Andile Dyalvane is one of South Africa’s foremost ceramic artists. His new show, Idlala, follows a premier in New York with the solo exhibition Camagu at Friedman Benda Gallery and opens at Southern Guild to coincide with the highly anticipated opening of Zeitz MOCAA – Africa’s first contemporary art museum.

Idladla (meaning ‘grain silo’) is a study and exploration of scope, scale and texture. Gently rounded terracotta forms, marked with precise incisions, hand imprints and motifs, follow a strong architectural impulse inspired by the parallels Andile noticed in structures as distant from each other as upstate New York and Mali. An evolution of the angular vessels of his previous show, the works capture Dyalvane’s visceral vernacular and continual experimentation. Each piece pivots around his central values of cultural preservation and gratitude. Idladla is a ‘reminder of what we’ve lost but also of what can still be saved,’ he says.