may 2012 sa art times magazine
TRANSCRIPT
Photo: John Hodgkiss
ART TIMESThe South African Art Times: SA’s leading visual arts publication | May 2012 | Free | Read daily news on www.arttimes.co.za
SA Printmaking Feature The Artist Proof Studio turns 21
Photo: Kim Berman and members of the APS by Christo Harvey
BARRY SULLIVAN24 MAY - 27 JUNE 2012WWW.BARNARDGALLERY.COM 55 MAIN STREET, NEWLANDS, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICAEMAIL [email protected] // TEL 021 671 1553
ANOTHER MAN’S VINE
Barry Sullivan A4 advert_Final_297x210mm.indd 1 2012/04/19 3:19 PM
Main Road Franschhoek Western Cape
T + 27 21 876 8600F + 27 21 876 8601
E [email protected] www.grandeprovence.co.za
The Gallery at Grande Provence is proud to present an exhibition of contemporary altarpieces themed ‘Altered Pieces’ – based on the lyrics of Leonard Cohen. This exhibition was arranged by Gordon Froud and includes work by: Adele Adendorff, Angie Banks, Annemarie Tully, Carl Jeppe, Sarel Petrus, Anni Snyman, Chris Diedericks, Diane Victor, Markus Steinmann, Audrey Anderson, Ruhan Janse Van Vuuren, Carol Nathan Levin, Kai Losgott, Carina du Randt, Jan Van der Merwe, Lourens Joubert, Sybrand Wiechers, Sandra Hanekom, Ronel de Jager, Tony Scullion, Ricky Burnett, Retha Buitendach, Paul Boulitreau, Ian Marley, Helena Hugo, Gordon Froud, Frikkie Eksteen and Diek Grobler among others.
The exhibition, ‘Transformed ’ by renowned sculptor, Anton Smit, will be presented in The Sculpture Garden and The Gallery.
The Project Room and The Cathedral will feature ‘The Painted Word ’. This extensive group show will include artworks by: Eugenie Marais, Christo Basson, Emma Willemse, Erica Prinsloo, MJ Lourens, JP Meyer, Elise Wessels, Gina Niederhumer, Hetty Zandman, Pieter Haasbroek, Johannes du Plessis, Hester Viles, Pienaar van Niekerk, André du Toit & Derick Smith among others.
Ingrid Coerlin questions the borderlands of departure and decay with the launch of her book Alles ist lebend tot, featuring interpretations of Baudelaire’s poems through her artworks. Botanical artworks by Barbara Pretorius and a photographic exhibition by Riaan Chambers of indigenous succulents will be exhibited in The Shop.
These exhibitions will coincide with the Franschhoek Literary
Festival and will be opened by prominent artist
Gordon Froud on Sunday, 6 May 2012 at 11h00.
The Restaurant at Grande Provence
Contact us for reservations
CAROL NATHAN LEVIN
ALTERED PIECESTRANS-
FORMED
THEPAINTED
WORD
ANTON SMIT INGRID COERLIN
Main Road Franschhoek Western Cape
T + 27 21 876 8600F + 27 21 876 8601
E [email protected] www.grandeprovence.co.za
The Gallery at Grande Provence is proud to present an exhibition of contemporary altarpieces themed ‘Altered Pieces’ – based on the lyrics of Leonard Cohen. This exhibition was arranged by Gordon Froud and includes work by: Adele Adendorff, Angie Banks, Annemarie Tully, Carl Jeppe, Sarel Petrus, Anni Snyman, Chris Diedericks, Diane Victor, Markus Steinmann, Audrey Anderson, Ruhan Janse Van Vuuren, Carol Nathan Levin, Kai Losgott, Carina du Randt, Jan Van der Merwe, Lourens Joubert, Sybrand Wiechers, Sandra Hanekom, Ronel de Jager, Tony Scullion, Ricky Burnett, Retha Buitendach, Paul Boulitreau, Ian Marley, Helena Hugo, Gordon Froud, Frikkie Eksteen and Diek Grobler among others.
The exhibition, ‘Transformed ’ by renowned sculptor, Anton Smit, will be presented in The Sculpture Garden and The Gallery.
The Project Room and The Cathedral will feature ‘The Painted Word ’. This extensive group show will include artworks by: Eugenie Marais, Christo Basson, Emma Willemse, Erica Prinsloo, MJ Lourens, JP Meyer, Elise Wessels, Gina Niederhumer, Hetty Zandman, Pieter Haasbroek, Johannes du Plessis, Hester Viles, Pienaar van Niekerk, André du Toit & Derick Smith among others.
Ingrid Coerlin questions the borderlands of departure and decay with the launch of her book Alles ist lebend tot, featuring interpretations of Baudelaire’s poems through her artworks. Botanical artworks by Barbara Pretorius and a photographic exhibition by Riaan Chambers of indigenous succulents will be exhibited in The Shop.
These exhibitions will coincide with the Franschhoek Literary
Festival and will be opened by prominent artist
Gordon Froud on Sunday, 6 May 2012 at 11h00.
The Restaurant at Grande Provence
Contact us for reservations
CAROL NATHAN LEVIN
ALTERED PIECESTRANS-
FORMED
THEPAINTED
WORD
ANTON SMIT INGRID COERLIN
R60 000 1st PRIZEst PRIZEst
3 & 4 JULY ONLYand a solo exhibition at PTA Art Museum
Submit physical entries:
For details contact: Association of Arts Pretoria
012 346 3100 or visit sasolsignatures.co.za
sasol new signatures 2012
Presented by the Association of Arts Pretoria
123075 SASOL signature art A4.indd 1 2012/03/19 10:38 AM
South African and International Art,and BooksJohannesburg, Monday 11 June 2012at 2pm, 3.30pm and 8pm
Preview: Friday 8 to Sunday 10 June, 10am to 5pmWalkabouts: Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 June at 11amEnquiries & Catalogues: 011 728 8246 / 079 367 [email protected]
The sale also includes a captivating Zanzibari portraitof a distinguished Arab by Irma Stern
www.straussart.co.za The global leader in the South African art market
JH Pierneef, A View through the Trees, Lowveld R 700 000 - 900 000 Gwelo Goodman, Source of the Little Tugela R 300 000 - 400 000
Robert Hodgins, Et in Arcadia Ego R 500 000 - 700 000 Walter Battiss, African Figures and Birds R 300 000 - 500 000
South African and International Art,and BooksJohannesburg, Monday 11 June 2012at 2pm, 3.30pm and 8pm
Preview: Friday 8 to Sunday 10 June, 10am to 5pmWalkabouts: Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 June at 11amEnquiries & Catalogues: 011 728 8246 / 079 367 [email protected]
The sale also includes a captivating Zanzibari portraitof a distinguished Arab by Irma Stern
www.straussart.co.za The global leader in the South African art market
JH Pierneef, A View through the Trees, Lowveld R 700 000 - 900 000 Gwelo Goodman, Source of the Little Tugela R 300 000 - 400 000
Robert Hodgins, Et in Arcadia Ego R 500 000 - 700 000 Walter Battiss, African Figures and Birds R 300 000 - 500 000
06 SA ART TIMES. May 2012
ART TIMES | EDITORIAL
Daily news at www.arttimes.co.za
Editor: Gabriel Clark-Brown [email protected] Advertising: Eugene Fisher [email protected]: Tracey Muscat [email protected] Production: Megan Rainier [email protected]: Tracey Muscat [email protected]: Bastienne Klein [email protected] Website: Liesel Botha [email protected] Artwork To: Designer [email protected] Letters to the Editor: [email protected]
PO Box 15881, Vlaeberg, 8018. Tel. 021 424 7733 Fax. 021 424 7732
Deadline for news, articles and advertising is the 18th of each month. The Art Times is published in the last week of each month. Newspaper rights: The newspaper reserves the right to reject any material that could be found offensive by its readers. Opinions and views ex-pressed in the SA Art Times do not necessarily represent the official viewpoint of the editor, staff or publisher, while inclusion of advertising features does not imply the newspaper’s endorsement of any business, product or service. Copyright of the enclosed material in this publication is reserved.
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www.theloopartfoundry.co.za & www.thelooponline.co.za
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This month’s Art Times is slightly different, from the outside cover to the format of the Printmaking Special. Much of these temporary changes were decided for us, or better said, we went with the flow of the generous material that was provided to us. On the cover issue, I wanted to lose the leash of the familiarity of other popular magazine styles (this was initially adopted when we went from a tabloid to a magazine format years back - and we needed a solid sense of identity). The second thing that we did not foresee is the overwhelm-ing response to our request for material for the printmaking feature, we were blessed.
As per usual I did not have the nastiness to cut out a huge amount of submitted material, although I did cut out a lot of the printmakers’ images and tried to show at least one image from each artist. I do know that there is a lot more SA printmaking and stories that we had to leave out, including many young printmakers whose work was very exciting, but needed a year to focus their work. To this regard I will be placing much of the print material onto a much needed SA Printmaking website for all to view and enjoy- and more so participate.
You may notice that I have placed one of my own works in the printmaking section, I could not re-sist. I have spent most of my life as a printmaker, falling in love with printmaking at the age of 17 and walking off with then the coveted Matric Art prize. Many years later after starting the Art Times I went to Naspers where the SA Art Times was at that stage being printed and was hypnotized by the mass media, its huge presses housed in cathedral- like warehouses. At the printers, after printing Die Son for 4 hours with a few hundred thousand per zillionth of a second, the printers put the Art Times on the press for about 2 minutes to print 12 000 copies!. I was both smitten and per-haps mislead, with the ease of printmaking and the potential for reaching a greater audience with the magazine. However I would like to say after exploring two means of printing, is that at the end of the day the artworks that will last a thousand years – an image like Munch’s “Scream” haunts one for many years. Magazines might rule the
day but who will remember last year’s headlines, let alone yesterdays. As some of my new found critics might not know is that I am an artist, I think and feel in images, and that I am happy to pass on the AT and title of art media mogul to someone who can make things good, while feeling and seeing with the heart. Until that day I am enjoying what I do each day and besides- I enjoy my critics, it’s all part of the fun of sticking one’s neck out.
If you missed our news coverage of both the SA art community and art market we are pleased to say that this coverage is alive and well as con-stant news updates (usually 4-8 per day) on our SA Art Times website at www.arttimes.co.za. In addition to this we are launching our Business Art website this week at www.businessart.co.za. We have reached this level through the hard work of our staff and what’s more kept a high standard of content by our news producer that has paid off in the form of a growing amount of visits and traffic on the daily updated websites
In our next month’s Art Times (June edition) we cover the anticipated Grahamstown National Arts Festival, so if you are going please let us know in order for us to have further coverage of the Festival.
Lastly, for the record, I would like to say to Andrew Lampbrecht that I am sorry that I used a provided transcript of one of his great talks that he gave a group of art enthusiasts a while ago. In retrospect I should have let him rewrite it in proper art academic speak without his charming puns and quirks. Although it’s just come back to me now that indeed it was him on a Michaelis art party evening that said to me dryly “ Gabriel nothing is off the record.”
I hope that you do enjoy this different edition, there may be much kindness from our advertis-ers, but this additional income pays for the word of art to go even further into this fast growing insular world, where the importance of art and communicating our common humanity is needed more than ever before.
EDITORIAL
May 2012
Global Art Information Group
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 07
NEWS | ART TIMES
Matthew Blackman First Published in The M&G
The department of arts and culture has opposed an application to the Western Cape High Court in seeking access to information under the Promo-tion of Access to Information Act (Paia) regarding an exhibition at Venice Biennale.
In September last year, the department was requested to disclose certain information relating to its decision to select and fund the commercial gallerist Monna Mokoena’s exhibition at the prestigious event.The department allegedly spent R10-million on the exhibition it called a “private initiative”. Documents which came to light after court papers were served on the department also revealed that Mokoena was appointed as commissioner without the process being put out to tender.The Paia request sought clarification on just how and when the selection of Mokoena as commis-sioner took place, why no tender process was followed with regard to his appointment and what the exact budget allocation was. It also asked for information about whether any buildings in Venice were owned or were being long-leased by the department.
Only one substantive answer
To date there has only been one substantive an-swer from the department as to what money was spent on the Venice Biennale -- the admission that they paid R10-million towards South Africa’s participation.This disclosure came in answers to questions sent by the Democratic Alliance to Arts and Culture Minister Paul Mashatile on August 5 last year. They were, however, only answered on December 13.The budget accompanying the admission revealed some eyebrow-raising anomalies. This included a R4.5-million allocation for media, PR and advertising.
Victor Dlamini, who the department acknowl-edged acted in the “capacity of public relations” for the Biennale, has gone on record to say that he had nothing to do with it.
In the same conversation, Dlamini advised that the only way of finding out how this money was allocated was to ask the department itself. However, when the department was contacted on these issues a departmental spokesperson emailed back saying: “As you quite correctly point out, your Paia application is now a subject of court action, which the department will respond to in due course. The matter is sub judice.”
However, the sub judice claim that the both the department and the minister are using is misplaced.
Interfering with the court applicationDiscussing South Africa’s participation at the Bi-
ennale can hardly be regarded as interfering with the court application. The only issue before the court is whether the department and the minister have complied with the requirements of Paia.
In other answers sent to the DA, the department stated that “a proposal from Cul Art for South Africa to participate in the Venice Biennalle [sic]” was received. And that “once the proposal was approved, Mr Mokoena was then appointed as the commissioner for South Africa at the Venice Biennalle 2011”.
The identity of the company Cul Art was at first a mystery, but it has now been established that a close corporation by that name was registered on the January 19 2011 and is owned by Mokoena and Tim Mangwedi.What seems of interest is that Louise Graham, the chief director of international relations for the department, sent out an email on January 13 2011 confirming that South Africa was going to participate at the Biennale. This was six days before Mokoena’s Cul Arts, the corporation that the department stated made the proposal to go to Venice, was in fact registered.
