT Murray's Africa Marquette

The ambitious plan was to catch Brett Murray's opening at the Norval Foundation, a group show at Stevenson at noon and Asemahle Ntlonti's opening at the neighbouring Blank. Needless to say, that did not happen.Beyond the nominal business of looking at art, I've come to appreciate exhibition openings for their auxiliary benefits; networking, seeing familiar faces, sometimes good wine and catching the inevitable whispers of who did what to whom.

With Brett Murray this was upended, the works on show in his latest Wild Life exhibition, commanded all the attention. Eighty sculptures spanning four decades culminate in a striking menagerie of marble and bronze primates, elephants, bulls, pigs and imagined hybrids at Norval.

"It's beautiful, hey? Such an impressive body of work! And I love that this exhibition highlights only his sculptural practice," said renowned South African artist Sue Williamson. She went on to school me in the workings of museums, adding that anyone keen to buy a piece would have to go through Murray's gallery, Everard Read.