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This gallery specialises in bronze wildlife sculpture with an adjacent working foundry open for viewing. Sculptor Donald Greig creates representational and stylised bronze pieces depicting African animals and birds, ranging from miniature paperweights to life-size works. The collection is renowned for its leopards, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, meerkats, hippos and various bird species cast in bronze using traditional lost-wax methods.
The 540-square-metre gallery space occupies a converted 19th-century customs warehouse styled after New York's meat-packing district conversions. A water feature showcases bronze-cast aquatic birds and hippos. The adjoining 1 600-square-metre foundry, one of the largest art foundries in the Southern Hemisphere, operates with viewing passages allowing visitors to observe the casting process from a safe distance. The foundry furnace reaches temperatures of 1 200 degrees Celsius necessary for pure bronze casting.
Greig studied traditional bronze casting techniques in Florence and learned methods used since the Renaissance era. His childhood on the Highveld fostered intimate knowledge of African wildlife anatomy and behaviour, which informs each sculpture. His background in the family jewellery business developed his appreciation for crafting objects from precious metals. Works are available in sterling silver, various bronze sizes from small gift items to larger commissions, with pieces held in national and international collections.
The gallery opened at the V&A Waterfront in 2010, relocating from West Quay Road. Gallery manager Ali Greig oversees operations alongside the sculptor. Personal foundry tours can be arranged.