The notice of opposition to the court application, received by lawyers on Tuesday, is the first clear suggestion from the department that they may not wish make available what, under most circum-stances, would be public information. As yet no affidavit has been received from the department’s lawyers indicating their reasons for not complying with Paia.
‘Venice is quite a lovely place’
In an interview on Tuesday night on Cape Talk, Mashatile again refused to offer any real answer concerning the circumstances of the Venice Bien-nale. Although several questions are known to have been sent to the radio station on the matter, only the last minute of the 40-minute show was set aside for a question concerning the now well-documented Venice controversy.
When the interviewer, Kay Sexwale, finally asked the minister about Venice, she added the caveat that she had asked the minister’s communica-tion advisor how the minister would feel about discussing the controversy.
Mashatile responded: “Venice is quite a lovely place where we showcase visual art. It is really a premier area for artists to showcase their work but the difficulty is there is a court case currently that has been brought against us and we want to respect that process.”
Mashatile stated, in the last seconds of the broadcast, that “once they are done I would definitely like to talk to South Africans about Venice, because it is one of those important areas where we would like to see more of South Africa’s participation”.
Department mum on Venice Biennale exhibition
67 Loop Street, Cape Town. +27 21 424 99 85Franschhoek Square, Huguenot Street, Franschhoek. +27 21 876 4477
www.ebonydesign.co.za [email protected]
Join us at EBONY Franschhoek during the Literary Festival from 11 to 13 May for a selection of new works by Olaf Bisschoff, Claudia Ongaro, Keri Muller, Helene van Aswegen and many more.
ART TIMES | NEWS / A NEW CHAPTER IN THE STEPHAN WELZ & CO. COMPANY
08 SA ART TIMES. May 2012
Stephan Welz & Company (Pty) Limited is pleased to announce the strengthening and restructuring of its Executive Board. Mark Kretschmer has sold his interests in the Company, making way for Dr Fred Scott, the renowned Johannesburg-based Contemporary Art Specialist, to become shareholder and Director.
The Company would also like to announce the appointment of Anton Welz as Head of the Paint-ings Department, Cape Town, as well as welcome both him and Shona Robie to the Board of Directors.
Synonymous with both the auction and art worlds, Anton Welz is the grandson of the late Jean Welz and nephew to Stephan Welz. Having studied History of Art at UCT’s Michaelis School of Fine Art he began his career in the late 80s at Sotheby’s, Johannesburg, under the guidance of his uncle. Here Anton entrenched himself as Furniture and later, Classic Car Specialist. It is through Anton that the Welz legacy continues.
Born into a family of prominent collectors, Dr Fred Scott has an unparalleled knowledge of South African art. An advisor, curator and expert with a discerning eye and an insistence on quality, Dr Scott has a profound respect for the historical, a passion for contemporary and a determination to grow and develop the local art industry at large. Dr Scott has an extensive personal collection.
“I see joining Stephan Welz & Co, one of South Africa’s most established auction houses, as the ideal opportunity to share my knowledge of and empathy for the visual arts”, Dr Fred Scott.
“The Company welcomes Dr Fred Scott - a major collector in his own right - who through his dedica-tion and great knowledge of art is a fundamental asset to Stephan Welz & Co.”
A new and exciting chapter in the Stephan Welz & Co.
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C M Y CM MY CY CMY K NEWS | ART TIMES
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 09
Applications are invited for the post of Director at Greatmore Art Studios, Cape Town. The Studios are looking for a person who can work creatively and flexibly with artists in a culturally diverse environment. Experience in managing a small organisation with a limited
budget is essential. The Director must have skills in fundraising, communications, budgetary issues and marketing.Knowledge and networks within South Africa’s Art world are highly desirable. A detailed job description and person specifica-tion for the Director is available on our website (http://greatmoreart.org/news.html)There is no job application form. Kindly email a motivation letter plus a resume of your skills, ex-perience and qualifications with special reference to the job description and person specification. We also require details of contactable references. Please send to:The Chairperson, Greatmore Art Studios Board at: [email protected]
Key dates:Closing date for Applications: 18 May 2012. In-terviews are planned to begin on Monday 28 May 2012. It is hoped that the successful candidate can commence duties for the latest by 1 August 2012.
Greatmore Art Studios
Inviting applications for the post of Director
Supplied
STAP DEUR ‘GALERY’ VAN SA KUNS OP GOOGLE FROM HIRST TO LAST IN CHIC CIRCLESKAROO-WERKE VERRUIM DAMIEN HIRST: THE ENFANT TERRIBLE OF THE ART WORLD BANKSY: PRIMED AND ALL SET TAKE-OFF PORTRAIT FAME FOR NEWSPAPER VENDORDEATH BECOMES HIM DEATH OF GUSTAV KALTENBRUN DAMIEN HIRST, TATE MODERN, LONDON GILLIAN WEARING, WHITECHAPEL GALLERY, LONDON DALI’S DOODLES: THE SURREALIST’S MANSERVANT REVEALS A VERY PERSONAL COLLECTION OF GIFTS IN PARIS PORTRAITS TRANSCENDING REALITY KOTO’S WONDERLAND COMMUNITY ART IS PROFESSIONAL ARTARTIST HANS-PETER FELDMANN REVEALS WHAT’S IN WOMEN’S HANDBAGS IN A NEW EXHIBITION WHY GRAMMAR MATTERS IN STREET ARTBALANCING ACT: BETWEEN ART & FASHION SALES OF KINKADE ARTWORK SURGE AFTER PAINTER DIES DAMIEN HIRST ARTWORK DEFACED OCCUPY PROTESTERS DAMIEN HIRST-REVIEW DAVID LISTER: I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THE CRITICS WHO INSIST ON TELLING THE WORLD WHAT IS AND ISN’T ART MoMA’s CINDY SHERMAN EXHIBITION WEBSITE DISAPPOINTS DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS PUTTING A PRICE ON DESPAIR GEORGE PEMBA MET SEELREEKS VEREER S AI WEIWEI CONTINUES TO DEFY CHINESE CENSORS... NET ARTISTS DISPLAY ART WORLD’S STEAL OF THE CENTURY IN LONDON EXHIBITION TEMPORARY ART CENTRE EUROPE’S BIGGEST CONTEMPORARY ART CENTRE OPENS EUROPE’S BIGGEST CONTEMPORARY ART CENTRE OPENS WHEN A MAN PAINTS A WOMAN SO, SHE TRULY WAS LEONARDO’S LABOUR OF LOVE ALL THE QUEEN’S HORSES: MONARCH’S EQUINE TREASURES TO GO ON SHOW BRITISH MUSEUMSTOLEN CEZANNE FOUND BY SERBIAN POLICE CHINA’S AI WEIWEI SUES TAX OFFICE IN “EVASION” CASE YOUNG CONCRETE SCULPTURE AWARDS WERELDKUNSTEDAG GEVIER LANDSKAPKUNSTENAAR BEKROONDAVID HOCKNEY HITS OUT AT ‘ARROGANT’ GOVERNMENT REMBRANDT’S BRUSH: A GHOST STORY COMING SOON: JACKSON POLLOCK CROCSEGYPT’S REVOLUTION GRAFFITI BRINGS DOWN BARRICADES SIBERIAN BISHOP DEMANDS CENSORSHIP OF EROTIC PICASSOS FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHILDREN DRAWN TO DISTRACTION SUB-SAHARAN REGION IS OFF GUGGENHEIM’S ‘MAP’ TITIAN ‘COPY’ TURNS OUT TO BE A REAL WORK OF ART BRONTE SISTERS PORTRAIT GOES UNDER THE HAMMER AFTER A GOOD SCRUB, TITIAN’S COPY PROVES TO BE THE REAL DEAL NAPLES MUSIC DIRECTOR BEGINS BURNING ART TO PROTEST AT LACK OF FUNDINGMUSEUM PLANS TO BURN 1,000 ART WORKS TO PROTEST CUTS NAZI-LOOTED 474-YEAR-OLD PAINTING RETURNS TO HEIRS RARE BRONZE STATUE OF TOPLESS FEMALE GLADIATOR FOUND IN GERMAN MUSEUMFORGET THE BABY MONITOR- ESTIMATINGE THE VALUE OF POSH’S DAMIEN HIRST ANKLE BOOTS 35 YEARS OF PORTRAITS OF THE QUEEN FROM THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF PORTRAIT PAINTERSGUARD ACCIDENTLY SHOOTS HIMSELF AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART NO SLEEP FOR THE DREAMERS HLOBO SE KUNS OOK OP PARYS-TRIENNALE JULIAN SPALDING CHALLENGES TATE DIRECTOR TO PUBLIC DEBATE OVER HIRST EXHIBITION QUEEN INVITES STARS TO PRESENT HER GIFT TO THE NATION ‘STEAL THIS ART? PAINTING STOLEN, ARTIST UPSET EXHIBITION RE-UNITES TUT ARTISTS LEONARDO DA VINCI ANATOMY DRAWING GO ON SHOW
Don’t miss out on our 2x Daily art news broadcasts on www.arttimes.co.zaThe SA Art Times Online broadcast up to 5 new stories per weekday, making our art news portal the place to find out what is going on in the local and international artworld. In addition please find our new www.businessart.co.za website that keeps you up to date with the movers and shakers of SA Art.
ART TIMES | NEWS / 365 SOUTH AFRICA SHOW, ARTSPACEJHB
10 SA ART TIMES. May 2012
Are you happy on the response for your first solo show as an artist.I am very delighted with the response, it has been very well received I have seen some unex-pected reactions from the viewers who have been through, at the opening there were people crying, overwhelmed by subject matter and what I imagine is the intensity of seeing such a large body of work produced and exhibited at one time by one artist. From what I understand it’s also had great deal of media interest for a first unknown solo exhibition.
How did your idea of doing such an ambitious idea evolveIt started from a very simple idea; it was a combination of wanting to make a body of work that forced me to work every day, without excuse. Also the news seemed like a perfect choice for daily subject matter, ever changing, ever interesting. When I began the project I had only in-tended to make good news stories, day one was the story of 10 youngsters being stampeded to death in a tavern. Somehow the strength of the story and the emotion that bought out in me set a precedent in that the work was going to somehow present itself to me; I almost felt that it was the story that chose me, not me that chose the story.I myself was personally was at a point that I was tired of the news, I was numb to all the bad news, the murder, the death, the corruption, it had reached a point for me as I believe it has for others that I had shut down. I started this project to reconnect with the news, to view it in a new way. Hopefully causing the same outcome in others.I also wanted to question what is newsworthy, what qualifies my story choices, is the man arrested for stealing sheep in a hearse less deserving of a canvas than Zuma?
In terms of time, did the project assist you in forcing you to do a certain amount of painting everyday, or did the project help you to make more art over and above the art making time set aside every day.Obviously the project forced me make art every day, the challenge was working in a full time job and being a single mother. This project did not allow me the time to make more work than I needed to complete the project, but it has certainly pushed me, and re-ignited my passion for art making.
When did you make the paintings always the same time of day, or variables?I would get up at 4am, prime my canvas, draw in the image. Then carry on with my normal day. On return from work after my daily home chores would write my blog (something I used as a record keeping tool more than anything else) and then would usually paint into the late hours, it was a very exhausting year, but so rewarding.
How did you arrive at a similar format of recording each day, did you ever feel that breaking the size and medium convention would create chaos, or interested when the show would hang together as an exhibition.This was purely an aesthetic decision, I am a little ocd and the idea of using different sizes would never enter into my head, I knew how I wanted to hang the show from the beginning and wanted very clean graphic lines that echo the works.
365 South Africa at the ArtSpaceJhb The SA Art Times speaks with Alison McKay regarding her first Solo Show. Alison painted 1 painting per day for an entire year about issues relating to the average person on the street. View her blogspot at 365southafrica.blogspot.com
Leaders in Mastersas well as
Contemporary Art
www.absolutart.co.za
Shop 43, WillowbridgeLifestyle Centre(Below the Barnyard)
39 Carl Cronje DriveTygervalley, Bellville
Gallery021 914 2846
Gerrit Dyman Jr072 699 5918
Email: [email protected]
John KramerKambro Groothandel
oil on canvas760 x 1010mm
Walter BattissCarnavon - Karoo
watercolour365 x 520mm
365 SOUTH AFRICA SHOW, ARTSPACEJHB / NEWS | ART TIMES
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 11
What was the response from your viewers.As I said earlier, the general sense was of being a little overwhelmed, what is interesting for me is seeing the viewer’s reactions, finding some paintings sad or disturbing where I myself have been so close to the work for so long, and so immersed in the media, perhaps I was a little complacent about the intensity of some the imagery.
What are your thoughts as an artist picking up on how the media projects, prioritizes certain news.? Would you feel that in a sense that the media is looking for news that is marketable, and is able to be repeated everyday, I mean in order to keep the readers attention, the media house has to choose news that can continually shock readers and keep their attention. Was it tempting to ever go deeper to the headline story and work the story through in your own artistic mind.I think that we are talking about two different mediums of information or telling stories - for sometimes different reasons and au-diences. The media have a different time space and commercial imperative. Artists necessarily, use a medium that is probably more enduring in terms of aesthetic appeal and input. The media, I guess, have to create a handle that will ‘grab’ you from afar. Artists on the other hand wait quietly for a moment of quiet and deliberate contemplation from the audience to let the work of art appeal to their trained senses at times to ‘take’ them. Sometimes the art will engulf the audiences’ emotions and even without any fuller understanding from the audience, the work’s intensity and appeal will work its own magical allure and make its impact – where the artist and the audience, and the message connect at that critical point. So in a way I had to select my own level or platform to talk to the storyline as it grabbed me. But then I had to transform it into my own personal and emotional medium.
