Michael MacGarry is a distinguished South African artist and filmmaker, celebrated for his political and poetic exploration of contemporary life. His work spans a diverse range of media, including sculpture, photography, installation, and film, addressing the complex tensions between marginalized and dominant narratives. MacGarry's art reflect the ever-evolving landscapes of identity, power, and history, particularly in the context of post-colonial Africa.
With a Master's Degree in Fine Art from the University of the Witwatersrand, MacGarry is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the History of Art. MacGarry is a fellow of the Gordon Institute of Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) at the University of Cape Town and a recipient of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award 2010.
His extensive body of work has earned him international recognition, with exhibitions at renowned institutions such as Tate Modern, Guggenheim Bilbao, and the Kiasma Museum. His diverse artistic practice has also extended to film, with several award-winning short films that have been featured in over 30 international film festivals. He is a recipient of an El Ray Award - Excellence in Narrative Short Filmmaking (Barcelona Film Festival 2015), a finalist for the Huysmans Young African Filmmaker Award 2015 (Belgium) as well as Jury Awards from 19th VideoBrasil (Sao Paulo), K3 Internationales Film Festival (Austria) and 13th International Festival Signes de Nuit (Paris).
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017: Show No Pain, Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg.
2015: There’s an Animal Inside.
2013: As Above, So Below, Centre for Democracy, Cape Town.
2012: The Other Half, Stevenson, Cape Town.
2011: Entertainment, Stevenson, Johannesburg.
2010: END GAME, Standard Bank Young Artist Award 2010 (Visual Arts) Monument Gallery, Grahamstown.
2010: This is your world in which we grow, and we will grow to hate you, Stevenson, Johannesburg.
2008: When enough people start saying the same thing, Art Extra, Johannesburg
2004: Or Until the World Improves, The Premises Gallery, Johannesburg
2015: The Film Will Always Be You, TATE Modern, London
2015: FNB Joburg Art Fair
2015: Making Africa. A Continent of Contemporary Design, curated by Okwui Enwezor and Amelie Klein Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain
2015: Africa: Architecture, Culture, Identity, curated by Mathias Ussing Seeberg Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
2015: The Johannesburg Pavilion, During the 56th la Biennale di Venezia,Venice, Italy
2015: Africa Salon, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
2014: Half-Devil Half-Child, Blank Projects, Cape Town
2014: Pop Goes the Revolution,The New Church, Cape Town
2013: 'MINE' – MC2a – MIGRATIONS CULTURELLES
2013: Aquitaine Afriques, Bordeaux, France
2012: Impakt Festival 2012
2012: CBKU, Utrecht, The Netherlands
2012: Making Way: Contemporary Art from South Africa and China, Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg
2011: Johannesburg Contested Terrains, Tate Modern, London
2011: ARS 11, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art Helsinki, Finland
2010: Ampersand, Damiler Art Collection, Berlin
2010: Life Less Ordinary: Performance and display in South African art, Ffotogallery, Cardiff, U.K.
2009: Life Less Ordinary: Performance and display in South African art, Djanogly Gallery, Nottingham
2009: Why Not?, Kuckei + Kuckei, Berlin, Germany
AWARDS:
El Ray Award -‐ Excellence in Narrative Short Filmmaking, Barcelona Film Festival 2015 Huysmans Young African Filmmaker Award 2015 -‐ Finalist
Gordon Institute of Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) Fellowship 2012 Standard Bank Young Artist Award 2010 (Visual Art)
MTN New Contemporaries Award, 2008 -‐ Finalist
Full Merit Scholarship, University of the Witwatersrand
2005 National Arts Council Individual Artist Grant, 2004
Cum Laude, Dean’s Commendation, 2000
COLLECTIONS:
Iziko South African National Gallery Seattle Art Museum
Gordon Schachat Collection Hollard Collection
Wits Art Museum
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) The New Church Museum
Standard Bank of South Africa Johannesburg Art Gallery Numerous private collections
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Michael MacGarry is a distinguished South African artist and filmmaker, celebrated for his political and poetic exploration of contemporary life. His work spans a diverse range of media, including sculpture, photography, installation, and film, addressing the complex tensions between marginalized and dominant narratives. MacGarry's art reflect the ever-evolving landscapes of identity, power, and history, particularly in the context of post-colonial Africa.
