A creative studio specialised in fine art sculptures, collectible design and architectural installations

Bronze Age

We set benchmarks for quality. Working closely with a unique community of artists, multi-disciplinary designers and craftsmen, we place their creativity, specialist skills and latest technology at the service of our clients.

Our local and international commissions range from custom sculptural work to large-scale architectural and interior design projects. We are as experienced in developing concepts from a verbal brief or sketch, as in manufacturing to plan with absolute precision.

Our studio on No.2 Plein Street has an open door policy and is a world unto itself which continues to inspire artists and art lovers to create.

Bronze Age Studio Cape Town

Our History

Sculptor Otto du Plessis established Bronze Age in 1997 as one of South Africa’s first foundries dedicated to the ‘lost wax’ method in South Africa. The original Simon’s Town location included a sculpture studio, a gallery and an artist’s residency.

Through the professional understanding and work ethic that Otto brought to the process, joined in 2005 by Charles Haupt, the Bronze Age Foundry earned the trust and patronage of leading local artists William Kentridge, Bruce Arnott, Wim Botha, Brett Murray, Eduardo Villa and Dylan Lewis among others, as well as the Southern Guild gallery. By the time the foundry relocated from Simon’s Town to Woodstock in 2012, it enjoyed a global reputation and collaborations with international artists and designers such as Misha Khan, R&Co. and the Haas Brothers.

In 2016, in order to optimise both the creative design and the execution of large-scale bronze castings, Bronze Age separated its studio from its foundry. 

The latter merged with Sculpture Casting Services in 2016 to become the largest foundry group in the southern hemisphere. The Bronze Age Art Foundry, located in the creative hub of Cape Town’s Silo District as neighbour to the Zeitz MOCAA, remains at the centre of art production and presentation in Cape Town.

Bronze Age Studio Bowl design furniture

Design Studio

Taking non-ferrous metals from creative concept to planning and production with our in-house designs, sculptural commissions and close collaborations with architects and interior designers.

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Architectural Elements

Seamless integration of exceptional cladding and surfacing options that combine accuracy and the unique textural depth of patinated metals with CNC cutting and bending.

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Bronze Age Studio sculpting limited edition custom design cladding
Bronze Age Studio - Sculpture commission work

Sculpture Studio

Our Plein Street studio is a hub some of Cape Town’s leading freelance sculptors who collaborate as an experienced team on Bronze Age commissions as well as undertaking their own work.

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NØDE

A unique take on the durable and lightweight material that is aluminium, worked as anodized furniture with cutting-edge industrial design, hand-textured limited edition objects, as well as a custom development in a range of colours and finishes.

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NØDE CØNGREGATE

 “We don’t advertise. We’ve always worked by word of mouth and believe it’s the best way to build relationships.”

– Otto du Plessis

Bronze Age Studio sculpting limited edition custom design cladding
The Meaning of Bronze

The Bronze Age Art Foundry has built a team of experienced technicians and skilled craftspeople that ensure the highest standards of excellence at each stage of an elaborate production process.

Bronze is an extraordinary metal, an alloy of mainly copper, silicon and manganese called silicone bronze that naturally responds to different elements in its environment. As such, it forms what is commonly known as a patina, which subsumes a vast range of colourations that can be controlled for effect.

At the same time, as it is exempt from all other forms of environmental degradation, other than melting under extreme heat conditions, it is truly timeless and has afforded us some of the most compelling artefacts and masterpieces of human history.

An artist’s bronze is remarkable in that the object underwent an individual and complex production process, in interaction with human and material variables. Each stage is required to meet the demands of the artist’s original concept in order to qualify as a legitimate part of an edition.

Bronze Age Studio sculpting limited edition custom design cladding
The Silo District Foundry

In a constant drive to innovate, Bronze Age has remained ahead of the curve for casting and moulding technologies, merging with Sculpture Casting Services in 2016 to become the largest foundry group in the southern hemisphere.

Relocated to the new creative hub of the Cape Town Silo District, as neighbour to the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art for Africa (MOCAA), the Bronze Age Art Foundry remains at the centre of art production and presentation in Cape Town.