Given the years highs and lows which work sold the best- I think that there should be a mix of both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ news, but if one tries to identify a pattern in the work sold so far, it is weighted toward the good news. Sometimes the good news’ interpretation would probably sell its appeal and vice versa. If the good news works sold the best, surely this would be to a domestic market that has to live with your news head-lines work on a daily basis. Do you think if you approached a media house, their view of purchasing subjects would be different – say to purchase images that are more provocative and would sell more papers etc.I am not too sure about that angle. News has nowadays become such a global commodity that even ‘our’ own news has begun to make it into overseas newspapers and television channels. Because of this instantaneous coverage of both local and global news, the fine line between the two has blurred and in a way. To answer your question, I still think that the artistic interpretation would influence the medias choices. If I were a media house I would purchase the whole show as it is a general overview of our country for the year, I don’t feel anymore as I did at the beginning of the project that we have the right to pick out only good news, there is a sense of denial in that. Without the ‘bad’ there is no ‘good’.
What do you have planned for the next show, and how has this show influenced you to art making now.I certainly feel that I have been given an amazing opportunity for a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something that few artists have been able to commit to. It has taken much commitment and time, and this has certainly taught me much about myself and also about the many supportive people and institutions who have been there when I was at a loss as to what now. I think that I will continue to work at my art and learn to accept other challenges that help me define my art and enable me to grow as a person too.
In choosing just 1 news item per day, is there a danger of making an almost 1 liner type of work- per day and not ex-ploring a great diversity of a human conditions, or is this deliberate that through the repetition of news and projection you do begin to describe the human condition over time.Well, this as I said earlier has been a once-in a lifetime opportunity to express art in a compressed format but over an extended period of a year. While the items might seem truncated and distinct, they yet do tell the composite story of South Africa Incorpo-rated if you will. While the 1 item per day might not necessarily capture the full gamut of human emotions, the captive national audience that in a way has been party to the news making event have also been critical actors in the portrayal of the event; because they would have read the news before the artwork and thus would be privy to the inputs into the final projection. I hope this makes sense in a roundabout way.
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Unisa Art Gallery,Kgorong BuildingGround Floor, Main CampusPreller and Ridge Street, Pretoria, 0003Email: [email protected]: (012) 441 5683
3 May 2012 to 31 May 2012Enquiries: (012) 441 5683 / [email protected] viewing hours: (Tuesday to Friday) 10H00 - 16H00
Colleen Alborough,Fear and Trembling (still)
Recent AcquisitionArt Exhibition
UNISA ART GALLERY
9 – 30 May 2012
Gerard de Leeuw (1912-1985)
This centenary exhibition curated by Fred Scott is devoted to one of South Africa’s most important sculptors and marks the artist’s birth in Amsterdam in 1912. Lecture on 19 May 2012 at 10:00 for 10:30
6 – 27 June 2012
DE MAGNETEJacki McInnes
McInnes addresses contradictions in human thought and behaviour and the inevitable effect on our planet and ultimate future.With lecture
UJ Art Gallery c/o Kingsway and University Road Auckland Park Johannesburg+27 11 559 2099 [tel] | +27 11 559 3178 [fax] | [email protected]
McInnes, JackiMagnetic
FREE STATE, GAUTENG / GALLERY GUIDE | ART TIMES
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 13
STEPHEN CONROYrecent works
17 - 31 May 2012
EVERARD READCAPE TOWN
www.everard-read-capetown.co.za
Free StateBloemfonteinOliewenhuis Art Museum27 March – 13 May, “Christ and the other Person” a series of paintings by Father Frans Claerhout.20 April – 3 June, “Rendezvous Art Project: Focus Painting” (Main Building) a travelling exhibition of works by 60 artists which uses painting as a medium.3 May - 17 June, “For Future Generations” - Hugh Tracey and the International Library of African Music in the Reservoir.16 Harry Smith Str, Bloemfontein. T.051 447 [email protected] www.nasmus.co.za
ClarensArt & Wine Gallery on MainThe Gallery houses an exquisite collection of art by well-known artists like Gregoire Boonzaier, J.H. Pierneef, Pieter van der Westhuizen, Erik Laubscher, Jan Vermeiren, Marjorie Wallace, Eben van der Merwe, Conrad Theys, Hennie Niemann, Hannetjie de Clercq, ceramics by Laura Du Toit, sculpture by Fana Malherbe & Jean Doyle, glass by David Reade & Shirley Cloete and numerous others.279 Main Str, Clarens T. 058 256 1298 or Anton Grobbelaar. C. 082 341 8161 [email protected] www.artandwine.co.za
Blou Donki Art GalleryOpening Sat 19 May @ 11:00 “40 Days of Still Life, Land-scapes and Figures “ a solo exhibition of paintings by Makiwa Mutomba, on show until Sunday 10th of June.Windmill Centre, Main Str, Clarens T. 058 256 1757 [email protected] www.bloudonki.co.za
Johan Smith Art GalleryThe gallery permanently exhibits a wide variety of classical and selected contemporary art works featuring Johan Smith, Elbè van Rooyen, Elga Rabe, Graham Carter, Nicole Pletts, Gregoire Boonzaier, Otto Klar, and various others. Specializing in ceramics, the gallery supports artists such as Hennie Meyer, Karen Sinovich, and Heather Mills, among others. Collectable bronzes and handmade glass by David Reade also available.Windmill Centre, Main Str, Clarens T. 058 256 1620 [email protected] www.johansmith.co.za
GautengJohannesburgAlice ArtThe weekend 12&13 May is artist Bert van Wyk, 19&20 May is Stan Polson and 26&27 May is Portchie.217 Drive Str, Ruimsig. T. 083 331 8466/ 083 377 [email protected] www.aliceart.co.za
Christie’sInternational Auctioneers.Gillian Scott Berning, Independent Consultant. T 031 207 [email protected] www.christies.com
CIRCA on Jellicoe3 April – 12 May, “Drawing clouds in the Karoo” by Strijdom van der Merwe. 2 Jellicoe Ave. T. 011 788 [email protected] www.circaonjellicoe.co.za
Everard Read Jhb12 April – 12 May, Recent Works by Stephen Conroy.17 May – 16 June, Nicky Leigh exhibition. 6 Jellicoe Ave, Rosebank, Jhb. T. 011 788-4805 [email protected] www.everard-read.co.za
Gallery 2Artists currently on show include Eric Duplan, Kate Gottgens, Lauren Palte, Colbert Mashile, Herman Niehbuhr, Carl Roberts, Claudette Schreuders and Jenny Stadler.
140 Jan Smuts Ave, Parkwood. T. 011 447 [email protected] www.gallery2.co.za
Gallery AOP14 April – 12 May, “Self-Organized Systems” drawings by Neil le Roux. 44 Stanley Ave, Braamfontein Werf (Milpark) Johannesburg. T. 011 726 2234. [email protected] www.galleryaop.com
Goethe on MainOpening 24 May @ 18:30, “Streetlights” by Vaughn Sadie. On show from 25 May – 03 June 2012.Arts on Main, 245 Main Str, City & Suburban, Jhb. T. 011 442 3232 [email protected] www.goethe.de/goetheonmain
Goodman GalleryFrom 5 May, Brett Murray’s “Hail To The Thief”163 Jan Smuts Ave, Parkwood, Johannesburg T. 011 788 [email protected] www.goodman-gallery.com
Grahams Fine Art GalleryThe gallery exhibits fine examples of South African art including works by: Maggie Laubser, J.H Pierneef, Irma Stern, Freida Lock, Walter Battiss, Alexis Preller, Gerard Sekoto, Robert Hodgins, Stanley Pinker and Peter Clarke.Unit 46, Broadacres Lifestyle Centre, Cnr Cedar & Valley Rds, Broadacres, Fourways, Jhb. T. 011 465 9192 [email protected] www.grahamsgallery.co.za
16 HalifaxWorks by Michael Heyns, Leon Muller, Braam van Wijk, Marina Louw, Mimi van der Merwe and other artists can be viewed by appointment in Johannesburg at 16 Halifax Str, Bryanston. Dana MacFarlane 082 784 [email protected] www.16halifaxart.co.za
In Toto12 April – 8 May, “Translations: Art into Jewellery” Top South African artists: Karel Nel, Senzeni Marasela, Walter Oltmann, Diana Hyslop, Loren Kaplan, Norman Catherine, Michael Frampton, Faiza Galdhari, Dylan Lewis, Marco Cianfanelli, Wayne Barker and Don Searle have collaborated with the Schwartz Jewellers to create art-inspired jewellery that is to be displayed alongside artworks by these highly acclaimed artists.Opening 31 May, “The Other World” exploring the idea of fantasy in art featuring a large number of artists on show (about fifty) until 3 July. 6 Birdhaven Centre, 66 St Andrew Str, Birdhaven. T. 011 447 6543 [email protected] www.intotogallery.co.za
Isis GalleryLeading Art Gallery in Rosebank showcasing today’s most Modern Contemporary Artists. Shop 163, The Mall of Rosebank. Contact Daniel Erasmus T. 011 447 2317 [email protected] www.isisgallery.co.za
Johannesburg Art GalleryOpening 6 May, with a public lecture by William Kentridge from 2:00 - 3:00pm, the opening reception is at 3:30pm by Sibongile Khumalo, “Coming of Age: 21 years of Artist Proof Studio” a retrospective exhibition of Artist Proof Studio (APS) which celebrates 21 years of printmaking in Newtown. On show until 6 July. King George Str, Joubert Park, Jhb. T. 011 725 3130 [email protected] www.joburg.org.za
Manor GalleryThe Watercolour Society Africa will be opening a new exhibition on May 5th, entitled “Grand Prix”. This exhibition features top South African watercolour artists. The public are invited to at-tend the opening on Saturday morning 5th May from 10 to 12, and meet the artists over tea. On show until 2 June 2012.Manor Gallery, Home of the Watercolour Society of South Africa. Norscot Manor Centre, Penguin Drive, Fourways, Gauteng. T. 011 465 7934F. 011 465 8951 [email protected] www.wssa.org.za
Nirox ProjectsOpening Sunday 6 May @ 1pm, “Revisited’ by Maja Maljevic.Arts on Main, Cnr Main & Berea Streets, Joburg.For more information please contact: Claire (David Krut Projects) 011 447 0627 [email protected] www.niroxarts.com / www.davidkrut.com
The ocean doesn’t want me today
Cloudy with a chance of rain
THE AVA GALLERYIN PARTNERSHIP WITH SPIER
Invites you to
NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUNA solo exhibition by Catherine Ocholla
Opening at 6 pmMonday the 4 June 2012
Exhibition closes on Friday, 29 June 2012 at 1 pm
Gallery hours: weekdays 10h00 to 17h00Saturdays 10h00 to 13h00
35 Church Street Cape Town 8001Ph 021 424 7436 Fax 021 423 2637 Email [email protected]
Website www.ava.co.za
No news from God
Cat
herin
e O
chol
la
SOUTH AFRICAN GALLERY GUIDE
The ocean doesn’t want me today
Cloudy with a chance of rain
THE AVA GALLERYIN PARTNERSHIP WITH SPIER
Invites you to
NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUNA solo exhibition by Catherine Ocholla
Opening at 6 pmMonday the 4 June 2012
Exhibition closes on Friday, 29 June 2012 at 1 pm
Gallery hours: weekdays 10h00 to 17h00Saturdays 10h00 to 13h00
35 Church Street Cape Town 8001Ph 021 424 7436 Fax 021 423 2637 Email [email protected]
Website www.ava.co.za
No news from God
Cat
herin
e O
chol
la
Art Times ad MAY ’12 final 3/30/12 10:50 AM Page 1
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C M Y CM MY CY CMY K
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 19
Russell Kaplan AuctioneersAuctioneers of Fine Art, Antiques and Collectables.Ground floor, Bordeaux Court, Corner of Garden & Allan Roads, Bordeaux. T. 011 789 7422 or 083 675 8468 [email protected] www.rkauctioneers.co.za
Sandton AuctioneersFine Art, Furniture, Carpets & Collectables.Showroom: No 8 Burnside Ave, Craighall Park, Jhb. T. 011 501 3360 [email protected] www.sandtonauctioneers.com
Standard Bank Gallery3 May – 9 June, “Faena” by Nandipha Mntambo (Standard Bank Young Artist 2011) as well as Leonie Marinovich’s photographic exhibition entitled “Not Me - Not Mine” consists of portraits of HIV-positive women from Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia and South Africa. Cnr of Simmonds & Frederick Str.’s, Jhb. T. 011 631 1889 [email protected] www.standardbankarts.co.za
Stephan Welz & CompanyAuctioneers of Decorative and Fine Arts.13 Biermann Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg. T. 011 880-3125 [email protected] www.stephanwelzandco.co.za
Stevenson Johannesburg4 April - 18 May, “Land Of Cockaigne” 10 large new and recent paintings by Deborah Poynton.62 Juta Street, Braamfontein, Jhb. T. 011 326 0034 [email protected] www.stevenson.info
