Having been named Outstanding Art Gallery at the 2026 National Arts Council Awards, Gallery MOMO showcased artists Fhatuwani Mukheli and Blessing Blaai at the Atlanta Art Fair in October 2026. IMARA spoke to the artists about what this recognition and international platform mean to them.
The Johannesburg-based gallery is no stranger to the United States, having exhibited at EXPO CHICAGO since 2019, presented works by Mukheli and Blaai at Navy Pier in April 2026, and established an artist residency partnership with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
“Atlanta represents an important next chapter in our international programme,” Gallery MOMO Director Odysseus Shirindza tells IMARA. “We have been rebuilding in the United States post-Covid through our ongoing participation at EXPO CHICAGO and our partnership with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Atlanta allows us to extend that conversation into a new cultural context and introduce our programme to collectors and institutions in the American South.”
The presentation featured paintings and mixed-media works, including A Study of Freedom, a large, four-panel painting by Fhatuwani Mukheli, who was born in Soweto in 1985. His portraiture is characterised by psychological depth and close attention to gesture. In his recent paintings, Mukheli draws on the traditions of Renaissance and classical art, incorporating monumental figures, dramatic lighting, drapery and stillness.
“My work is really about where I come from,” Mukheli says. “I grew up in Soweto, I’m Venda, and a lot of my work comes from memories of family, home and the people around me. At the same time, I’m deeply inspired by Renaissance and classical art. I take some of those compositions, lighting, gestures and ideas of monumentality and reimagine them with Black African people at the centre. I’m interested in seeing ourselves in that history, but telling the story from our own perspective.”
Shirindza says Mukheli’s work goes beyond the representation of a face.
“His portraits are concerned with presence, dignity, memory and the emotional life of his subjects. His background in photography informs this approach, bringing a sensitivity to gesture and the quieter moments through which personality is communicated. This body of work engages with the visual language of classical and Renaissance painting—monumentality, composed figures, dramatic light, drapery and stillness—and repositions those traditions through his distinct lens.”
Also featured was Surmount (2026), a mixed-media work by Blessing Blaai, who was born in 1994 and is based in Johannesburg. Trained in painting, drawing and printmaking, Blaai works across oil, acrylic, watercolour, ink and mixed media. His work combines figuration with layered symbolism, incorporating architectural fragments, birds and domestic objects into richly worked surfaces.
“My work has some hidden elements, and the best way to look at some of them is from different angles and eye levels. Viewers can have that experience where the work changes slightly based on where they stand. Surmount explores the idea of perseverance and patience, and the reward that follows.”
Shirindza says Blaai brings a distinct energy to the presentation, combining figuration with symbolism, memory and layered visual narratives. His works incorporate architectural fragments, birds, domestic objects and other recurring motifs to create richly textured compositions.
“Surmount (2026) is particularly concerned with endurance. The work reflects on what comes after a period of adversity—the possibility of growth, reward and transformation following prolonged difficulty. It speaks to perseverance, but not in a simplistic way.”
