Eight questions for the interested and interesting: Michael Chandler

Cape Town artist Michael Chandler may be working flat-out, but he still finds time for bridge, cooking and art. And travelling with his Moka pot.
1 min read

He’s the undisputed king of blue and white ceramics and one of Cape Town’s (and our) favourite artists, but what does Michael Chandler do when he’s not creating beauty? We found out.

What’s the best book you’ve read in the past year. And why?

I don’t think I managed to read a single book cover-to-cover last year; 2024 was full, busy and hectic. I have about eight books stacked next to my bed which I dip and dive into almost at random. They include Truman Capote, Isabel Allende and a bunch of astrology books.

How do you keep fit?

I don’t. Last year I prioritised work over exercise and let’s just say you can tell. Here’s to 2025 having more mountain walks in it than 2024!

Weekday, low-key restaurant go to?

I love to cook, so I seldom eat out. But when I do, there’s nothing better than a pizza at Bacini’s with a glass of ice-cold sauvignon blanc.

One artwork you’ll always love, and why?

Giorgio Morandi is a 20th-century Italian painter who is famous for his soft, gentle and dusty paintings of bottles. But it’s his landscapes that border on the sublime. I’d like one of those, please.

What’s your hobby?

Playing bridge with astrologers, surveying and recording rock art in the Western Cape mountains and tending to my potted, courtyard garden.

One unusual item you can’t live without?

My Moka pot. I travel with it overseas – and a bag of Deluxe ground coffee beans.

High school celeb crush?

Jude Law (the bath scene in The Talented Mr Ripley was almost my undoing).

Three songs for a desert island?

Air – High School Lover; Jessye Norman singing Richard Strauss’s Vier Letzte Lieder: IV Im Abendrot and Thinking of a Place by The War on Drugs.

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Sarah Buitendach

With a sharp eye for design, Sarah has an unparalleled sense of shifting cultural, artistic and lifestyle sensibilities. As the former editor of Wanted magazine, founding editor of the Sunday Times Home Weekly, and many years in magazines, she is the heartbeat of Currency’s pleasure arm.

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