Strauss & Co.Monday 11 June 2012, Auction of Important South African and International Art. Country Club Johannesburg, Corner Lincoln Rd & Woodlands Drive, Woodmead. T. 079 407 5140 [email protected] www.straussart.co.za
UJ Art GalleryOpening 9 May at 18 30 for 19 00, the Gerard de Leeuw Centenary exhibition of bronze sculptures.Cnr Kingsway & University Rd, Auckland Park, Jhb. T. 011 559 2099 [email protected] www.uj.ac.za/artscentre
The White House GalleryExhibition opening on 3 May, 18:00 – 20:00, works by a variety of artists on show. Shop G11 Thrupps Centre,Oxford Road, Illovo,Johannesburg. T. 011 268 2115 [email protected] www.thewhitehousegallery.co.za
PretoriaAlette Wessels KunskamerThe Alette Wessels Kunskamer operates as an Art Gallery and Art Consultancy, specialising in South African art as an invest-ment, dealing in Old Masters, and selected contemporary art.Maroelana Centre, 27 Maroelana Str, Maroelana, Pretoria. T. 012 346 0728 [email protected] www.artwessels.co.za
Association of Arts PretoriaOpening Fri 4 May @ 18:30 for 19:00, “La Colour de L’Amour” an exhibition of paintings done and inspired by Paris by Isabel Le Roux, on show until 23 May. Walkabout: Sat 12 May @ 11:00. 173 Mackie Str, Nieuw Muckleneuk, Pretoria. T. 012 346 3100 [email protected] www.artsassociationpta.co.za
Fried Contemporary28 April - 26 May, “Terra incognita: unknown territories” Tribute artist: Minnette Vári. Frikkie Eksteen, Eric Duplan, Celia de Villiers, Christiaan Harris & Berna Thom.9 June - 7 July, “Terra pericolosa: dangerous grounds” Tribute artist: Diane Victor. Diek Grobler , Gwenneth Miller , Carolyn Parton , Sybrand Wiechers, Keith Dietrich, Karin Preller & Paul Cooper. 430 Charles St, Brooklyn, Pretoria. T. 012 346 0158 [email protected] www.friedcontemporary.com
Front Room Art Open for viewing Sat 12 & 26 May or by appointment. Works by a wide variety of artists including Louise Barnard, Heleen Schroeder and Johann van Heerden.116 Kate Ave Rietondale. Jennifer Snyman 082 451 [email protected] www.frontroomart.co.za
Gallery Michael HeynsThe Gallery has moved to 194 Haley Str, Weavind Park, Preto-ria. T. 012 804 0869 [email protected] www.michaelheyns.co.za
Pretoria Art Museum27 March - 29 July in the Henry Preiss Hall, “Lady Michaelis Bequest” a selection of 17th-century Dutch paintings from the Michaelis Bequest will be on view. Until July in the North Gallery “Resistance Art & Landscape Art” A selection of artworks by Resistance artists such as Magadlela, Martins, Dumile, Hodgkins and Kentridge are on display in the North Gallery. Also on display is a broad selection of landscape art by artists such as Pierneef, Battiss, Wenning, Barker and Boonzaaier.Until December in the South Gallery, “A Story of South African Art” a selection of artworks from the permanent collection of the Museum.Until December in the East Gallery, “Abstract Art” a selection of abstract artworks from the permanent collection of the Museum.Until December in the Glass Gallery, “Corobrik Collection” a selection of ceramics, representing the development of studio ceramics and the work of traditional rural potters of South Africa over the past 30 years is on display.Until December, “Study Collection” art media and techniques are illustrated in the Information Centre.Cnr Schoeman and Wessels Str, Arcadia Park, Arcadia, Preto-ria.T.012 344 1807/8 [email protected] www.pretoriaartmuseum.co.za
Sandton AuctioneersFine Art, Furniture, Carpets & Collectables. Showroom: 367 Lynnwood Rd, Menlo Park, Pretoria. T. 012 460 [email protected] www.sandtonauctioneers.com
St Lorient Fashion and Art GalleryContemporary Art on show during May.492 Fehrsen Street, Brooklyn Circle, Brooklyn, Pretoria. T. 012 4600284 [email protected] www.stlorient.co.za
UNISA Art GalleryOpening 3 May @17:00 for 17:30, “Recent Acquisition Art Exhibition” and moments from the past, on show until 31 May.Kgorong Building, Ground Floor, Main Campus, Preller Str, Pretoria. T. 012 441 5683 [email protected] www.unisa.ac.za/gallery
University of Pretoria25 May – 15 November, “High Tea @UP” fine porcelain and antique teawares from the ceramic collections of the University of Pretoria Museums. Mapungubwe Gallery, Old Arts Building, UP. T.012 420 2968 [email protected] www.up.ac.za
North WestPotchefstroomNWU Gallery17 May - 13 July “Ink-complete: Capturing Music II” photogra-phy by Sean Brand, Sean Metelerkamp & Christelle Duvenage. Exploring the way that musicians modify their bodies as incomplete ever changing vessels through ink-art.North-West University Gallery, Building E7, NWU Potchef-stroom Campus, Hoffman Str, Potchefstroom.T. 018 299 4341 email: [email protected]
MpumalangaDullstroom
Art @ sixty sevenA selection of fine art, ceramics and blown glass art pieces, by well-known local artists. Shop no9, 67 Naledi St, Dullstroom, T. 013 254 0335 [email protected] www.shopat67.com
Dimitrov Art GalleryLifestyle Complex, shop no.4 on Cnr. Teding Van Berkhout & Hugenote/ Naledi Street, Dullstroom, Mpumalanga T. 013 254 0524 C. 082 679 [email protected] www.dimitrovartgallery.co.za
The New Dimitrov Art GallerySituated in the Trams Alley shop no.1, along the R 540 ( Naledi Drive ). Opening exhibition “Expression of Freedom” by renowned artist Dimitrov. [email protected] www.dimitrovartgallery.co.za
White RiverThe Artists’ PressProfessional collaboration, printing and publishing of original hand-printed artists lithographs, by the Artists’ Press. Also artists books, monotypes & letterpress prints, particularly for artists working in SA. Waterfield Farm near White River, Mpumalanga T. 013 751 3225 [email protected] www.artists-press.net
The Loop Art Foundry & Sculpture GalleryA collaboration and network for the avid art patron and collector as well as a full service facility for the artist. This is the place where you will find a unique and superior item or have some-thing commissioned that you have always envisioned.Casterbridge Complex Corner R40 & Numbi Roads White River T. 013 758 2409 [email protected] www.tlafoundry.co.za
The White River Gallery14 April – 3 May, “Their Best Side” portraits of people and animals by Felicity Bell. Sat 19th May to Thursday 31st May, “Private Codes in Public Places” oil and pencil works by Karen Krumm. Casterbridge Centre, R 40 Cnr. of Hazyview & Numbi Gate Rd, White River.C. 083 675 8833 [email protected]
Western Cape
Cape TownAbsolut Art GalleryPermanent exhibition with the best Masters and Contemporary artists. Namely : JH Pierneef, Gerard Sekoto, Hugo Naude, Adriaan Boshoff, Frans Oerder, Maurice Van Essche, Tinus De Jongh, Gerard Bhengu, Ephraim Ngatane, Cecil Skotnes, JEA Volschenk, Conrad Theys, William Kentridge, to name a few.Shop 43 Willowbridge Lifestyle Centre, Carl Cronje Drive, Tyger Valley, Bellville. T. 021 914 2846 [email protected] www.absolutart.co.za.
Art b8 May – 18 June, “Uncontained” Opening the Community Arts Project Archive. An exhibition hosted by the Centre for Humani-ties Research, University of the Western Cape in partnership with the City of Cape Town. The Arts Association of Bellville, The Library Centre, Carel van Aswegan Str, Bellville. T. 021 918 2301 [email protected] www.artb.co.za/gallery.htm
Artvark GalleryDuring May, unique ceramics shown by Diana Ferreira, Karen Kotze and Mervyn Gers. Black- clay and straight lines is Diana Ferreira, and she emphasizes this in her simple functional ware by only glazing half of the bowls. Karen Kotze’s work is all hand shaped porcelain on which she does unique impression stamping of flowers .Deli-cate and quaint. Mervyn Gers does small ranges of individual prints and his Blue Protea range reminds one of the Classic Dutch kitchenware. Open 7 days a week 9-6.48 Main Rd, Kalk Bay Tel 021 788 [email protected] www.artvark.org
GAUTENG, NOTH WEST, MPUMALANGA, WESTERN CAPE / GALLERY GUIDE | ART TIMES
06 SA ART TIMES. May 2012
PortchiePortchie is an unusual if not unique phenomenon in South African contemporary art. He is extremely prolifi c when he paints, and each piece is snapped up. He’s unassuming, articulate to the point when he speaks with a staccato burst of words and – just plain plucky. For Portchie is that rarest of people, a man who discovered his calling fairly late in life and then there was no holding him back. He is arguably the most successful contemporary artist in South Africa.
There’s a saying that the test of courage comes when you are in the minority, the test of tolerance comes when you are in the majority. Portchie took his courage in both hands in 1992 when he decided to stake his name on his quick and undisputed ability with a brush and canvas. Why was he so confi dent?
“I paint universal themes; children hop-scotching, people riding bicycles, people reading – my a r t doesn’t know any languages and this means it is equally as popular in America, Germany, the United Kingdom or
South Africa,” he says. “It is not diffi cult to understand or appreciate.”
But there is more to Portchie’s work than an easy understandability. Now that he is widely known around the world he has an easy tolerance for others who, he concedes, may have tried as hard but have not met with his astonishing success. A painting by Portchie is always intensely colourful – he seems to see the world in terms of warm yellows, vivid blues, bright reds, and intense greens. He says that part of the secret is that he uses Grumbacher acrylics – “the fi nest pigments of all paints in the world”. What is equally true is that his equable nature seems to have no room for twilights, for half-shades or for shadow tones.
For Portchie the world is a bright, cheerful place and this contagion communicates itself immediately with the viewer.
It is very obviously a universal appeal and Portchie has known success ever since he started painting.
PORTCHIE’s 20 TO 40 Winter Exhibitionwill take place at Alice Art Gallery, 217 Dryf Street, Ruimsig
Sunday, 3 June 2012 from 11h00 - 17h00 Sms to 083 377 1470 to RSVP
NB! If you are aged between 20 and 40, you are entitled to 20% to 40% discounton the paintings that you buy. Please tell your friends and don’t miss out on this
once in a lifetime opportunity!
FREE STATE, GAUTENG, MPUMALANGA | GALLERY GUIDE
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 07
PortchiePortchie is an unusual if not unique phenomenon in South African contemporary art. He is extremely prolifi c when he paints, and each piece is snapped up. He’s unassuming, articulate to the point when he speaks with a staccato burst of words and – just plain plucky. For Portchie is that rarest of people, a man who discovered his calling fairly late in life and then there was no holding him back. He is arguably the most successful contemporary artist in South Africa.
There’s a saying that the test of courage comes when you are in the minority, the test of tolerance comes when you are in the majority. Portchie took his courage in both hands in 1992 when he decided to stake his name on his quick and undisputed ability with a brush and canvas. Why was he so confi dent?
“I paint universal themes; children hop-scotching, people riding bicycles, people reading – my a r t doesn’t know any languages and this means it is equally as popular in America, Germany, the United Kingdom or
South Africa,” he says. “It is not diffi cult to understand or appreciate.”
But there is more to Portchie’s work than an easy understandability. Now that he is widely known around the world he has an easy tolerance for others who, he concedes, may have tried as hard but have not met with his astonishing success. A painting by Portchie is always intensely colourful – he seems to see the world in terms of warm yellows, vivid blues, bright reds, and intense greens. He says that part of the secret is that he uses Grumbacher acrylics – “the fi nest pigments of all paints in the world”. What is equally true is that his equable nature seems to have no room for twilights, for half-shades or for shadow tones.
For Portchie the world is a bright, cheerful place and this contagion communicates itself immediately with the viewer.
It is very obviously a universal appeal and Portchie has known success ever since he started painting.
PORTCHIE’s 20 TO 40 Winter Exhibitionwill take place at Alice Art Gallery, 217 Dryf Street, Ruimsig
Sunday, 3 June 2012 from 11h00 - 17h00 Sms to 083 377 1470 to RSVP
NB! If you are aged between 20 and 40, you are entitled to 20% to 40% discounton the paintings that you buy. Please tell your friends and don’t miss out on this
once in a lifetime opportunity!