This partnership expanded production processes beyond traditional methods to include 3D-scanning, digital modelling, as well as enlargement by robotic CNC milling with sister company 3D Echo Tech. The ability to up- and downscale models, along with the consolidation of its infrastructure, enables Bronze Age Art Foundry to efficiently produce works of both sample size and monumental scale.

Foundry enquiries: info@bronzeage.co.za

ENQUIRIES:

2 PLEIN ST, WOODSTOCK

CAPE TOWN

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Copyright © 2023 Bronze Age Studio, All Rights Reserved.

Volker Koch

A creative polymath, Volker moved from design and illustration to stainless steel product development, followed by full spectrum waterjet cutting before he stepped into the forge of creative blacksmiths and learnt to beat metal to life with a passion that remains unabated.


Going on to work in art foundries, he became interested in the secrets of bronze. He joined Bronze Age in late 2019 as assistant problem-solver who loves a good challenge: “I see problems as little effervescent energy tabs that enable us to translate our clients’ hard work into noteworthy and valuable objects.”

 

Volker is also a fellow creator and his interests in contemporary design and ancient processes extend beyond metal, to stone and wood sculpture, as well as ink, allowing him to contribute valuable insights to the broad range of Bronze Age commissions.

 

As with all members of a team that is not just multi-disciplinary but rich in personalities, Volker adds a dose of his unique humour to defend his trade: “I think that the best craftsmen and women can only appear weak in the incapable hands of feeble designers.”

Marcel Brynard

He studied Architecture at UCT after considering Industrial Design and Art. During his studies, he job-shadowed Otto du Plessis and the work at Bronze Age Studio held such strong appeal that he split his 3rd year over two years to work for the studio part- time.

During his 4th year at varsity, he attended a Summer Studio program at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London where he gained insight to the intersection between art and architecture.

After completing his undergraduate degree in 2017, Marcel worked for Architect Peter Neokrides, and later, in the Cape Town film industry as a draftsman as well as a set designer. After spending a year in South America, he has returned to Bronze Age (somewhat as a prodigal son) and enjoys working for the studio full-time.

His experiences in the fields of architecture and design have enriched and fueled his passion for visual art. He is interested in sculpture, print-making and architectural fictions, drawing inspiration from the works of Iakov Chernikov and MC Escher.

Precious Mhlanga

She and Joseph are both from Zimbabwe and have been together since 2011. Their son Shammah Junior was born in 2015. Prior to Bronze Age, Precious worked in the hospitality sector as a chef and still enjoys cooking and baking.

Joseph Mhlanga

Between 2009 and 2014, Joseph was with Family Castings in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, an industrial foundry where he learnt mould-making using green sand. When he joined Bronze Age, Otto du Plessis instructed him in the art of making silicon rubber moulds, working seam lines and painting waxes, as well as fettling, texturing and patinas. In addition to being mentored by Otto, he completed an AMT mould-making course. 

Today Joseph makes the moulds for Bronze Age sculptures and commissions, as well as taking on the works of artists Stanislas Trzebinski and Joop Kuneke.

“I enjoy mould-making because it requires patience and an understanding of the original artwork. The choices I make when doing the splitting and slipping rely on an intuitive anatomy of the piece which is different every time, allowing for the best way to demould it and preserve important detailing.”

He is married to Precious who also joined the Bronze Age which they both regard as a place to grow and a family of sorts. Their son Shammah Junior was born in 2015.

Edwin Nyamurova

Eddie took business studies and mathematics for A-levels in Harare and was interested in accounting but fell into wire art as a way of earning a living when he moved to Cape Town. He had his own stand at the Church Street market, started doing jewelry work for Tagy Martial and decided to join Maker Station for three days a week when he felt that too many people were doing wire craft.

There, a chance encounter with sculptor Stas Trzebinski, who at the time was being mentored by Otto du Plessis, led to an introduction to the Bronze Age foundry across the street. “It is a very good environment, with good guys and a great learning platform for me. I’m happy and grateful to be learning new things and getting better every day and I have real friendships here.”

