There are just three weeks left to explore the 2025 Sasol New Signatures Visual Arts Exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum, which closes on 2 November 2025. The exhibition features works from all 103 finalists, including the top seven award-winners.
“This is a must-see exhibition. The standard of entries this year was exceptionally high, showcasing the newest creative voices leading the next wave of South African visual art,” said Cate Terblanche, Curator of the Sasol Art Collection.
The 2025 Sasol New Signatures Visual Arts Competition attracted more than 900 entries from across South Africa. Juandré van Eck (Gqeberha), an Honours student at Nelson Mandela University, was announced as the overall winner for 2025 for his interactive ceramic installation titled Cycles of the Mind. The work captivated judges with its acoustic and meditative presence, and its poetic interplay of breath, water, and voice. Van Eck received a cash prize of R100 000 and is already conceptualising his solo exhibition, which will be showcased at the Pretoria Art Museum in 2026.
The Runner-up Award and R25 000 went to Thabo Treasure Mofokeng (Johannesburg) for Still Standing, a painting inspired by resilience in the face of adversity
The five Merit Award winners, each receiving R10 000, are:
- Tammy Lee Baikie (Johannesburg) – Book Worms (mixed media)
- Rebecca Louise (Beck) Glass (Pretoria) – Sell–Fish (etching)
- Snelihle Asanda Maphumulo (Gqeberha) – Ngaphansi kwesithunzi sakhe (Under His Shadow) (sheep hide on canvas)
- Vian Mervyn Roos (Pretoria) – 2916 (cotton thread)
- Sarah Volker (Gqeberha) – Taut, Tethered and Torn (ballet tights, stones, cement blocks)
“Sasol New Signatures continues to play a crucial role in discovering, nurturing, and showcasing the next generation of South African artists,” said Pfunzo Sidogi, Chairperson of Sasol New Signatures. “Each year, the competition provides an invaluable platform for emerging voices to share their perspectives, experiment boldly, and contribute meaningfully to the country’s vibrant visual arts landscape.”
Running concurrently with the New Signatures exhibition is the solo exhibition by Miné Kleynhans, winner of the 2024 Sasol New Signatures competition. Titled Augury After Autogogues, Kleynhans presents a speculative and satirical cosmos in which individual mystics, or “Autogogues,” use invented devices to divine meaning from the overload of media, relationships, and impressions. The works include Orbea kako-occultus, Abacus for Emotional Transactions II, State of Reproach, and Meditations on Resentment (her 2024 award-winning piece). Using a mix of wood, metal, 3D printing, resin, and found objects, Kleynhans constructs intricate instruments that blur the line between sincerity and satire. Through interaction, viewers are invited to ask: In a world saturated with information, how do we make sense of our own inner lives?
This year, the museum experience has been enhanced with QR codes placed beside each work, allowing visitors to access the artist statements for deeper insight into each creative process.
For audiences outside Pretoria or abroad, the entire exhibition, including all finalists and winners, can be viewed through a virtual exhibition hosted on the Sasol New Signatures website. The digital gallery replicates the in-museum experience, ensuring that art lovers everywhere can engage with South Africa’s most exciting emerging talents.
With only three weeks remaining, now is the perfect time to visit in person or online and experience the freshest voices shaping the future of South African art.
Exhibition Details
Venue: Pretoria Art Museum, corner Francis Baard & Wessels Streets, Arcadia Park, Pretoria
Dates: Until 2 November 2025
Museum Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–17:00 (closed Mondays and public holidays)
Virtual Exhibition: www.sasolsignatures.co.za
