Mark Hilltout: Finding Beauty in Corrugated Iron at Candice Berman Gallery

Mark Hilltout has spent 12 years looking intently at something most of us try to ignore. Corrugated iron. The result is a stunning new exhibition, For The Love Of Corrugated Iron, now showing at Candice Berman Gallery in Rosebank.

 

The word corrugated comes from the Latin Ruga meaning to wrinkle or crease. To the conventional eye, this is a poor man's shelter to be used only in the absence of alternatives. Yet almost two centuries after its invention, it remains indispensable.

The Artist's Vision

 

Mark Hilltout was always drawn to the random, the discarded and the broken. Car dumps fascinated him. He was attracted to the broken edge, not the perfectly straight line. He saw beauty where others saw ugliness.

 

To Mark, corrugated iron is endlessly complex and gloriously tarnished. It is something that time alone can create and no artist can hope to better. Burnt by the sun, flayed by wind and rain, each sheet is the result of thousands of happy and unhappy accidents. This is the perfect, imperfect material.

From Madagascar to Khayelitsha

 

His love affair with corrugated iron began in Madagascar, where he learned how to sew in metal and started producing rustic picture frames. He sought out and bought discarded sheets from Khayelitsha and neighbouring towns.

 

Out of 100 sheets, perhaps only 10 were suitable. And all were unpredictable. This unpredictability is what gives his work its unique character. No two pieces are ever the same because no two sheets of weathered corrugated iron are the same.

What to Expect at the Exhibition

 

The exhibition showcases Hilltout's remarkable ability to transform this humble material into sophisticated art pieces. His work challenges our perceptions of value and beauty, asking us to reconsider what we discard and what we cherish.

 

The pieces on display demonstrate the full range of his craft, from smaller framed works to larger sculptural pieces. Each one tells a story of time, weather, and human habitation that cannot be replicated in any other medium.

Why This Exhibition Matters

 

In a world increasingly concerned with sustainability and reuse, Hilltout's work feels particularly relevant. He takes a material associated with poverty and makes it precious. He finds elegance in the overlooked and celebrates the marks that time leaves behind.

 

This is art that speaks to the South African experience directly and powerfully. Corrugated iron is part of our visual landscape, part of our history, and part of our present. Hilltout's work invites us to see it with fresh eyes.

Practical Information

 

Exhibition: For The Love Of Corrugated Iron

 

Artist: Mark Hilltout

 

Venue: Candice Berman Gallery, 223 Jan Smuts Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg

 

Dates: 23 May to 23 June 2026

 

Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 9 am to 5:30 pm, Saturday 9 am to 4:30 pm, Sunday Closed

 

Contact: 084 843 8302

 

Email: hello@223jansmuts.com

 

Admission: Free

 

Best For: Art lovers, collectors, and anyone interested in sustainable art and South African creativity