Lungisa Kala

Over the past years, he has assisted various artists and been part of teams of sculptors working on pieces ranging from 40cm, to life-sized and up to 9m monumental statues, as well as creating miniature sets for a television commercial. Among other commissions, he has worked on a number of statues for the National Heritage Monument’s ‘Long March to Freedom” installation, completed a life-sized statue of Josiah Gumede, sculpted a maquette of Joe Slovo, created two original sculptures for ‘Nguni Gold’ and worked on the 6m statue of Nelson Mandela with Tania Lee.

Reverend Professor Peter Storey was quoted as saying: “I recently met a young man called Lungisa Kala, a finisher and polisher in a bronze factory, but his real calling is to be a sculptor. I’ve watched him fashion a remarkable likeness of the late Rev Seth Mokitimi for our new Seminary and asked him if he enjoyed what he was doing. ‘Too much,’ he said, ‘too much!’ That’s call.”

It has always been his ambition to create his own series of sculptures and Lungisa is currently working on a collection of small bronzes inspired by wildlife and childhood memories of rural life in the Western Cape. “To achieve anything requires faith, belief in yourself, determination, vision, hard work and dedication. And so, I trust that I will do the things I dream of.”

In addition to fettling, Lungisa has learnt welding, smooth-polishing, grinding, ceramics and mould-making at Bronze Age. He has completed courses in welding, tool and die-making and holds various certificates (Advanced Fluxcore Arc Welding from Allweld Marine and Industrial; NQF Level 5 Toolmaker Qualification ‘SAQA ID 91796’ from Northland College Wingfield Campus) as well as diplomas in Entrepreneurship, Business Management and Computer Practice.

Trevor Potter

A graduate of ‘Michaelis School of Fine Arts’ (2012), Trevor was born in Los Angeles and grew up in South Africa. Immediately after Michaelis, Trevor worked on a series of ‘steam punk’ animatronic machines and robotic animals crafted from scrap metal which were exhibited at the Holden Manz Gallery in Franschhoek. Towards the end of 2013, he approached the Woodstock Foundry to gain experience in the production of bronze sculptures and began an informal apprenticeship with Otto as his mentor. Over the course of four years, Trevor familiarised himself with the various processes and began managing projects on the behalf of Bronze Age.

Trevor has worked with leading South African sculptors and designers as well as internationally recognised artists, among which Brett Murray, Wim Botha, Conrad Botes, Paul de Toit, the Haas brothers, Misha Kahn and Sipho Mabona. He has also been involved in the production of many of Cape Town’s public sculptures, including the SA Navy ‘Standby Diver’ monument in Simons Town.

Trevor continues to create fine art sculptures and illustrations with a strong figurative emphasis and has sculpted wildlife, human and abstract form. He has extensive experience in producing bowls, lighting, tables, cabinets, chairs, benches and flooring and is currently developing his own range of design products. His works have been featured in Southern Guild’s exhibitions ‘Transformations’ and ‘New Wave’ and at Design Miami Basel, as well as sold at auction with Christies’ in London.

Melani-Rene Louwrens

Melani discovered painting and drawing while studying Special FX at City Varsity. Graduating with two merits in painting and costume, she went on to intern with a film production company where she was tasked with the fabrication of creatures, props and prosthetics: “They needed sculptors. I tried it and fell in love.” Melani worked in the film industry for several years before studying Fine Art at Michaelis. On the Dean’s List throughout her four years, she received a distinction for Studio Work (sculpture).

Melani brings extensive experience to the team and enjoys collaborating with artists and clients to interpret a brief or achieve a particular vision. She takes on Bronze Age commissions as well as private projects that range from figurative work to bespoke furniture, in addition to devoting time to her own practice.

Her skills draw on the critical and conceptual dimensions of her training and she is notably comfortable with both fine detail and monumental scale, as well as passionate about texture and surface finishes. While modelling in a variety of materials, she is partial to any type of clay for its tactile quality and versatility in anticipating the textures and character of the finished sculpture.

