JOHAN THOM: Grasp

125pp., colour illus., paperback, Villa-Legodi Centre for Sculpture, Krugersdorp, 2025

ISBN: 9781037080852

Grasp, the solo exhibition by Johan Thom curated by Sven Christian was held at the Nirox Sculpture Park from 8 September – 20 October 2024.

Grasp was made in South Africa directly following time Johan Thom spent as a resident artist at Casa Wabi in Mexico in April-May 2024, where he first deeply engaged with the possibilities of clay as primary medium, especially in relation to the human body, its labour and relationship to the greater environment.

The monograph includes contributions by Sven Christian, Dr. Wayne Binitie, Sikho Siyotula-Siegemund, Sudeep Sen and Johan Thom.

Johan Thom was born in Johannesburg in 1976. He works across a variety of media including sculpture, video, performance, photography and installation to probe the human condition in a changing world. In 2014 he completed a PhD in Fine Art at the Slade School of Fine Art on a Commonwealth Scholarship, Is an Ampersand Fellow and has attended residencies in Bangladesh (Britto Arts Trust), Mexico (Casa Wabi), Switzerland (Pro Helvetia) and South Africa (Nirox Foundation 2007 & 2014). He lives in Pretoria and is Associate Professor in Fine Art at the Department of Visual Art, University of Pretoria.