For some years now, contemporary art from South Africa has been experiencing an almost boom-like development worldwide. Many museums have dedicated large-scale exhibitions to it (FAZ 2.1.2015, African Art - The Discovery of a New Art World, Deutschlandradio Kultur 12.9.2016). From the beginning it was our concern to pay more attention to high-quality contemporary art from southern Africa, which has already gained international renown.

With the NHM Gallery we are now making contemporary art from southern Africa accessible to art lovers in Germany and Europe. In particular, we would like to support young, not yet established artists whose talent has impressed us and whose works are affordable for a broad audience.

First of all these are artists we chose during our travels to South Africa and Swaziland, partly because they impressively describe their past and present in South Africa under sometimes difficult circumstances through their art. They are mostly younger artists who are already successful in southern Africa and have received notable awards or are represented in well-known collections, but also those who are still at the very beginning and want to prove themselves.

Although we did not start the gallery business until 2016/17, in early 2014 we started to support the two brothers and sculptors Acan Masuku and Shadrack Masuku from Swaziland, with the aim of promoting their unique art in Europe as well.

During one of our visits we were able to get to know the young passionate art scene of Johannesburg with its extraordinary art and remarkable young artists - away from the well-known and widely cited artists.

Our artists work above all in the field of contemporary painting and deal with the recent history of their country (apartheid and corruption) very impressively.

So we show very expressive pictures of Blessing Ngobeni, who was honored in 2012 with the Reinhold Cassirer Award (Nadine Gordimer Award) and the ImpAct Award of the South African "Arts And Culture Trust" and is already represented in galleries in London and San Francisco.

In his expressive paintings, Layziehound Coka also uses his own experiences in the apartheid state and the "selfenrichment culture" in contemporary society (especially in politics).

Conrad Bo (Botha), on the other hand, is regarded as the protagonist of a new style, the so-called Superstroke / Superblur, and has already received considerable attention with his painting (see Wikipedia and Conrad Bo / Wordpress).

After all, Ayanda Nkosi and McCloud Simango are students of Conrad Bo and we especially liked them as a young painter.

These artists are offered by leading galleries in South Africa (Everard Read, Momo, Arts on Main, the Gavin Project, etc.) and have some first foreign successes (exhibitions in London and San Francisco) or are on the way abroad. Thanks to our friendly relationships with the founders of the Living Artist Emporium (Eric Botha and Conrad Bo) we can offer a wide range of other interesting South African artists. The Living Artist Emporium is a platform for young emerging artists that provides them with the necessary materials free of charge as well as organizes exhibitions to market their artworks.

In addition, we can offer the most beautiful pieces of a production of first-class exotic ceramics from Plettenberg Bay. The workshop is particularly noteworthy not only because it produces attractive and very high-quality ceramics, but also because, as a cooperative of African employees, it ensures a good existence for them and leaves them plenty of creative freedom.

The NHM Gallery is initially run as a so-called "garage gallery", which means, the art is in the center, the additional costs are kept low. On the one hand, this will allow us to offer reasonable prizes for quality art and, on the other hand, to raise funds for a future project in Swaziland with which we would like to give young artists an education.