Quiet, reflective, wild, amusing and mysterious paintings by a group of artists, continue an intuitive approach to art making, where the world we inhabit is filtered through the artist’s own psychological landscape.

In NEW HORIZONS, 2020, rumba dancers make us dream of past or future happiness, mysterious symbols and colours invite us to rest our eyes, relax, and walk towards the horizon – maybe a new one? Horses storming into the future, creatures in ecstatic dance – where will the journey go? Everywhere, dreamlike scenes and unusual shapes create a sense of curiosity and magic. There is an unsettling atmosphere to some of these paintings, suggestive of a world in flux. Yet, undeniable too, is a sense of optimism, a persistence of spirit, or a suggestion of how things might be different – with a collective leap of imagination.

How these paintings relate to the current social moment, and specifically to the dynamics of contemporary Africa, is left deliberately ambiguous.

Always rich in colour and technique, the works by 12 artists are a bountiful confluence of reality and fantasy, where references to life around us, are never less than equaled by free association and painterly invention. Shaped by intuition, imagination and memory, imagery – sometimes recurring, such as congregations of people – emerges through an intuitive dance. This is painting as open ground, a point of departure for artist and viewer alike, one through which we might attempt to process the chaos of contemporary life and emerge as more vibrant and emotional beings.

VIEWING INSTRUCTIONS: Pay attention so that your face is relaxed and your jaw is not clenched. Release and rest your eyes.