Into the Night30 MAY - 23 JUNEan exhibition by
NIKLAS ZIMMER
curated byJacqueline Nurse
91 KLOOF STREET CAPE TOWNwww.salon91art.co.za
Wolfe Street Chelsea Wynberg 021-761 2816 Buitengracht Street Cape Town 021-423 2090
email: [email protected] web: www.infinart.co.za
est. 1977
Legendary service & advice Custom made hand-finished frames
Conservation framing with museum glass Original art by local contemporary artists
Frans Claerhout, Houses in the Forest, oil on board, 585x475
Tel/Fax: 028 312 2928 Cell: 082 719 0907E-mail: [email protected]
www.walkerbayartgallery.co.za
171 Main Road, Hermanus, 7200
We have a wide selection of paintings, sculptures andceramics by established and up-and-coming SA artists
wide selection of works by leading South African contemporary artists
Exclusive distributors ofPieter
van der Westhuizenetchings
full selection on website
1st oorCape Quarter Square27 Somerset Road,
Green PointPh: 021 421 3333
email: [email protected] website: www.carmelart.co.za
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 23
AVA10 April – 4 May, “Dripping Away Unattended into Shadows” paintings by Odette Marais and “Wired World” photography by Catherine Sassoon as well as “Inja Elele” a photography exhibi-tion produced through the Iliso Labantu project. Opening 7 May @18:00, “Didn’t want to be your Ghost” a pho-tographic exhibition by Natasja Maria Fourie until 1 June 2012.Opening 4 June @18:00, “Nothing New Under the Sun” a solo exhibition of paintings by Catherine Ocholla, on show until 29 June at 13:00. Association for Visual Arts, 35 Church Str, CT. T.021 424 7436 [email protected] www.ava.co.za
The Avital Lang GalleryNew artists at gallery Loyiso Mkize, Jordan Sweke, sculptures by Sacha Leon and many more amazing artworks, so come in and enjoy a feast of talent. Also don’t forget our ceramic and painting classes continue on a monthly basis. Two Oceans House, Surrey Place, Mouille Point, CT. (Next to Newport Deli) T. 021 439 2124 [email protected] www.avitallang.com
Barnard Gallery18 April – 17 May, “Just a Matter of Time” a solo exhibition by Jaco van Schalkwyk. 24 May – 27 June, “Another Man’s Vine” by Barry Sullivan. 55 Main St, Newlands. T. 021 671 1666 [email protected] www.barnardgallery.com
Blank Projects. 12 April – 12 May, “Strange Days” paintings by Jan-Henri Booyens.Opening 17 May @18:00, Drawings by Nomthunzi Mashalaba. Exhibition Closes 9 June.113-115 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock, CT. C.072 507 5951 [email protected] www.blankprojects.com
Brundyn & Gonsalves (formely iArt)9 May – 20 June, “White Termite” Mixed Media by Liza Grobler.71 Loop Str, CT. T. 021 424 5150 [email protected] www.brundyngonsalves.com
Cape Gallery15th April – 5 May, “Bright Horizons - Inspiration: Cape Town” a solo exhibition of recent work by Sybille Lampe.Opening on Sunday 6th May at 4.30 p.m. “The Elements” a solo exhibition of paintings & graphic works by Judy Wood-borne, on show until 26th May.60 Church Str, CT. T. 021 423 5309 [email protected] www.capegallery.co.za
Carmel Art Dealers in Fine art, exclusive distributers of Pieter van der Westhuizen etchings. Cape Quarter Square, 27 Somerset Rd, Green Point. T. 021 4213333 [email protected] www.carmelart.co.za
Casa Labia GalleriaCurrently on show until 20 May, “Movement/Moment” curated by João Ferreira and featuring the works of Doreen Southwood (Bronze sculptural installation) and Mark Hipper (Oil on canvas paintings). Casa Labia Cultural Centre, 192 Main Rd, Muizenberg. T. 021 788 6068 [email protected] www.casalabia.co.za
Cedar Tree GalleryContemporary Fine Art Gallery at Rodwell House.Rodwell Rd, St. James, CT. T. 021 797 [email protected] www.cedartreegallery.co.za
The Cellar Private GalleryThe Cellar Private Gallery of Art deals exclusively in original & investment art, offering works by a variety of renowned & upcoming SA artists. 12 Imhoff Str, Welgemoed, Bellville T. 021 913 4189 [email protected] www.thecellargallery.co.za
Christie’sInternational Auctioneers.Juliet Lomberg, Independent Consultant. T. 021 761 [email protected] www.christies.com
Christopher Møller ArtNew arrival at the gallery, visit the website to view Robert
Hodgins, (SA:1920 - 2010), “Saluting the flag ”, oil on canvas, 50 x 60cm a sought after artwork. 7 Kloofnek Road, Gardens, C T. T. 021 422 1599 [email protected] www.christophermollerart.co.za
Commune.1 Gallery19 April-19 May, a solo exhibition by Gretchen van der Byl entitled, “Today is the Yesterday of Tomorrow”64 Wale Str, CT. T. 021 423 5600 [email protected] www.commune1.com
Erdmann Contemporary & the Photographers Gallery za2 May - 2 June, “Canaries in the Coalmine” Barbara Wilden-boer’s sixth solo exhibition. The exhibition will include paper sculpture, paper cutting, altered books, photography, animation and installation.63 Shortmarket Street, CT. T. 021 422 [email protected] www.erdmanncontemporary.co.za
Everard Read CT19 April – 3 May, new works by David Bromley.17 – 31 May, Recent Works by Stephen Conroy.3 Portswood Rd, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, CT. T. 021 418 4527 [email protected] www.everard-read-capetown.co.za
34 Fine Art1 – 15 May, “New Arrivals” new works by Takashi Murakami and Mr. Brainwash as well as other regularly featured artists. Norman Catherine, Lionel Smit, Asha Zero and others will also be included, making for an exciting and eclectic Group Exhibi-tion. 2nd Floor, The Hills Building, Buchanan Square, 160 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock. T.021 461 [email protected] www.34fineart.com
The Framery Art GalleryFrom 7 May until 2 June, “four hours and a month later...” a group exhibition of selected works by 29 artists. Artists include Anine Barnard , Mncede Bodlo, Kim Mobey, Vernon de Wee, Khayalethu Witbooi, John Kramer, Peter Diggery , Elizabeth Robertson Cambell, Mauritsio dal Prato, Tyrone Appollis, Mawethu Ntakana, Patrick Mokhuane, Loyiso Mkize, Zolani Siphingela, Ian Tainton and others . 67g Regent Rd, Seapoint. T. 021 434 5022 C. 0781227793 [email protected]
Gill Allderman GalleryThe Gill Allderman Gallery is dedicated to promoting some of South Africa’s valuable talent. Having moved into cyber space, but based in Kenilworth, Cape Town, the gallery will be special-ising in home and corporate visits. C.083 556 2540 [email protected] www.alldermangallery.co.za
Goodman Gallery Cape21 April – 19 June, Minnette Vári’s new body of multimedia work entitled “Revenant”3rd Floor, Fairweather House, 176 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock. T. 021 462 7573/4 [email protected] www.goodman-gallery.co
Hout Bay GalleryNew artworks by Sarah Danes Jarrett, David Kuijers, Koos De Wet and many more. Open 7 days a week. 71 Victoria Ave, Hout Bay. T. 021 790 3618 [email protected] www.houtbaygallery.co.za
Infin Art GalleryA gallery of work by local artists. Wolfe Str, Chelsea Village, Wynberg. T. 021 761 2816 & Buitengracht Str. CT. T. 021 423 2090 [email protected] www.infinart.co.za
Irma Stern Museum5-19 May Terri Broll and Terence King will be holding an exhibition entitled “Moving Paint.” Cecil Rd, Rosebank, CT. T. 021 685 5686 [email protected] www.irmastern.co.za
Iziko SA National GalleryUntil 13 May, “Listening to Distant Thunder: The Art of Peter Clarke” 16 March – 8 July, “Iqholo le Afrika (Her African Pride)” A Centenary Celebration of the Life and Work of Barbara Tyrrell. 26 April to 22 July Candice Breitz’ “Extra!”25 Queen Victoria Str, CT. T. 021 467 4660 www.iziko.org.za
Iziko Michaelis CollectionOngoing, Dutch treat: Dutch works from the 17th–20th centuries in Iziko collections. Iziko Michaelis Collection, Old Town House, Greenmarket Square, CT. T. 021 481 [email protected] www.iziko.org.za
Iziko Castle of Good HopeFrom 26 Feb 2012 to 26 Feb, 2013, “Fired” an exhibition of South African ceramics. Buitenkant Str, opposite the Grand Parade, CT. T. 21 464 1262 [email protected] www.iziko.org.za
Johans Borman Fine Art Currently showing a selection of works by SA Masters Walter Battiss, Erik Laubscher, Peter Clarke, Cecil Skotnes, Pranas Domsaitis and Sydney Kumalo, as well as new works by contemporary artists Hussein Salim, Walter Meyer, Hennie Niemann Jnr, Jacobus Kloppers and Jaco Sieberhagen. 16 Kildare Road, Newlands, CT. T. 021 683 6863. [email protected] www.johansborman.co.za
Kalk Bay Modern12 April – 12 May, a solo exhibition of recent works by Nicolaas Maritz, titled “Lucky Packet No.2”Opening Weds 30 May @6pm, “Still Life” with Walter Meyer, Gail Catlin, Ben Coutouvidis & Hanneke Benade, on show until 30 June. 1st Floor, Olympia Buildings, 136 Main Rd, Kalk Bay. T.021 788 6571 [email protected] www.kalkbaymodern.com
Lindy van Niekerk Art GalleryA large selection of artworks by new and prominent South African artists and SA old Masters. 31 Kommandeur Rd, Welgemoed, Bellville. T. 021 913 7204/[email protected] www.artpro.co.za
The Lovell Gallery25 April – 19 May: Tanisha Bhana, ‘Transience’. Her work em-ploys a fascination in deliberately destroying digital images in order to create aged, dreamlike visions of futuristic landscapes, to place the viewer in the position of looking back at our future. 139 Albert Rd, Woodstock. T. 021 820 [email protected] www.lovellgallery.co.za
The Project Room Gallery3 – 31 May, Introducing “The Nature of Women” New Paintings by Milly Jones.Open from 9am – 8 pm daily. Please email us to add you to our E-vite list. 2nd floor, Old Port Captains Building, Pierhead, Dock Road, V&A Waterfront T.021 425 7884 [email protected] theprojectroomgallery.blogspot.com
Red! The GalleryOn Thursday 10 May @ 7pm, a joint exhibition featuring Michael Waters & David Kuijers. The gallery will exhibit a great new body of work by these two great artists. It will be a live Paint Jam style exhibition with a seated dinner in the gallery.R200 per head for a three course meal. Booking essential Steenberg Village shopping centre ,Reddam Avenue, Tokai. T. 021 7010886 [email protected] www.redthegallery.co.za
Rose Korber Art1 – 31 May: “Some Special Works from Private Collections” an exhibition featuring a range of paintings and original prints by celebrated and lesser known, contemporary South African artists – all to be sold at specially reduced prices until the end of May 2012. Painters include names such as Louis Jansen van Vuuren, Lukas van Vuuren, Jan Vermeirin, Xolile Mtakatya and David Hlongwane; while fine, original, limited edition prints by Colbert Mashile, Kim Berman, Mandla Vanyaza, Tyrone Appollis, Patrick Holo, Robert Siwangaza and Godfrey Ndaba add a dynamic sparkle to the show.Hours: Monday-Friday: 9 am – 5 pm. Weekends and public holidays by appointment. 48 Sedgemoor Rd, Camps Bay, CT. T. 021 438 9152 C.082 781 6144 [email protected] www.rosekorberart.com
Rudd’s AuctioneersAntique, Fine and Decorative Art. 87 Bree Street, CT. T.021 426 [email protected] www.rudds.co.za
WESTERN CAPE / GALLERY GUIDE | ART TIMES
The Cape Gallery, 60 Church Street seeks to expose fine art that is rooted in the South
African tradition, work which carries the unique cultural stamp of our continent and yet can touch the imagination of others who view it.
Rotating exhibitions add to the diverse and often eclectic mix of work on show. The Church Street
walking mall is the oldest in Cape Town.
featured artist: Judy Woodborne
THE CAPE GALLERY
Open Mon - fri: 9h30 - 17h00 Sat: 10h00 - 14h00
27 21 423 5309 [email protected] www.capegallery .co.za
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Pieter van Heerden, Director of the Association of Arts Pretoria extends a hearty welcome to
LA COLOUR DE L’AMOURAn exhibition of paintings done and inspired in Paris by
ISABEL LE ROUXThe exhibition will be opened by
AMORE BEKKERWell known presenter RSG
On Friday 4 May 2012 at 18:30 for 19:00Walkabout : Saturday 12 May 2012 at 11h00
Association of Arts Pretoria: 173 Mackie Street,Nieuw Muckleneuk, Pretoria. Tel: [email protected]. Closing date: 23 May 2012
“In our life there is a single colour, as on the artist palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the colour of love. Marc Chagall.
www.isabellerouxart.com or www.isabelleroux.co.za
94 Florida Road, Morningside, Durban 4001Mon. - Fri. 8.30 am-5 pm. Sat. - 9 am-3 pm T: 031 312 3804/5 F: 031 312 [email protected] www.afriart.org.za
Section 21 Not for gain company
Graces & VirginsS so Ka-Mkame
S so Ka-Mkame at the African Art Centre
Rust-en-Vrede Gallery8 May – 31 May, In Salon A: Christiaan Diedericks.Salon B: Group Exhibition of paintings “Life” Susan Kruger-Grundlingh, Annelie Venter, Corlie de Kock, Marie Grotepas, Marie Stander, Lynie Olivier, Tarryn Gordon, Caryn Scrimgeour, Anthea Delmotte, Celia van Heerden, Di Smith, Natasha de Wet. Salon C: Paintings by Elizabeth Miller-Vermeulen.Office Showcase: Ceramics by Laura du Toit. In The Cube: A Touch of Japan: Ceramics by Ralph Johnson and students.10 Wellington Rd, Durbanville. T.021 976 4691 [email protected] www.rust-en-vrede.com
Salon 9126 April – 26 May, “The Man of Dust” a debut solo exhibition of new paintings on paper by Paul Senyol.Opening Weds 30th of May @ 19h30 “Into the Night” solo exhi-bition of photography by Niklas Zimmer, on show until 23 June.91 Kloof Str, Gardens, CT. T 021 424 6930 [email protected] www.salon91.co.za
The South African Society Members Exhibition 1Opening - Friday 18 May at 18h00 and runs through to Sunday 27 May. The exhibition will be opened by Richard Smith. Open Daily from 09h30 - 17h30. The Sanlam Hall, Kirstenbosch Gardens (entrance2) If there are any queries or you would like an invitation to the opening, please contact The South African Society of South Africa’s secretary, Liz Pearson, on 082 222 2820 or email [email protected].
