Join Cape Town’s Creative Conversation with the Norval Exchange

A brand-new initiative at the Norval Foundation, the Norval Exchange brings together artists, writers, filmmakers, curators, cultural thinkers, and creatives of all kinds to discuss and engage with contemporary African art.

The bi-monthly public programme takes place in one of Norval’s acclaimed exhibitions, with a new theme and topic of conversation at each edition.

Artist in Dialogue

For the second Norval Exchange event, Norval Foundation invites one of its newly featured artists to discuss their work. Jacqui O’Toole joins acclaimed artist Kate Gottgens for a walkabout of her new Norval exhibition Unsteady Realms, exploring the ideas, processes, and themes behind each painting.

In 2014, Gottgens was picked by Thames & Hudson as the only South African on their list of the ‘100 Painters of Tomorrow’, and followed that up with features in art galleries, museums and exhibitions across the world, including Maruani Mercier in Belgium and Nino Mier in New York City. Rooted in the language in which she lives, thinks, and dreams, Unsteady Realms reflects an intimate, vulnerable narrative shaped by themes of motherhood, care, spirituality, and transition.

The featured paintings include recent additions like 2026’s Ferrying Souls and older works like 2015’s Milk Teeth, alongside highlights from the past few years including Hexing the Air, Sensing the Trap, and Her Fine Blades.

Gottgens’ style, most often in oil on canvas, draws on found imagery, personal photos, and fragments of everyday life. Her images often evoke unstable dreams and blurry imagination, distorting reality like a fading photograph. Rather than offering a clear answer, her art asks the viewer to reflect on the imagery and fill in the gaps, making uncertainty feel as unsettling as it is tender.

Get tickets to Norval Exchange: Artist in Dialogue

Guests can book tickets to this second-ever Norval Exchange and learn more about the painting process behind one of South Africa’s most talented artists.

Cost: R250 per person. Book via Webtickets.