At Gallery F, the brainchild of renowned Cape Town photographer Gavin Furlonger, South Africa’s photographic heritage is being shaped and preserved through the power of photography.
The glossy, black double doors in Shortmarket Street in the Cape Town CBD hint at an interesting interior but they don’t give the full picture.
This is revealed the minute one of the doors opens. The compact entrance foyer and the walls beside the steep staircase leading to the first floor are lined with powerful black-and-white photographs.
It’s an arresting sight. All the big names are here: Roy Zetisky, Jürgen Schadeberg, Paul Alberts, Jodi Bieber, Jillian Edelstein, Juhan Kuus, Ginger Odes, Billy Monk, David Lurie, Pierre Crocquet, Ian Difford, Günther Komnick, Obie Oberholzer. And more.
At the top of the staircase is an office filled with interesting paraphernalia, cameras and equipment. The oxblood-red walls are covered with more photographs.
Then, finally, a clean, bright space – with large windows that let in natural light – reveals itself. The walls here are also filled with arresting black-and-white images. Welcome to Gallery F and the world of Gavin Furlonger, photographer extraordinaire and one of South Africa’s greatest commercial and fashion photographers of his time.
Today, while he still takes the occasional shot, he specialises in preserving and archiving photographs for posterity and exhibiting them at Gallery F in the bustling heart of the Mother City.
BEST OF THE BEST
Charming, erudite and a great raconteur, Gavin has an encyclopaedic knowledge of his fellow photographers. After nearly 50 years in the industry, his passion is uncontained.
“I established Gallery F in 2002 to honour the work of my fellow photographers, really. I wanted to promote and sell fine-art photography so that I could give collectors and enthusiasts the opportunity to buy rare, limited-edition prints,” he says, before starting to tell captivating stories about the photographers whose works fill the space. Some are still alive; others are long gone. Many of them are, or were, personal friends, acquaintances, colleagues.
In the process, he is shaping the medium’s cultural conversation, encouraging the appreciation and recognition of the work of South Africa’s photographers locally and internationally.
AN ENTHRALLING SPACE
When I visit the gallery, Gavin and his son, Sean, are in the throes of installing a special exhibition, Beyond the Lens. For me, as a former women’s magazine journalist familiar with, and highly appreciative of, his renowned fashion spreads (which dominated the glossies for decades), it’s exciting and enthralling being in his orbit.
Sean shares his enthusiasm and commitment. As partner and manager, he has overseen curation and sales since 2020. He’s intent on growing the gallery’s presence and influence, here and abroad, and to draw attention to its definitive and extensive collection.
Gavin’s generosity in sharing his work, his expertise and knowledge about photography is contagious. It’s not surprising that, as I leave, he presses Memories of Madiba, a collection of prints which he created for a Keith Bernstein exhibition, into my hands. But not before I’ve heard the long and fascinating story behind it.
There’s much more to see, learn, enjoy. I’ll return to this welcoming space, where the work of photographers “who captured the everyday and the extraordinary during one of the most complex periods in South Africa’s history” is so poignantly on display.
Gallery F | Shortmarket St | www.galleryf.co.za | insta: @galleryf
THE POWER OF PAPA-SA
Gavin Furlonger established the Photographic and Archival Preservation Association of South Africa (PAPA-SA) in 2002. The main aim of the NPO is to locate, preserve, catalogue and protect historically significant works. Through his vast network, he has obtained the rights to rare works, working with photographers, estates, families and institutions. He says: “There are over 500 000 negatives in our care … There is a strong focus on analogue photography.”
Working in partnership with his son, Sean, he showcases these images through exhibitions, sales and representation. “It’s important that these fine photographs continue to be seen and appreciated, and that they remain accessible for future generations,” he says. Sean points out that the collection spans over eight decades of photography, “from rare, signed vintage handprints to contemporary fine-art photography”. But it’s not only about heritage photography. The work of emerging photographers is exhibited alongside Gallery F’s historic and contemporary collections.
IMAGES: Gallery F
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