South African Print GalleryA wide selection of fine art prints by South African masters and contemporary printmakers. 28 April-24 May, Theo Paul Vorster exhibition.26 May-28 June, Alice Goldin Retrospective Print Show.109 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock, CT. T. 021 462 6851 [email protected] www.printgallery.co.za
Sanlam Art Gallery17 April – 8 June, “Index 40” leading works from the Sanlam Art Collection.24 July – 28 Sept, Gerard De Leeuw Centenary Exhibition of bronze sculptures. Sanlam, 2 Strand Rd, Bellville. T. 021 947 [email protected] www.sanlam.co.za
SMAC Art Gallery, Cape Town1 April - 30 May, “Collection 16” a group show.In-Fin-Art Building,Buitengracht Str, CT. T. 021 422 5100 [email protected] www.smacgallery.com
StateoftheArt.co.za Online Art GalleryA curated online art gallery bringing you original and affordable artwork created by selected Fine Arts students and graduates emerging from South Africa’s most prestigious art schools. With an extensive selection of styles and genres to reflect your taste, budget and requirements, and a range of services to support your choices, buying art couldn’t be any simpler. T. 0724709272 [email protected] www.StateoftheArt.co.za
Stephan Welz & Company29 & 30 May, Decorative & Fine Arts Auction. Public Viewing 25 – 27 May. The Great Cellar, The Alphen Hotel, Alphen Drive, Constantia. T. 021 794 6461 [email protected] www.stephanwelzandco.co.za
Stevenson Cape Town4 April - 12 May, a group exhibition “Trade Routes over Time”17 May – 30 June, “The Other Half: Past and Future Now” a solo exhibition by Michael MacGarry, a coherent body of work comprising new sculpture, installation, photography and video.Ground Floor, Buchanan Building, 160 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock, CT. T. 021 462 1500 [email protected] www.stevenson.info
Strauss & Co.Fine Art Auctioneers & Consultants.The Oval, 1st Floor Colinton House, 1 Oakdale Rd, Newlands. T. 021 683 6560 [email protected] www.straussart.co.za
What if the World Gallery19 April – 26 May, “Booty” an exhibition of new drawings and installation by Julia Rosa Clark.208 Albert Rd, Woodstock, CT. T. 021 448 [email protected] www.whatiftheworld.com
Franschhoek Ebony During the Franschhoek Literary Festival from 11 – 13 May a selection of new works by Olaf Bisschoff, Claudia Ongaro, Keri Muller, Helene van Aswegen and many more.11 Huguenot Street, Franschhoek. T. 021 876 [email protected] www.ebonydesign.co.za
The Gallery at Grande ProvenceOpening Sunday 6 May @ 11:00, a group exhibition of contemporary altarpieces entitled “Altered Pieces.” The exhibition, “Transformed” by renowned sculptor, Anton Smit, will be presented in The Sculpture Garden and The Gallery. The Project Room and Cathedral will feature an exhibition entitled “The Painted Word.” This extensive group show will include artworks by prominent South African contemporary artists. Botanical artworks by Barbara Pretorius and a photographic exhibition of indigenous succulents by Riaan Chambers will be on shown in The Shop. Main Rd, Franschhoek. T. 021 876 8630. [email protected] www.grandeprovence.co.za
Holden Manz CollectionNew Karin Miller collages, Marie Stander charcoals and a set of 43 amazing Cecil Skotnes woodcuts are on show at the moment – well worth a visit!30 Huguenot Str, Franschhoek T. 021 876 44 02 [email protected] www.holdenmanz.com
Is Art22 April – 11 June, The Franschhoek Literary Festival Group Exhibition 2012. 16 Huguenot Str, Franschhoek. T. 021 876 8443 [email protected] www.is-art.co.za
GeorgeHyatt Regency Oubaai“Transitions” a collection of new sculptures by Anton Smit.406 Herolds Bay Rd,George. T. 044 851 [email protected] www.oubaai.regency.hyatt.com
Strydom Gallery2 May – 4 June, a selection of South African Art.5 June – 6 July, South Cape Exhibition.79 Market Str, George. T. 044 874 4027 [email protected] www.artaffair.co.za
HermanusAbalone GalleryDuring May in the Main Gallery: Group Exhibition selected works on canvas & on paper, sculptures by :Titia Ballot, Christo Coetzee, John Clarke, Jackson Hlungwani, Elzaby Laubscher, Amos Letsoalo, Judith Mason, Lynette ten Krooden, Carl Roberts, Susanna Swart, Yang Zulu. In the Annex: Until 20 May - Solo Exhibition by Louis van Heerden - Recent works on canvas and on paper. 2 Harbour Rd, The Courtyard, Hermanus. T. 028 313 [email protected] www.abalonegallery.co.za
Art Amble Hermanus VillageTen diverse and unique Galleries all within walking distance in the heart of Hermanus Village. Four resident artists’ studios to visit. Collect your Art Amble Guide at any one of the Galleries in Main Road or at the Hermanus Tourism Office. Contact Terry Kobus on 083 259 8869 or email [email protected] for more information.
Originals Gallery The art studio and gallery of Terry Kobus. See the artist at work in his studio and view his latest paintings in an intimate gallery space.Shop 22 Royal Centre, 141 Main Rd, Hermanus. T. 083 259 8869 [email protected] www.OriginalsHermanus.blogspot.com
Shelley Adams Studio & GalleryA permanent exhibition of artworks by Shelley Adams in her personal studio space. She also offers ongoing art courses, crit classes and workshops.19A Royal Centre, Main Rd, Hermanus. C. 072 677 6277www.shelley-adams.com
Walker Bay Art GalleryView the wide selection of paintings, sculpture & ceramics by established as well as up and coming South African artists.171 Main Rd, Hermanus. contact: Francois Grobbelaar 028 312 2928 [email protected] www.walkerba-yartgallery.co.za
Klein KarooSheena Ridley Open Studio and Sculpture GardenSculptures and PaintingsN9 Langkloof near Uniondale, Klein Karoo T. 083 5892881 [email protected] www.ridley.co.za
KnysnaDale Elliott Art GalleriesLeaders of the painting course concept in South Africa!2 Galleries: Woodmill Lane Shopping Centre & The Knysna Mall T. 044 382 [email protected] www.daleelliott.co.za www.elliottarton-line.wordpress.com
A Different DrummerAn on-going exhibition of traditional African artefacts, photo-graphs, ceramics, sculpture, paintings and objets de vertu.Thesen House, 6 Long Street, Knysna. T. 044 382 5107 [email protected]
Sally Bekker Art StudioOngoing exhibition “Recent Watercolour and Oil Paintings”Upstairs in the Knysna Mall. C.082 342 3943 [email protected]
LangebaanBay GalleryBay Gallery supports excellent, local artists, many of whom are members of S.A.S.A. All mediums exhibited. Marra Square, Bree St., Langebaan. Contact: Daphne 073 304 8744 [email protected] www.baygallery.co.za
OudtshoornArtKaroo GalleryA selection of authentic Karoo fine art by various estab-lished and emerging artists.107 Baron van Reede, Oudtshoorn. T.044 279 1093 [email protected] www.artkaroo.co.za
PaarlHout Street GalleryThe Hout Street Gallery specialises in South African paint-ings and fine art and offers an extensive range of ceramics, sculpture, creative jewellery, glass, crafts and functional art. 270 Main Str, Paarl. T. 021 872 5030 [email protected] www.houtstreetgallery.co.za
PiketbergAntheA Delmotte Gallery 15 April – 20 July, “Images from the Platteland” a group show with John Kramer, Clare Menck, Merle de Jager, AntheA Delmotte, Annelie Venter The Old Bioscope, 47 Voortrekkerstr. C. [email protected]
Prince AlbertPrince Albert GalleryEstablished in 2003, the Prince Albert Gallery always has an eclectic mix of art on display. From George Coutouvidis’s quirky post-modern cartoonism to Guy du Toit’s striking bronzes 57 Church Str, Prince Albert. T. 023 541 1057 C. 082 749 2128 (Brent) [email protected] www.princealbertgallery.co.za
WESTERN CAPE / GALLERY GUIDE | ART TIMES
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 25
Norman Catherine Bevan De Wet Lucas Bambo
Clare Menck Mimi van der Merwe Kim Berman Strijdom van der Merwe Hargreaves Ntukwana
Claudette Schreuders Paul Stopforth Diane Victor Hentie van der Merwe Walter Battiss Kathryn Smith Wolf
Kibel Phlemon Hlongwane Lyn Smuts Judith Mason
Joshua Miles Richard Plaatjie John Muafangejo Tommy Motswai Linga Diko Francois Krige Tom Cullberg
Gabriël Clark-Brown Leon de Bliquy Gregoire BoonzaierBoonzaier Phlemon Hlongwane Raymond Andrews Elza Botha Hanneke Benadé Frank Ledimo Andries Gouws Johan Louw Paul Molete William Kentridge Dirk
Meerkotter Richard Plaatjie Hargreaves Ntukwana Alexan-der Podlashuc Sam Nhlengethwa Hannes Harrs John Clark Alice Goldin Bettie Cilliers-Barnard David Koloane
Eleanor Esmonde-White Hardy Botha 79 Market Street, George
Tel: 044 874 4027 • www.artaffair.co.za GPS: 33°57’42.66”S | 22°27’24.54”E
Selection of graphic works by SA printmakers available
With unwavering commitment to quality and timeous delivery,
our Key Services include:
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Framing Place46 Lower Main Road, Observatory, 7925Tel: 021 447 [email protected]
Cedric Nunn’s Call and Response at The KZNSA Gallery, Durban
GALLERY BUZZ | GALLERY GUIDE
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 27
Alison McKay’s opeing of her 365 South African Show at ArtSpaceJhb Gallery
Wayne Barker and Alison McKay, Terresa Lizamore and Alison McKay
Opening of Louis van Heerden’s show at The Albalone Gallery, Hermanus
Guests chatting, Artist Louis van Heerden (left) Gallery Director Ortrud Mulder and guitarist Goran Krivolapic of Cologne, Neil and Louis van Heerden
Cedric Nunn’s Call and Response at The KZNSA Gallery, Durban
Salon 91 Brundyn + Gonsalves Everard Read Gallery
Work by Niklas Zimmer “Into the Night” at Salon91. Andrew Putter- Seeing Eye at Brundyn & Gonsalves. Work by David Bromley at The Everard Read Gallery CT
A tenant farmer family evicted from white-owned land, Weenen, KwaZulu-Natal, 1988. Deborah Eksteen at the grave of her recently deceased father, Mangete, KwaZulu-Natal, 2001 At the age of 88, Amy Madhlawu Louw still at work in her fields, iVuna, KwaZulu-Natal, 1988
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Eastern CapeAlexandriaQuin Gallery & Sculpture GardenEnjoy refreshments under the jacaranda tree while enjoying the sculptures of international sculptor Maureen Quin.5 Suid Str, Alexandria, Eastern Cape, following the signs from the main street. T. 046 6530121 C. 082 [email protected] www.quin-art.co.za
East LondonAnn Bryant Gallery19 April – 5 May, in the Coach House charcoal drawings by Valerie Liebenberg and textile art pieces by Audette Jooste.Opening 15 May – 15 June, in the Main Gallery “Cedric Nunn Solo Exhibition” of photography.10 – 26 May, The Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture will be hosting an exhibition in the Coach House. This is a preliminary exhibition which will go to the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. Opening Thurs 31st May at 18h30, “Anything but Painting” East London Fine Art Society Exhibition. The East London Fine Art Society invites artists to submit their artwork on the theme “Anything but Painting” which can be woodwork, beadwork, leatherwork, sculpture, needlework, or simply anything where painting is not the dominant media. Please submit your work on or before Tuesday 29th May 2012. The exhibition closes Saturday 16th June.9 St. Marks Rd, Southernwood, East London. T. 043 722 [email protected] www.annbryant.co.za
Malcolm Dewey Fine ArtOngoing exhibition of oil paintings by Malcolm Dewey plus works by a selection of local artists. 60 Darlington Rd, Berea, East London. T. 043 7260421 [email protected] www.originalart.co.za
Vincent Art GalleryThe gallery houses an exceptional collection of fine arts, sculptures, blown glass, ceramics, exclusive jewellery and decor items.2 Donald Rd, Vincent, East London. T. 043 726 [email protected] www.vincentartgallery.co.za
Port Elizabeth
ArtEC3 – 12 May, “Form-Physical-Spiritual” an exhibition by Deon Lemmer and Maureen Quin. 15 – 26 May, the 2011 New Signature winners Exhibition.On show until 9 June, “Siyadala” an exhibition of artworks created by students in Grade 4-10 from Joe Slovo.36 Bird Str, P.E. T. 041 585 3641 [email protected] www.artecpe.co.za
The Athenaeum3 April – 11 May, “Large Works” exhibition.Opening 16 May a photography exhibition entitled “The Constructed Self” which forms part of a Masters thesis for Nina Joubert, runs until the 23 May.7 Belmont Terrace, Central, Port Elizabeth. T. 041 501 8300
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum4 Feb – 13 May, “Process revealed: How artworks are made” See how artworks and craft comes to life as we reveal the rough drawings, sketches as well as works in progress, along-side their completed work.3 March – 6 May, “George Milwa Mnyaluza Pemba (1912-2001)”It is the 100th anniversary of George Pemba’s birth this year and to celebrate this milestone, the South African Post Office has released a set of commemorative stamps. Be a part of the celebration by coming to the Art Museum and seeing the stamps next to the original artworks.15 March – 6 May, “Ceramics Southern Africa (Eastern Cape) Annual Regional Exhibition 2012”12 May – 24 June, “Size Matters”Does size really matter? Find out which side of the scale tickles your fancy as we take a look at a variety of artworks from overwhelmingly large to breathtakingly small.17 May – 6 June, International Museum’s Day Exhibition: “Museums in a Changing World. New Challenges, New Inspira-tions” is the theme for the 35th International Museum Day on 18 May 2012. Come see how museums in Nelson Mandela Bay have kept up with the speed of the world as we compare the old and the new. 20 June – 15 July, “In Praise of Vessels/Treasures” These two group exhibitions, organized respectively by the Friends of the Art Museum and Ceramics SA Eastern Cape, will form part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Fine Art Fringe on the 2012 National Arts Festival. The exhibition challenges artists in the Eastern Cape to produce top craft. 1 Park Drive, Port Elizabeth. T. 041 5062000 [email protected] www.artmuseum.co.za
Ron Belling Art Gallery22 May – 16 June, Leon de Bliquy: Recent Works.30 Park Drive, P.E. T. 041 586 3973 [email protected] www.ronbelling.co.za
Kwazulu- NatalDurbanThe African Art Centre16 May – 2 June, “Virgins and Graces” an exhibition of oil pastels on paper by Sfiso Ka- Mkame.94 Florida Rd, Durban. T. 031 312 3804/5 [email protected] www.afriart.org.za
ArtSPACE Durban7 May – 26 May, “I Spy” Dee Donaldson’s art class in the Main Gallery and “Bits and Pieces” Sculpture by Gerald Baise in the Middle Gallery. 28 May – 16 June, “A Journey into Ink” acrylic and ink on canvas by Bradley Schwartz 3 Millar Rd, Stamford Hill, Durban. T.031 312 0793 [email protected] www.artspace-durban.com
Christie’s International Auctioneers.Gillian Scott Berning, Independent Consultant. T 031 207 8247 [email protected] www.christies.com
