This month I attended the opening of Penny Siopis's latest solo show of new work, 'Furies', at Brodie/Stevenson in Johannesburg. Siopis appears to be on top form, with a body of work which she described, appropriately enough given the show's title, as energetic. I would go further, concurring with whispers at the opening proclaiming Siopis our most important painter for many years. Interestingly, as Siopis herself said in her brief opening address, the exhibition is her last as a Johannesburg-based artist: she is soon to shift residence to Cape Town.

For a number of years Jozi's art scene has been much influenced by Siopis; through her virtually peerless production as an artist, and her active showing at the Goodman Gallery and more recently at Brodie/Stevenson, Siopis has been a mainstay on the city's scene despite its huge changes since she came to prominence in the 1980s.

She has also been a strong influence on young artists through her tenure at Wits University's Fine Art department. Protégés, or at least artists who count her as a significant influence, include rising stars Mary Wafer and Jessica Webster. Many more have come under her tutelage, deriving impetus from her energy, her prolific production and her voracious appetite for new frontiers, both visual and conceptual.

Presumably it is something of this appetite which brings her to trade smog for sea air. ArtThrob wishes Siopis continued success in the Mother City, sure that her influence will continue to be felt in Johannesburg through her work and writing.

This month we welcome a new staff member to our midst: Rike Sitas takes over from Peter Machen as the KZN Editor. Rike, an accomplished writer, has been a regular contributor to ArtThrob for some time, and we are glad to have her on board in a permanent capacity. At the same time we wish Peter all the best for his future endeavours.

August sees many great shows around the country and indeed outside our borders. In the Cape, the IZIKO Michaelis Gallery presents 'The Lie of the Land: Representations of the South African Landscape': up now is a review of this show by Amy Halliday. Mary Wafer and Kerim Seiler both have solo shows at blank projects, while Pieter Hugo and Dineo Bopape exhibit at Michael Stevenson.

In Johannesburg, Siopis show should be top of your list, closely followed by 'Borders' at the JAG and the Gugulective's 'Ityala Aliboli/Debt Don't Rot' at the Goodman Gallery Project Space.

In Durban, catch the exhibition of the Spier Contemporary winners at the KZNSA Gallery, and also take a turn past 'Something Borrowed Something Blue' at artSPACE durban, a group show staged by the Young Artists Unite collective.

In REVIEWS, catch Danielle de Kock's take on the London showing of Zanele Muholi's 'Faces and Phases' at Fred Contemporary, as well as Anthea Buys's review of 'SPace: Currencies in Contemporary Africa Art' at the Museum Africa in Johannesburg. From the Cape we host a review of 'This is Our Time', a group exhibition shown at Michael Stevenson, Chad Rossouw ltakes a brief yet sharp look at Belinda Blignaut's 'comeback' 'Stealing the Words' at YOUNGBLACKMAN, and Lloyd Pollak considers the successes and shortcomings of Dan Halter's 'Double Entry', exhibited recently at Whatiftheworld/Gallery. As mentioned above, catch Amy Halliday's review of the Michael Godby-curated investigation of the landscape genre, 'The Lie of the Land'.