With a Master's Degree in Fine Art from the University of the Witwatersrand, MacGarry is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the History of Art. MacGarry is a fellow of the Gordon Institute of Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) at the University of Cape Town and a recipient of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award 2010.
His extensive body of work has earned him international recognition, with exhibitions at renowned institutions such as Tate Modern, Guggenheim Bilbao, and the Kiasma Museum. His diverse artistic practice has also extended to film, with several award-winning short films that have been featured in over 30 international film festivals. He is a recipient of an El Ray Award - Excellence in Narrative Short Filmmaking (Barcelona Film Festival 2015), a finalist for the Huysmans Young African Filmmaker Award 2015 (Belgium) as well as Jury Awards from 19th VideoBrasil (Sao Paulo), K3 Internationales Film Festival (Austria) and 13th International Festival Signes de Nuit (Paris).
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017: Show No Pain, Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg.
2015: There’s an Animal Inside.
2013: As Above, So Below, Centre for Democracy, Cape Town.
2012: The Other Half, Stevenson, Cape Town.
2011: Entertainment, Stevenson, Johannesburg.
2010: END GAME, Standard Bank Young Artist Award 2010 (Visual Arts) Monument Gallery, Grahamstown.
2010: This is your world in which we grow, and we will grow to hate you, Stevenson, Johannesburg.
2008: When enough people start saying the same thing, Art Extra, Johannesburg
2004: Or Until the World Improves, The Premises Gallery, Johannesburg
2015: The Film Will Always Be You, TATE Modern, London
2015: FNB Joburg Art Fair
2015: Making Africa. A Continent of Contemporary Design, curated by Okwui Enwezor and Amelie Klein Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain
2015: Africa: Architecture, Culture, Identity, curated by Mathias Ussing Seeberg Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
2015: The Johannesburg Pavilion, During the 56th la Biennale di Venezia,Venice, Italy
2015: Africa Salon, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
2014: Half-Devil Half-Child, Blank Projects, Cape Town
2014: Pop Goes the Revolution,The New Church, Cape Town
2013: 'MINE' – MC2a – MIGRATIONS CULTURELLES
2013: Aquitaine Afriques, Bordeaux, France
2012: Impakt Festival 2012
2012: CBKU, Utrecht, The Netherlands
2012: Making Way: Contemporary Art from South Africa and China, Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg
2011: Johannesburg Contested Terrains, Tate Modern, London
2011: ARS 11, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art Helsinki, Finland
2010: Ampersand, Damiler Art Collection, Berlin
2010: Life Less Ordinary: Performance and display in South African art, Ffotogallery, Cardiff, U.K.
2009: Life Less Ordinary: Performance and display in South African art, Djanogly Gallery, Nottingham
2009: Why Not?, Kuckei + Kuckei, Berlin, Germany
AWARDS:
El Ray Award -‐ Excellence in Narrative Short Filmmaking, Barcelona Film Festival 2015 Huysmans Young African Filmmaker Award 2015 -‐ Finalist
Gordon Institute of Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) Fellowship 2012 Standard Bank Young Artist Award 2010 (Visual Art)
MTN New Contemporaries Award, 2008 -‐ Finalist
Full Merit Scholarship, University of the Witwatersrand
2005 National Arts Council Individual Artist Grant, 2004
Cum Laude, Dean’s Commendation, 2000
COLLECTIONS:
Iziko South African National Gallery Seattle Art Museum
Gordon Schachat Collection Hollard Collection
Wits Art Museum
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) The New Church Museum
Standard Bank of South Africa Johannesburg Art Gallery Numerous private collections