Elizabeth Gordon GalleryA gallery situated in vibrant Florida Road, offering a variety of SA art. Stockists of Dave Tomlinson bronzes.120 Florida Road, Durban T. 031 [email protected] www.elizabethgordon.co.za
The Collective7 May – 12 May (1 week), “On-Form” the Martin Burnett Memorial Exhibition. 14 May – 19 May (1 weeks) “The Collective Team” Celebrating one year at the Collective with a group show of its staff. 21 May – 26 May (1 week), CFAD Awards show.48b Florida Rd, (entrance in 4th Avenue) Greyville, Durban. T. 031 303 4891 thecollectivedurban.blogspot.com
KZNSA Gallery20 April – 6 May, “Call and Response” a solo exhibition by Cedric Nunn.166 Bulwer Rd, Glenwood. T. 031 277 1705 [email protected] www.kznsagallery.co.za
Tamasa GalleryA small commercial gallery, Tamasa exhibits a broad variety of contemporary KZN artists.36 Overport Drive, Berea, Durban. T. 031 207 1223
Stellenbosch
IS Sculpture8 March – July 2012, an exhibition of sculpture by Ian Redelinghuys and curated by Ilse Schermers Griesel of IS Art will be on show at the Tokara Delicatessen, Helshoogte Road, Banhoek, Stellenbosch. T. 021 876 [email protected] www.is-art.co.za
Rupert Museum28 Sept 2011 – 1 Sept 2012, an extensive selection of works by Willem Strydom consisting of sculptures and unique drawings. Stellentia Avenue, Stellenbosch T. 021 888 3344 [email protected] www.rupertmuseum.org
SMAC Art Gallery29 March- 24 May, “My Show” by Georgina Gratrix.1st Floor, De Wet Centre, Church Str, Stellenbosch. T. 021 887 3607 [email protected] www.smacgallery.com
Spier8 March – 31 May, Tamlin Blake’s exhibition “Altered Yarns” presents a series of tapestries woven from re-cycled, handspun newspaper. Spier Wine Tasting Venue, R310, Stellenbosch.www.spier.co.za
Stellenbosch Art GalleryAn extensive selection of paintings, sculpture, handmade glass & ceramics by selected Western Cape artists are on offer to the discerning buyer.34 Ryneveld Str, Stellenbosch. T. 021 887 [email protected] www.stellenboschartgallery.co.za
US Art Gallery (University of Stellenbosch)14 April – 12 May, “Our Land” by Carl Becker & Monique Pelser. Opening 2 May @ 18:30, “Journey of a Woman” by Rachelle Bomberg until 26 May. Cnr of Dorp and Bird Str, Stellenbosch. T. 021 808 3524/3489 [email protected]
Somerset WestLiebrecht Art Gallery11 - 31 May. “Sound image” 12 oils each by Clare Menck & Anthea Delmotte to coincide with the performance of impressionist composer Claude Debussy’s First Book of 12 Preludes in the Gallery the Friday evening, 11 May by internationally acclaimed pianist Luis Magalhães. Special preview the Friday evening. Official opening on 16 May. Rare collection of works signed at back by the internation-ally established duo TwoPianists (Magalhães and his wife Nina Schumann) to commemorate the occasion. Dinner function after concert. 34 Oudehuis Str, Somerset West. T. 021 852 8030 C. 082 682 5710 [email protected] www.liebrechtgallery.com
VilliersdorpDale Elliott Art GalleryLeaders of the painting course concept in South Africa!80 Main Rd, Villiersdorp. T. 028 840 2927 [email protected] www.daleelliott.co.za www.elliot-tartonline.wordpress.com
WildernessBeatrix Bosch StudioUnique works in leather as well as paintings & photography can be viewed at her studio.57 Die Duin, Wilderness. T. 044 877 0585 www.beatrixbosch.co.za
Pharoah Art GalleryThe gallery features an exquisite collection of Peter Pharoah’s fine art originals & prints including rich colourful portraits, unforgettable African wildlife and bold textured abstracts that are inspired by his travels around Africa.Wilderness Centre, George Road, Wilderness T. 044 877 0265 C. 076 976 2629 [email protected] www.peterpharoah.com
WESTERN CAPE, EASTERN CAPE & KZ NATAL | GALLERY GUIDE
06 SA ART TIMES. May 201206 SA ART TIMES. May 2012
Fine Art Printmaking in SA Today Feature
By Kim Berman. Photographs: Christo Harvey
Now that Artist Proof Studio has ‘come of age’ as a dynamic community-based printmaking studio, it is opportune to reflect upon aspects that have sustained its growth over the years. When I returned to Johannesburg in 1990, after seven years of study in Boston, I was inspired by three things. The first was the tradition of community arts organizations in South Africa, such Rorke’s Drift and FUNDA, that had nurtured the outstanding talents of the disadvantaged majority during the many years of oppression. The second, more immediate source of inspiration was my experience at the Artist’s Proof, a printmaking collective in Cambridge, where while training as a master printer, I learned about the virtues of printmak-ing collaborations , co-operative exchange as well as the management of a printmaking studio. The third and most important source of inspiration was Nelson Mandela’s call for each one of us to contribute to democracy in a post-apartheid South Africa. Determined to implement that vision, I sold my belongings, purchased a French Tool etching press and shipped it from the U.S. to a yet-to-be established organization in Johan-nesburg. Through my mother’s Frame-Up art gallery, I was fortunate to meet artist-teacher Nhlanhla Xaba, who despite his commitment to black consciousness, was willing to join me, as a white woman in co-founding a multi-racial studio. In turn, Xaba brought in many of the established Rorke’s Drift-trained artists as founding members, including Sokaya Charles Nkosi, Vincent Baloyi, Mmakgabo Sebedi, Muzi Donga and others, who shared the vision of art-making to imagine and to foster an educated, egalitarian society.The early years of capacity-building as a means of redress were not always easy. The first studio at 57 Jeppe St in Newtown was far from state-of-the art, but the real challenge lay in overcoming the racial distrust fostered during the apartheid years. Despite this legacy, teachers and students alike were determined and energized by the vision of being a part of building a democratic co-operative studio that reflected the magical energy of Mandela’s vision of a new South Africa. During these years of ‘redress,’ I taught evening classes and fund-raised, while Nhlanhla, a gifted teacher, managed the daily operations of the studio. I then joined the former Wits Technikon now University of Johannesburg as a full time lecturer. We were able to celebrate our stability as an organization with a move to ex-panded quarters at Building #9, 1 President Street, in 1995, as a venue for the first Africus Johannesburg Biennale that marked South Africa’s entry into the international art-world.
APS undertook an ambitious print exchange with nine countries which we called Volatile Alliances and in the process Nhlanhla and I trained our students Ezekiel Budeli and later Osiah Masakwameng as excellent edition printers.
From the beginning, art production at Artist Proof Studio has explored collaboration through working in teams. Over the years, collaborative prints and murals have been created that link APS to the public realm, creating a broader awareness of pressing issues such as HIV/AIDS or xenophobia in the public mind and that of the APS artists as well.This first phase of optimism and growth was abruptly terminated by the catastrophic fire of March 9, 2003 that burned APS to the ground, taking with it not only all of the artists’ works, but even more disastrously, the life of Nhlanhla Xaba, mentor, teacher and friend. I was determined that the vision he had lived and died for would continue. Fortunately, the news of Xaba’s tragic death galvanized the South African art community, which, with extraordi-nary generosity, contributed to the building of new quarters in the former Bus Factory at One President Street. It still today seems miraculous that the beautiful new facility opened one year to the day after the fire, on March 9, 2004. Since then, we have been sustained by two fundamental concepts: imagination and resilience—that guide our efforts to construct our future.The process of transformation and rebirth also involved the challenge of reconciliation. I remain grateful to my sister, Hayley Berman, founder of the Lefika Art Therapy Centre, who partnered with APS artists to discuss issues of loss and regeneration, opening the wounds that led to healing. Shortly thereafter, the students created the collaborative “Out of Fire’ collages from the remains of the burnt prints. Lining the staircase of Artist Proof Studio, they convey a continuous, inspiring message: new art and a new future can be created out of trauma and loss. To further facilitate reconciliation, I presented a challenge to all APS members to regard the organization as an ubuntu space, a space of sharing and of honoring traditional communal values. The most recent phase of our history has focused on the role of the artist as a citizen actively contributing to social justice. While the artists’ individual works continue to explore issues of identity and their personal journeys, they are also engaged in alliances with both NGOs and businesses to address public concerns. In 2006, in preparation for the Sasol Wax Award exhibition, each member of APS made a print that honored someone they knew who had died of HIV/AIDS. Continues on next page
Reflections on Artist Proof Studio at 21
Coming of Age is a retrospective exhibition of Artist Proof Studio (APS) which celebrates 21 years of printmaking in Newtown. The exhibition will open on 6th May 2012 at the Johan-nesburg Art Gallery (JAG). This event will be a unique opportunity to experience the talent and energy of the artists at Artist Proof Studio as well as other established artists who have supported the studio’s growth over the last 21 years. Artist Proof Studio, a community based printmaking studio, partners with corporates, patrons, foundations, artists and individuals to create an environment in which talented young artists are offered the space and opportunity to reach their full potential. Editions of historic and current Artist Proof Studio artists will be showcased in 18 uniquely curated spaces within the Johannesburg Art gallery.The exhibition will include the works of Philemon Hlungwane, Nelson Makamo, Lehlogonolo Mashaba, Lucas Nkgweng, Kim Berman and many emerging talents. New releases of edi-tions from collaborating artists include William Kentridge, Diane Victor, Wim Botha, Norman Catherine, Paul Edmunds, Gerhard Marx, Colbert Mashile, Chris Diedericks, Kudzanai Chiurai and others. Please join us on Sunday the 6th May for a public lecture by William Kentridge at 2pm, followed by the opening of the exhibition by Sibongile Khumalo. APS looks forward to hosting members of the public at various events during the exhibition and will hold a series of lectures, printmaking demonstrations, and walkabouts during the month of May at the Johannesburg Art gallery and at Artist Proof Studio. There will be regular updates on the website: www.artistproofstudio.co.za or for more info contact Tiny at [email protected] or Noli at [email protected].
Fine Art Printmaking in SA Today Feature
Excerpted and edited by Pamela Allara, emerita, Brandeis University. Image: Hannah Swartz
[William Kentridge was in Residence at Harvard University during March and April while delivering “Six Drawing Lessons,” the Charles Eliot Norton lectures for 2012. The title of the interview is drawn from the third of the remarkable series of lecture-performances. Kentridge first came to Artist Proof Studio in 1997 to create etchings for the Emandulo (In the Beginning) book/portfolio project, organized by Kim Berman and New York-based artist Robbin Ami Silverberg. His subsequent projects have all involved linotype.]After graduating from Wits, I worked at the Johannesburg Art Foundation, one of the first multi-racial art schools in the country. One of the things I did there was to teach etching. So I believe in supporting Artist Proof Studio as a school. Printmaking has been a very central art form in South Africa, particularly among black artists, and linocut has been favored because it is cheap and accessible. Artist Proof Studio fits into a tradition of printmaking schools in South Africa that were not only aesthetic projects, but had a definite project of poverty alleviation. But it is also a great printmaking facility. I have a purely selfish interest in good master printers being available, and feeling good about the institution both being a school that prints not only student work but work by artists who are past being students.My sense is that what Kim has done with Artist Proof Studio is completely remarkable in both establishing it and keeping it running, and maintaining an openness and pleasure in the project.In 2003, I created large linocuts, Walking Man and Telephone Lady, as part of an exhibit organized by Clive van den Berg at Wits. The plates were printed by Osiah Masekoameng at Artist Proof, but half way through there was the calamitous fire, and so the edition was never completed. [In 2010, when I was asked to make prints for a fund-raiser for bursaries for Artist Proof Studio], I came back to linocut after not having done it for many years. In fact the very first prints I made were linocuts, done when I was in high school. There have been several cases where prints have been done as a benefit to help some institution. Even though it starts from an external pressure, it has happened on more than one occasion that the image that emerged is one of the better prints I’ve done. With the print, Eight Figures, I had been working on a commission for a mosaic in Naples, and it was the same terrain. So it was very much about making a rough drawing and finding the image in the process of cutting. All the deci-sions about the lines and negative spaces were worked out on the block itself. But I could not believe how long the cutting took. So afterwards I decided I would never again cut a linocut that size. I could hardly move the palm of my hand from pushing the cutting tool!The third set of linocuts, being worked on now, is a different approach to linocut. It’s a series of ink drawings on paper, transferred to a lino block. Then with the greatest skill possible, the ink drawing is cut out of the block so that you have the transformation of the brush into a different material—a sort of anti-linocut!. There are now about 70 to 80 small linos, of which 24 (the Colour Chart linos) were done at Artist Proof Studio. There is an enormous visible difference between those cut at Artist Proof Studio and those printed elsewhere. The ones done at Artist Proof Studio are more interpretative, but I am completely happy to see these different things.[Colour Chart I and II (each a composite of 12 small linocuts) will be shown in the exhibition “Coming of Age: Artist Proof Studio at 21”, opening May 6 at the Johannesburg Art Gallery.]
