Rust-en-Vrede Gallery

16/10/2026

We're getting ready for our upcoming artist performance 'Breaking Bread', presented by on Saturday 17 October at 10h00.

This rendition is inspired by our current group exhibition in the Clay Museum titled 'Tazzina'. The exhibition was born from sharing ideas over a cup of coffee, and has since invited numerous international artists to reimagine the Italian espresso cup.

Pontiggia’s performance, much like sharing a cup of coffee, centers around the idea of shared narratives.

16/10/2026

Rust-en-Vrede Gallery + Clay Museum is celebrating its 40th this year. As a non-profit arts centre, we've had the privilege of working with many artists throughout the years; and in commemoration of this milestone, we've asked 40 artists to create works on A2 sized paper which will be made available for purchase on our website's online shop.

The next set of works have been uploaded online and include special creations by ME, Hugill — Contemporary Artist , Johan Coetzee and Matthew Blackburn

Artwork details and prices are available on our online store (https://rust-en-vrede.com/shop) - link in IG bio

15/10/2026

With ceramics month just around the corner, we're getting ready to celebrate with two new clay-centric shows opening on Saturday, 31 October '26 at 11h00.

As a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, we will be hosting an exhibition in the main gallery showcasing works by the ceramicists who represent South Africa on a global scale as recognized members of the IAC themselves.

Opening alongside the IAC exhibition is a CUBE group show in the Clay Museum titled 'Embellished'. Here, ceramists were encouraged to take a 'more is more' approach to surface design, and the exhibition will feature opulent, highly textured works that demand close inspection. From obsessively carved porcelain to chaotic, multi-fired assemblages, these ceramists reject restraint, transforming humble clay into pieces that celebrate the joy of excess.

14/10/2026

Featured Ceramics:
Handcrafted and painted espresso cups created by Zizamele Ceramics 's Songezo Mrwebi . On show as part of the The CUBE and Clay Museum 's current exhibition - Tazzina.

Mrwebi merges european form with african surface design, choosing to decorate the handles with iconic animal shapes and gorgeous patterns.

Available to purchase for your own collection.

10/10/2026

08/10/2026

One of our current group exhibitions, Being Human, features work created by artists from the LGBTQ+ community. This exhibition seeks to prove that visibility matters beyond representation, and that despite differences in opinion we are all part of the broader human narrative.

A catalogue is available via the link in our IG bio, or through the gallery's website ( https://rust-en-vrede.com/blog/being-human )

Image: Detail of 'Fynbesnaard' by . Digital print with vinyl lettering mounted on glass. [Available for purchase.]

06/10/2026

Back by popular demand - our second Poetry reading event for the year is in the making, and wordsmiths are invited to submit their proposed poems for consideration. The reading takes place on the last viewing day of our current set of exhibitions (Saturday 24 October '26). This will be a daytime event.

Aspiring or veteran poets can choose between two themes: 'Being Human', and 'Nothing Lasts, Except This'. More details on the second and third slides of this post. Submissions due before or on 16 October '26 via [email protected] . A shortlist of poets will be selected to read/perform their poems on the day.

02/10/2026

Camilla Pontiggia’s Breaking Bread, will come to Rust-en-Vrede gallery for a single performance on Saturday 17 October 2026. In its original form, Breaking Bread comprises an edible installation made of picture frames, and a participatory performance in which audiences sit at a kitchen
table with the artist and have a conversation over food.

Lasting anywhere between ten and thirty minutes per group, conversations are prompted by the artist’s memories of an immigrant life lived at her beloved kitchen table, set to a backdrop of coloniality’s turmoils.

The picture frames, which are replicas of ornate, gilded frames typically found in Western art museums, are created entirely out of bread, and they become the meal that is shared with the audience. These are ephemeral works, subject to the decaying effects of time and air on the baked dough. Unlike their historical counterparts, they are not built to last centuries. They are made to be savoured in shared meals, in beloved moments of communion and gathering. Time and again this experimental table has proved a soft landing for hard conversations; a place in which, even for a moment, reparative acts of care are felt as embodied experiences that turn theory into resonant flesh.

For this iteration, and in response to Rust-en-Vrede’s current exhibition, Tazzina, Pontiggia will offer a taste of her original installation, inviting people to sit with her at her kitchen table, break bread, and converse over a cup of coffee and her grandmother’s lemon tea.

TazzinArt Lorenzo Fiorucci camilla pontiggia

01/10/2026

Footnotes, a pop-up exhibition featuring more than 100 handmade ceramic shoes created by , an Old Testament scholar, potter and runner, opens tonight at the gallery. Join us for the event at 18h00 for 18h30. We will be joined by special guest , who will be reading some 'footnotes' from her recently published recipe book and memoir 'Bella's Kitchen'.

The exhibition forms part of Mientjie's journey to Denver, Colorado where she has been accepted to present her research at the Society of Biblical Literature's Annual General meeting in November 2026. Every shoe on show will be for sale, and all of the proceeds from sales will contribute towards her journey.

The exhibition will be on for two weeks, and a catalogue will be made available online shortly.