Artful Industry

This art advisor’s modern Melville home in Johannesburg showcases a lifelong love affair with her biggest passion

- Zodwa Kumalo

A statuesque and smiling Makgati Molebatsi opens a bright red-orange door to reveal the modern, industrial-style home she has been living in for the past 14 years in Melville, Johannesburg.

Previously owned by South African architect Xavier Huyberechts, Makgati’s abode – adorned in a palette of greys, black and off-white with splashes of orange and red – mirrors her cool and collected personality, occasionally peppered with bursts of giggles and a bright, warm light that comes to her eyes when she talks about her passion: art. At the entrance hangs a formidable work by

Liz Grobler, a huge sculpture of interlinked keys that Makgati says she’d wanted since the day she laid eyes on it at the now defunct Brundyn Gallery. When she eventually acquired the piece, she knew exactly where it belonged. ‘So much glass! I love it!’ were the first words out her mouth when she toured the house initially. As you wind your way down the staircase leading from the living room to the dining area downstairs, light streams in through the double-volume windows and doors, revealing a courtyard made for entertaining. After renovations, tiles, railings and a custom-made staircase replaced the original screed and wood, says Makgati.

Offering to draw the pulleys that open up the glass doors leading to the courtyard, she says, ‘I often have my art friends staying over when they’re here for exhibitions and fairs.’ It’s clear the space holds happy memories of festive gatherings – and the promise of more to come.