In 2022, Walter Oltmann was awarded the Edoardo Villa Extraordinary Award for Sculpture, which empowers the continuing practice of the recipient by providing space and resources to research, produce, and exhibit new works. Oltmann’s award also makes possible the production of a publication, for which the artist engaged in a series of ongoing conversations with different artists who work in a similar way, to varying ends.

A Quiet Focus demonstrates some of the ideas expressed during these conversations. It focuses on the work of three artists: Oltmann, Usha Seejarim, and Chris Soal, exploring the dialogue between each and the materials they employ, in particular their slow, repetitive process and the haptic nature of their work. The exhibition invited audiences to handle and experiment with the raw materials used, gaining a deeper understanding of their methodology, the labour involved, and the limitations and possibilities afforded by each.

During a workshop with students from the University of Johannesburg and the University of Pretoria, Inga Somdyala’s Asikho Ndawo (2019) was added to the fold, and a fifth material, paper, introduced to the exhibition.