NOTES ON SCULPTURE
a group show curated by Leah Mascher
7 - 26 May 2026
WORLDART will present Notes on Sculpture, the first edition of a new annual sculpture exhibition hosted at the gallery during the month of May.
Curated by Leah Mascher, Notes on Sculpture brings together 28 Cape Town-based artists whose work explores what sculpture can be, how it comes into being, and how it occupies space. The exhibition marks Mascher’s first curatorial project. She studied Fine Arts at the University of Cape Town and has, since graduating two years ago, worked on a number of art exhibitions and related projects.
Although the gallery is best known for contemporary painting and works on paper, its Long Street premises offer generous opportunities to present three-dimensional work without compromising the display of other artworks. Notes on Sculpture introduces a focused platform through which WORLDART can work with sculptors, test collector interest, and gradually cultivate a stronger audience for contemporary sculpture.
The title refers to the etymology of the word sculpture, which is rooted in acts of scratching, carving, cutting and engraving. Taking this as a starting point, Mascher has curated an exhibition that considers sculpture not only as finished object, but as process, material investigation and spatial encounter.
Her curatorial focus is on materiality, texture, form and space. Certain rooms in the gallery will take on the character of installations, becoming material environments that echo aspects of the outside world. While the exhibition is predominantly sculptural, it also includes painting, drawing, printmaking and a digital sculpture displayed on a television screen.
The inclusion of two-dimensional works is deliberate. For Mascher, drawing, engraving and surface-making often form part of sculptural thinking before an idea takes physical shape. The works on paper and canvas included in the exhibition share a strong sense of surface, mark-making and physical presence, allowing them to sit in conversation with the three-dimensional works.
Across the exhibition, materials range from wax, earthenware, wood, cardboard, ceramic, aluminium, wire, paper, bamboo, gold ribbon, marble, clay, polyester, canvas and rice paper to more unexpected elements such as a teddy bear, a blonde ponytail, safety pins, stones, shells, books and elastic rubber bands. Together, these materials create a layered conversation between the handmade, the found, the fragile and the constructed.
“The idea is not to present sculpture as a fixed category,” says WORLDART owner Charl Bezuidenhout. “It is to create a space where artists, collectors and visitors can look at sculpture more openly — as object, process, material and idea. WORLDART has always focused mainly on paintings and drawings, but the gallery space allows for much more. This annual exhibition gives us a meaningful way to explore that.”
Notes on Sculpture presents artmaking as something visible and ongoing. It allows the studio to remain present, and the boundary between idea, object and environment to remain alive.
The exhibition will run from 7 to 26 May 2026 at WORLDART, 68 Long Street, Cape Town.
Dates: 7–26 May 2026
Venue: WORLDART, 68 Long Street, Cape Town
For more information, contact Charl Bezuidenhout at 082 901 5045 or charl@worldart.co.za