Norval Foundation presents Brett Murray: Wild Life, a major solo exhibition by one of South Africa’s most acclaimed artists. Curated by Karel Nel, the exhibition opens on 6 December 2025 and brings together more than eighty sculptures spanning four decades of Murray’s celebrated and sometimes controversial career.

“Bringing together a veritable menagerie of Brett Murray’s emblematic sculptural works, the exhibition Wild Life will offer guests an expansive and in-depth overview of the sculptural legacy of Murray. The exhibition has been crafted together in very close consultation with the artist, drawing on Brett’s passion and precision, and hopefully highlighting the razor sharp-wit and the intelligence in his works,” says Caroline Greyling, Norval Foundation Museum Director

Brett Murray has long been recognised for his sharp wit and fearless social commentary. In Wild Life, he uses the animal world as a mirror for our own – blending humour, satire and empathy to explore human behaviour.

The exhibition includes a fascinating assortment of creatures: primates, elephants, bulls, pigs and imagined hybrids. Each sculpture captures the contradictions of modern life – the comic, the tragic and the deeply human. Behind the polished bronze and marble surfaces lies a sharp observation of society’s foibles.

Wild Life alludes to both the animal kingdom and documenting the country’s political protagonists. Murray’s animals may look playful, but their postures reveal deeper questions around our shared condition: power, pride, fear, absurdity and tenderness.

Curator Karel Nel comments: “Brett’s sculptures use the language of humour and parody, but beneath that surface lies a profound sense of empathy – for the human struggle, for folly, and for resilience.”

While Murray is perhaps best known for his provocative two-dimensional political works, Wild Life focuses on his sculptural practice, and offers a more personal and nuanced view of his work. The exhibition traces his evolution from the early, politically charged works of the 1980s to the more reflective, intimate sculptures of recent years.

Murray draws inspiration from a wide range of visual references, from Walt Disney animations to East Asian vinyl toys, Brâncuși’s polished forms and West African Baule figures. The result is a body of work that balances satire with beauty, irony with insight.

Brett Murray: Wild Life invites viewers into a world that challenges, and is both humorous and humane – it is a space where animals satirically reflect our fallibility, becoming stand-ins for ourselves, and where laughter and reflection exist side by side.

Curated by Karel Nel, with support from Carmen Joubert and Tayla Hollamby of the Norval Foundation Team. A special thank you to Everard Read and their team.