MORPHOLOGY

Dates : 20 September to 26 October 2025

Hours : Monday - Friday 9h00 - 17h00; Saturday 9h00 - 13h00

The Melrose Gallery
Shop 10
High Street
Melrose Arch
Johannesburg Knysna Fine Art
Thesen House
6 Long Street
Knysna
Tel: 044 382 5107

Knysna Fine Art is pleased to present Morphology, a group sculpture exhibition.

Opening event: Saturday 20th September - 11am

We inhabit a world of forms in flux. A seed becomes a tree, a thought becomes a gesture, a block of stone yields a figure. This process of becoming—the study of form, its evolution, and its very essence—is the heart of our exhibition, Morphology.

Traditionally, morphology is a scientific lens, used to examine the structure and transformation of organisms, words, and geological formations. Here, we invite you to explore its artistic potential. This exhibition is not merely a display of static objects; it is a conversation with transformation itself. Each sculptor in this collection is a morphologist, engaged in a profound investigation of material, idea, and shape. The works you will encounter ask fundamental questions: Where does form begin? Is it discovered within the raw material, or is it imposed by the artist's hand? How does a single idea manifest differently in bronze, reclaimed wood, blown glass, or digital code? The artists presented—ranging from those who honor classical carving techniques to those who harness algorithmic generation—each offer a unique answer. Some pieces explore biological morphology, capturing the elegant logic of growth patterns, the symmetry of a leaf, or the intricate architecture of bone. Others delve into cultural morphology, examining how myths, symbols, and social structures take shape and change over time. Further works investigate material morphology, focusing on the alchemy of their medium—the flow of molten metal, the stress lines of fractured stone, the plasticity of clay under pressure. What unites these diverse approaches is a shared fascination with the interval of change. These sculptures are frozen moments—not of stillness, but of potential. They capture the tension between the geometric and the organic, the intended and the accidental, the monumental and the ephemeral.

Participating artists: Elizabeth Balcomb, Hubert Barichievy, Liberty Battson, Lynette Bester, Norman Catherine, Carol Cauldwell, Grace Da Costa, Richard John Forbes, Carola Friess, Cobus Haupt, Cecile Heystek, Brendan Leggat, Robbie Leggat, Wehner Lemmer, Paula Louw, Johannes Maswanganyi, Theo Megaw, Toby Megaw, Johannes Maswanganyi, Owen Ndou, Jenny Nijenhuis, Norman O'Flynn, Dylan Lewis, Wilma Cruise, Kobus La Grange, Strijdom Van Der Merwe, Andre Stead, Gerhard Swart, Rudolph Rosachacki, Andre Serfontein, Lionel Smit, Angus Taylor, Guy Thesen, Johann Van Der Schijff.

Artist Statement - André Stead

Creating sculpture is an act of balance - between form and formlessness, substance and suggestion. These tensions manifest not only in the physical contours of the sculptures but in their conceptual grounding: the interplay of strength and fragility, clarity and ambiguity, movement and stillness.

Many of the works begin with a simple gesture or archetype, which is then reduced to its essence. In this reduction, what remains becomes more than figure - it becomes presence. By stripping away detail, the work invites the viewer to step beyond recognition into reflection. The human form, often veiled or partially abstracted, becomes a conduit for deeper truths - about perception, vulnerability, and the quiet pursuit of meaning.

Sculpture, in this context, is not only a means of shaping material but a way of holding space - for connection, for pause, and for that fragile moment when form and feeling meet.

- André Stead