Melani was nominated for a Fleur Du Cap Theatre Award (Best Prop Design in 2008) and worked on the “African dinosaurs” permanent display at the Iziko Museum. 

Le Roux Hofmeyr

One of his favourite pastimes as a teen was to scout small-town second-hand furniture stores for pieces that appealed to his design interest, mostly Art Deco, Bauhaus and Mid-Century. Thanks to the new South African educational curriculum which offered Design as a subject entailing practical handiwork and technical drawing, he was able to pursue his interest in design from the outset.

After graduating from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Le Roux went into furniture design, working for Mokena Makeka’s Design Lab, as well as for Pierre Cronje as a designer and draftsman, before going on to apprentice at Bronze Age.  He was immediately captivated by the versatility of metals and the singular beauty of their oxidation processes: “Each individual attempt is unique, and mastering the organic process, with materials that offer their own constraints and properties, is an art form.”

LeRoux credits his upbringing with nurturing his eye for beauty and interest in accidental beauty.  “I grew up in George and spent most of my childhood exploring the forests and the Outeniqua mountains, as well as the coastline around Victoria Bay and Herolds Bay. Growing up in a small town surrounded by wilderness gave me an appreciation for natural beauty, simple pleasures, found art and intriguing objects.”

And there’s the exceptional environment commended by every artist at Bronze Age: “I am surrounded by creative minds. Amazing projects and clients coming through the door. Working with Charles Haupt and Otto du Plessis continues to be a privilege and a source of inspiration. I cannot give them enough credit for their uncompromising work ethic and the way they mentor our team organically. There’s never a dull moment at Bronze Age, and we pull together under pressure in a way that never takes the fun and pride out of hard work.”

Gerrit Giebel

Gerrit’s interest in concept and product development is balanced by craftsmanship. After training as a blacksmith and metalworker, he completed a Bachelor’s in Industrial Design in Hannover, Germany. His technical range is surprisingly broad, spanning jewellery, furniture, artistic yet functional installations as well as graphic design. 

He shares a love of metals and materials with the Bronze Age team: “I deeply connected to metal which was so versatile in its solid state, but my first experience in heating and shaping it during my apprenticeship just blew me away. I also like to work with other authentic materials such as cork, paper…and light. Bringing a material to its limits is the best way to really understand its properties.”

Gerrit has been featured in numerous design editorials and exhibited at the Southern Guild Gallery (A New Wave, 2016; Design Miami 2016; 10-year anniversary 2019 and Foundry Proof 2019) and his commissions have included a wall installation for designer Kat van Duinen, custom work for ARRCC, a chandelier development for Southern Guild in collaboration with Charles and jewellery for Athi-Patra Ruga, in addition to graphic design work. 

Gerrit was Head of Design at Jo Carlin Design, Assistant to Julian McGowan at the Southern Guild Gallery and is still Director of iDEAS and fORM. He joined Bronze Age as an apprentice in 2014 and returned to work with Charles in 2018, founding NØDE as their joint venture in 2019.

“I had the chance to explore the creative scene of Cape Town, but never found a place better suited to me than Bronze Age. I was immediately captivated by the studio’s magic. It’s a place where craftsmanship, contemporary design and nature come together in a symbiosis between materials and machine. The environment feels like a family: there is a challenging exchange of opinions, old skills are combined with new technologies and even machine-generated products retain a natural soul. Working with Charles is great: we are both straight talkers and we can’t stand poorly made things, so we search until we find the perfect solution.”

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As artists, designers and craftsmen, we place our specialist skills, extensive experience and cutting-edge technical processes at the service of our client. Our commissions are sculptural, architectural or functional, and have ranged from working off an available space, open-ended verbal brief or a sketch, to manufacturing according to plans.

While our fine art moulding is informed by our own practice, the fabrication of more functional elements is greatly enriched by our range of exclusive materials and techniques. We advise clients at every stage, optimising the production process and presenting samples when required.

Our commissions have included Quoin Rock, Ellerman House, ARRCC and OKHA, Southern Guild, the Pot Luck Club and Shortmarket Club, among many others. We have also developed design elements in collaboration with Southern Guild, Gregor Jenkins

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