Presented together for the first time, Adam’s abstract paintings and Fani’s sculptural ceramics approach the idea of change through two very different materials, with both artists placing considerable importance on the physical process of making their work.

Johannesburg-based Adam paints in acrylic on umbhaco, a heavy cotton fabric traditionally used in ceremonial Xhosa garments. Her compositions develop through repeated brush marks, building patterns and textures in shades of ochre, brown and charcoal. She also incorporates sand and soil from her mother’s home into her paintings, adding a personal connection to the materials she works with. Through abstraction, Adam explores Black identity and womanhood without relying on recognisable figures or conventional forms of representation.

Fani works with recycled terracotta clay at his studio in Woodstock, Cape Town. His vessels are built by hand, burnished and then smoke-fired in an alley beside the studio, a process that produces their distinctive glossy surfaces and deep black and brown colouring. Their rounded forms and textured surfaces recall both the human body and natural landscapes, with some markings resembling scorched tree bark.

For Fani, whose practice draws on his Eastern Cape family roots and upbringing in Gugulethu, working with clay is as much about the experience of making as the finished object. He works without preliminary sketches, allowing the material to influence the direction each piece takes.

Across the exhibition, Adam’s densely worked paintings sit alongside Fani’s sculptural vessels, connected by their shared colours and the traces left by their making. Catching takes its title from that moment when something changes – when a spark catches, a material responds and something new begins to take shape.

About the artists

Chuma Adam (b. 2001) is a Johannesburg-based multidisciplinary artist whose abstract practice explores Black identity and womanhood through material, texture and repetitive mark-making. She graduated with an Honours degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2024 and was shortlisted for the Wits Young Artist Award in 2022 and 2023.

Siyabonga Fani is a Cape Town-based ceramic artist working primarily with hand-coiled, smoke-fired recycled clay. Influenced by the natural environment, his Eastern Cape heritage and family, he established Siyabonga Ceramics in 2013. His work is held in public and private collections in South Africa and internationally. He also mentors emerging makers and teaches ceramic skills through his involvement with Vukuhambe Disabled Centre.

Images courtesy of 99 Loop, Chuma Adam and Siyabonga Fani.

Exhibition Details

Exhibition
Catching | Chuma Adam & Siyabonga Fani

Exhibition Dates
On view throughout October, closing Saturday, 24 October 2026.

Location
99 Loop Gallery
Cape Town