Holding Time: Collecting Home from Afar

Aspire Art is proud to present Holding Time: Collecting Home from Afar, a selection of works from a significant private collection assembled over several years by Dr Bruce Hoffman. Acquired largely while Dr Hoffman was living abroad, the works became touchstones of connection to South Africa; a country much loved, yet experienced from a distance.

Holding Time: Collecting Home from Afar opens in Cape Town on 16 May at Aspire’s showroom in Mandela Rhodes Place, 21 Church Street, and will be on view until 23 May before proceeding to Johannesburg for auction as a special section in the upcoming Modern & Contemporary Art Live Sale on 17 June and accompanying Online Auction. 

Peter Clarke, The Drinker, 1973

Spanning modern and contemporary South African art, the collection brings together works that reflect the breadth and complexity of the country’s artistic history. Included are important works by Peter Clarke, Penny Siopis, Gladys Mgudlandlu, Ephraim Ngatane, Louis Maqhubela, and Vladimir Tretchikoff, among others. The collection speaks to landscape, memory, identity, and everyday life, offering a compelling overview of South African art history, revealing not only changing aesthetic movements, but different ways of seeing and recording the country itself.

Ephraim Ngatane , Township Scene, 1969

John Koenakeefe Mohl, Fire Wood Carriers in Single File Facing the Moon

What makes the collection particularly compelling is not only its depth and character, but also the sense of intimacy that runs through it. Though assembled while living outside the country, the works remained deeply connected to the emotional and sensory experience of home. Dr Hoffman has maintained that he collected only what he truly loved, and this instinctive, deeply personal approach is evident throughout the collection. Some works evoke the atmosphere of remembered places, while others reflect the social and political realities of their time. Together, they speak to the powerful role art can play in sustaining connection across distance.

Penny Siopis, Scenery of the Four Seasons, 2009

Deborah Bell, See-line Woman Dressed in Red; Makes her Man Lose his Head, 2012

More than a survey of notable and highly collectable names, Dr Bruce Hoffman’s collection reflects years of careful looking and personal engagement with South African art. 

The Online Catalogue will be published soon! 

To register your interest and for more information, contact Amy Carrington at amy@aspireart.net