10 architects at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair
The 2025 Investec Cape Town Art Fair, taking place from 21 to 23 February at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), will feature 124 exhibitors from around the globe, including leading galleries from Europe and the US, specialising in contemporary art.
This year marks the 12th edition of the fair, which welcomes over 30 new exhibitors, including galleries from Europe, the US, and several African countries outside of South Africa, alongside 11 new South African galleries. One intriguing trend is the significant presence of qualified architects among the exhibiting artists.
Fair director Laura Vincenti, a qualified architect who studied in Turin, Italy, and Oxford, UK, brings a wealth of experience to the event. She has worked as an exhibition designer for various fairs and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, and contributed to the design of the Olympic Villages for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
For those intrigued by the intersection of architecture and art, we introduce nine more artist-architects who will be showcasing their work at this year’s Investec Cape Town Art Fair.
Artist: Bella Knemeyer
Gallery: RESERVOIR
Section: Main
South African artist Bella Knemeyer holds a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Edinburgh. She has worked at landscape architecture practices in both Cape Town and Girona (Spain), while continuing her artistic endeavours. Knemeyer holds a BAFA, majoring in sculpture, from the University of Cape Town. She is best known for her works made from discarded moulded paper.
Artist: Lilianne Kiame
Gallery: Jahmek Contemporary Art
Section: Main
Kiame earned her Bachelor of Architectural Studies from the University of Cape Town and is now preparing for her Master’s degree. She is particularly interested in urban interventions and designs that could improve living conditions in her hometown of Luanda, Angola. Her work emphasises local traditions and proposes alternative modernity based on the tropical climate and ecological principles.
Artist: Mesut Öztürk
Gallery: Öktem Aykut
Section: Main
Öztürk completed a Master’s degree in the history, theory, and criticism of architecture at Istanbul Bilgi University. His primary medium is ceramics, through which he explores the structural possibilities of simple, familiar forms like arches, sticks, and tubes.
Artist: Roméo Mivekannin
Gallery: Eric Dupont Gallery
Section: Main
After training in woodworking and studying art history, Mivekannin enrolled at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Toulouse. At the intersection of traditional heritage and the contemporary world, his creations incorporate his own rituals, reflecting the voodoo cosmology prevalent in Benin.
Artist: Sinan Logie
Gallery: Öktem Aykut
Section: Main
Logie graduated from the Institut Supérieur d’Architecture Victor Horta in Brussels and worked at L’Escaut, one of Belgium’s most progressive architecture firms. Since 2005, Logie has developed both architectural and artistic projects in Belgium and Turkey. His work, marked by architectural abstraction, captures the multidimensionality and dynamism of today’s global metropolises.
Artist: Eser Gündüz
Gallery: Galerie La La Lande
Section: Main
After studying architecture, Gündüz turned to spatial painting, inspired by the Bauhaus movement. His diverse practice merges mechanised human figures (mechanical art) and artificial intelligence—key themes that underpin his work.
Artist: Thando Phenyane
Gallery: Eclectica Contemporary
Section: Tomorrows/Today
Trained as an architect, Phenyane’s work draws heavily on art history and pop culture. His unique painterly style presents Black figures as both whimsical and menacing characters. Phenyane participated in the 2021 Design Indaba Emerging Creatives programme and the V&A Waterfront Artist Alliance Programme.
Artist: Vadim Fishkin
Gallery: Gregor Podnar
Section: Main
Fishkin studied at the Moscow Institute of Architecture. His work falls within a unique post-conceptual tradition, intertwined with technology and contemporary scientific developments. However, his engagement with technology is less about the fields themselves and more about what they reveal about humanity.
Artist: Isheanesu Dondo
Gallery: Guns & Rain
Section: Main
Self-taught Zimbabwean artist Isheanesu Dondo’s current research focuses on the remnants of Freemason architecture in Zimbabwe. He explores the parallels between the esoteric elements of Freemasonry and the ancient spiritual and mythological beliefs of the Shona people.
Pictured:
Isheanesu Dondo
Obelisk, 2024
Pen and printmaking ink on paper
75 x 52.5 cm