Reflections on Artist Proof Studio at 21
FINE ART PRINTMAKING IN SA TODAY FEATURE | ARTLife
Coming of Age: 21 years of Artist Proof Studio 6th May - 6th July 2012. Johannesburg Art Gallery A public lecture by William Kentridge 2:00 - 3:00pm Opening reception at 3:30pm by Sibongile Khumalo
“Viva Linocut Viva!” Observations on Working with Artist Proof Studio Interview with William Kentridge Cambridge Massachusetts, USA, March 22, 2012
Reflections Continued The ‘Reclaiming Lives’ project led logically to internships with organizations such as Men As Partners and Sonke Gender Justice. This project marked a new phase for the Paper Prayers HIV awareness campaign that was started in 1997 into an active advocacy programme involving student and staff in engagement. APS is strengthened by an active Board of Directors , patrons, corporate and private partners in developing a sustainable organizational strategy that is no longer dependent on donor funding, but on producing and marketing excellence in printmaking. Our Education Unit is sustained by exchange of stu-dent artwork with scholarship funding from corporate patrons. The APS Professional print studio and gallery invite established and emerging artists to co-publish editions of prints which we market to galleries, and public and private collections. In this way APS has been successful in building new careers and strengthening the South African cultural industries through skilled graduates. Looking back at the history of Artist Proof Studio, I am proud of the strength the organiza-tion has shown over the years, its ability to continuously adapt to new challenges, and to grow and diversify in ways that preserve the founding ideal of a democratic, community-based institution. Today, Artist Proof Studio has a three-year certificate program that is training over 100 students, a Pro-Shop where APS master printers edition work for some of South Africa’s most prominent artists, and a range of outreach programs that engage the members as artist-citizens. It boasts graduates who are among the rising stars of the South African art world. The Coming of Age celebrating 21 years of printmaking at JAG provides the opportunity for the new generation of artists to lead the way toward the future for Artist Proof Studio.
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 31
Over the past 27 years Caversham’s focus has been on professional collabora-tion, education and development. Individual printmaking projects are undertaken whilst local and international residencies provide opportunities for groups to work together. Specialist workshops are run as a forum for sharing print and bookmak-ing skills and developing mentorship. Caversham has a strong commitment to community art development through its Masabelaneni Network. The five rural
and peri-urban CreACTive Centres with links to schools, run annual workshop programmes which include print and digital arts. These have provided a source for participation by visiting artists. Accommodation: 2 x Two Bedroom self catering cottages Location: Caversham is situated in the rural midlands of KZN and as such, offers a quiet, focussed environment for creative engagement. The studio is housed in a converted 19th Century Methodist chapel.
The Artists’ Press is a professional print studio which focusses on hand lithography and monoprinting. Established over twenty years ago we are com-mitted to excellence in printmaking and collaboration and to living and working sustainably. Artists are invited to work on prints with us which we then publish. The Artists’ Press is in a beautiful valley in a rural area near White River in Mpumalanga. Artists and visitors are accommodated in the comfortable guest-house, a converted farm house. Twice a year we run a monoprint workshop where a maximum of six people work with two master printers to create prints which are theirs to take home at the end of the workshop.
The Caversham Press and Caversham Centre for Artists and Writers Directors: Malcolm Christian / Jabu Mtheku
The Artists’ Press, White River
David Krut Print Workshop, Johannesburg
David Krut Projects is an alternative arts institution dedicated to encouraging an awareness of and careers in the arts and related literature and media, and to promoting contemporary culture in a dynamic, collaborative environ-ment. We have exhibition project spaces, adjacent arts bookstores and print workshops located at Parkwood and Arts on Main, the major new arts hub adjacent to downtown Johannesburg. There are also exhibition project
spaces and arts bookstores at the Montebello Design Centre in Cape Town and in New York. David Krut Print Workshop (DKW) is a experimental and collaborative workshop that specialises in intaglio and relief techniques and produces fine art editions
ARTLife | FINE ART PRINTMAKING IN SA TODAY FEATURE
32 SA ART TIMES. May 2012
The Blue Door Print Studio, Collin Cole, Johannesburg
Warren Editions, Cape Town
Sharon Sampson Press
The Blue Door Print Studio is a small professional print shop run by Collin Cole established in 2002. The Studio is situated on the premises of the St Ninians Church in a peaceful and focused environment, in Parktown North, Johannesburg. Collin has a master’s degree in Printmaking from Rhodes University and has lectured printmaking at tertiary level for fifteen years and is currently a full time artist. He taught the following printmaking techniques: Serigraphy, Intaglio, Relief printing, off-Set Lithography as well as all associated photomechanical processes from first year to masters’ level.The aim of the studio is primarily to teach those artists and anyone who has a serious desire, but has always found themselves outside of the often-restricted formal educational institutions, the opportunity to learn printmaking. The Studio offers, through the exploration of techniques and processes the opportunity for the student to create images that result in traditional limited edition prints.
Warren Editions: Director: Zhané Warren. Address: 3rd floor, 62 Roeland Str, Cape Town. Focus of studio: Etching, Polymer Photogravure and monotypeOther: Internship Program for 2 months. Workshops offered at the studio: Workshops in Basic Etching, Aquatint, Monotype and Polymer Photogravure
FINE ART PRINTMAKING IN SA TODAY FEATURE | ARTLife
Asprint Print Studio Mimi vd Merwe Print Studio
Pangolin Press / Alma Vorster Print Studio Judy Woodborne Print Studio Heaven Press
Atelier Strydom Colleen Ross Press Jane Eppel Studio
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 33
Anton KannemeyerDie Antwoord lithographs
Yolandi Visser. Hand printed lithograph, 38 x 57 cm. Edition 20.
Ninja. Hand printed lithograph, 38 x 57 cm. Edition 20.
The Artists’ PressBox 1236, White River, 1240 013 751 3225
Art Times Anton April 2012 advert.indd 1 19/04/2012 11:51 AM
Printmaking will Heal You We speak the Great Language of Printmaking
At The SA Print Gallery, Woodstock we have over 2500 great prints from a variety of great artists throughout South Africa. Our printmaking church- like environment will bring you closer to the source - via paper, ink of inspiration that made them. Our goal is not to just thrill you, but for you to come closer to reading and loving The Great Language of Printmaking and feel reoiced!
Our daily hymns are sung for everyone
South African Print Gallery: 109 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock, CT. See us at www.printgallery.co.za
South African Art Galleries that deal with Prints
34 Fine Art www.34fineart.com Artvark Gallery www.artvark.co.zaArt on Paper www.aop.co.zaArt Vault www.artvault.co.zaAbalone Gallery www.abalonegallery.co.zaArtthrob www.artthrob.co.zaDavid Brown Fine Art www.davidbrownfineart.co.zaDavid Krut Projects www.davidkrut.comGallery 2 www.gallery 2.co.zaGoodman Gallery www.goodman-gallery.comKalk Bay Modern www.kalkbaymodern.comSA Print Gallery www.printgallery.co.zaStevenson Gallery www.stevenson.infoStuart Gallery www.trent-art.co.zaStrydom Gallery www.artaffair.co.zaPrince Albert www.princealbertgallery.co.zaWarren Siebrits www.warrensiebrits.co.zaWhite House Gallery www.whg.co.za
Teaching Institutions, Workshops
Free State Bloemfontein
Central University of Technology Printmaking Dept.Hilda Faber: [email protected] Tel 051 5073106Website:www.cut.ac.zaIntaglio. Also silkscreen, monoprint, relief, colliotype etc.
Gauteng Johannesburg
Artist Proof StudioDirector: Kim Berman Tel: 011 4921278E-mail: [email protected]: www.artistproofstudio.co.zaFocuses on: Relief, intaglio, silkscreen and photo- mediums.Classes: Courses, Editioning Services, collaborations.
David Krut Print Workshop (DKW)Director: David Krut Tel: (0)11 447 0627E-mail: [email protected]: www.davidkrut.comExperimental and collaborative workshop that specialises in intaglio and relief and editions. Editioning Services
David Krut Print Workshop (DKW) -Arts on MainDirector: David Krut Tel: (0)11 447 0627E-mail: [email protected]: www.davidkrut.comExperimental and collaborative workshop that specialises in intaglio and relief and editions. Editioning Services
The Blue Door Print StudioDirector and Master Printer: Colin ColeTel: 082 924 6673.Website: www.art.co.za/collincoleFocus: Intaglio, Relief printing - lino cut, wood cut, collagraph, stencil card printing, Mono printing – direct and indirect / colour and black and white. Associated photomechanical processes.
Tim’s Print WorkshopDirector and Master Printmaker: Tim FouldsTel: 0823460811 E-mail: [email protected]
The Sharon Sampson Studio, Gallery, Workshops.Director and Master Printer Sharon SampsonTel: 082 3226752 E-mail [email protected]: www.sharonsampson.comFocus drypoint etching, monoprints, monotypes, collographs and lino/woodcuts. Classes Yes
University of Johannesburg (UJ) Printmaking Dept.Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture. Department Head: Prof Kim BermanTel: 011 559 1098 E-mail [email protected]: www.uj.ac.za/fadaFocus: Intaglio, Relief, Silkscreen, Photo mediums, Digital.
Vaal University of Technology Printmaking Dept.Website: www.vut.ac.za/visualFocus: Relief and Intaglio
Wits University Art School – Printmaking Dept.Printmaking Technition: Nial BinghamTel 0742617189Focus: Monotype, Relief, Litho, Combination of Photo based mediums and digital.
Pretoria
Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)Head of Dept: Andreas SchoenefeldE-mail: [email protected] Tel: 0727842171Website: www.artut.co.za/printmaking
University of Pretoria (TUKS)Head of Dept: Margaret Slabbert Tel: 012 420 2285 E-mail: [email protected], Intaglio, Plate Litho, Silkscreening, alternative printmaking (includes digital)
Asprint Print StudioDirector: Andreas Schönfeldt. Contact: 082 943 8872 E-mail: [email protected] Litho, Intaglio, Relief
Mimi van der Merwe Print StudioDirector: Mimi van der MerweTel: 012 4303442 E-mail: [email protected]: Intaglio Classes: Yes
Mpumalanga
The Artists’ Press Director: Mark AttwoodTel: 013 751 3225 Cell 083 6763229E-mail: [email protected] www.artprintsa.comFocus on Lithographic technique. Also holds twice year monoprint classes. Highly recommended Artist accommodation for collaborating artists, printing editionsTackach litho presses (75 x 105cm) and seventy stones
Easten Cape
Grahamstown
Fine Line Press - Printmedia Section Rhodes Fine ArtDirector: Professor Dominic ThorburnTel: 046 6038193 E-mail: [email protected]: Intaglio, Litho, Silkscreen, Relief and photo- print mediums.
Port Elizabeth
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Art Department, PrintmakingHead of Dept: Ethna FrankenfeldTel. 041 5043358 E-mail: [email protected] Intaglio, Relief, Photo Transfer,
East London
Walter Sisulu University, Art Department, PrintmakingHead of Department: Nhlanhla Nsusha E-mail: [email protected] Tel 0837520177 Focus on woodblock relief, Intaglio.
Natal KwaZulu Natal
The Caversham Press and Caversham Centre for Artists and WritersMalcolm Christian / Jabu Mtheku Location: Caversham is situated in the rural midlands of KZN and as such, offers a quiet, focussed environment for creative engagement. The studio is housed in a converted
19th Century Methodist chapel. Durban
The Stepping Stone PressDirector: Greg HeynsPhone 031 303 3193
Durban University of TechnologyArt for Humanity ProjectsArtists for Human Rights TrustDirector: Jan JordaanE-mail: [email protected] Tel: 031 373 6610www.afh.ac.za
Western Cape - Cape Town
Ruth Prowse School of ArtDirector: Eunice GersteynTel 021 4472492 E-mail: [email protected] on Intaglio, also has relief, silkscreen and photo – print mediums.
Michaelis School of Art, PrintmakingHead of Department: Andrea Steer32-37 Orange Street, Gardens, Cape Town. www.michaelis.uct.ac.zaFocus: Intaglio, Litho, Relief, Silkscreen and Photo-mediums.
Print Workshops
Warren EditionsDirector: Zhané Warrenwww.warreneditions.co.zaFocus of studio: Etching, Polymer Photogravure and monotype Other: Internship Program for 2 months
Judy Woodbourne Print StudioDirector: Judy WoodbourneSpencer St Studio, 6 Spencer Road, Salt-River, Cape TownFocus of Workshop Etching and monoprintTeaching Classes Classes are run throughout the year. Short courses
Pangolin Press / Alma Vorster Print StudioDirector: Alma VorsterMontebelo Craft Centre,Newlands Ave, NewlandsE-mail: [email protected] www.montebello.co.zaIntaglio, monoprint and embossing.Classes.
Christine Scheid PressDirector Christine Scheid.Press at Stag Studios, in Simonstown Library, Simonstownwww.csb-art.netFocus on Relief and Intaglio, Gives adult art classes.
Stellebosch University of Stellenbosch, Art Department, Printmaking Victoria Street, Stellenbosch Tel: 021 808 3052
George
Atelier Strydom Workshop manager: Ian TaintonStrydom Gallery, 79 Market Street, George. Tel: 044 874 4027E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.artaffair.co.zaFocus: Intaglio, Relief, lithography. Classes given
FINE ART PRINTMAKING SA INDEX FINE ART PRINTMAKING IN SA TODAY FEATURE | ARTLife
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 35
Join our SA Printmakers newsletter of 100’s of SA Printmakers at: [email protected]
Studio:95 Mackay Street, Richmond Hill
Central, Port Elizabeth, 6001Cell: +27 78 747 6445
Email: [email protected]: http://alanbasilgroblergmailcom.blogspot.com
Construction WorkersLinocut 40.2cm x 30.9cm
For more information:Email: [email protected] Call: 082 322 6752 www.sharonsampson.com
SHARON SAMPSON
Monthly printmaking classesat Sharon Sampson Studio, Illovo, Johannesburg,
with top printmakers experienced in teaching students of all levels.
View Sharon’s new monotypes, etchingsand oil paintings,
at “Stillness” Exhibition, Upstairs @ Bamboo, Mellville, Johannesburg,from 24th June to 15th July 2012
Detail: “Seagull III ” Aquatint etching, 31 x 21 cm. Edition 15
SSAMP_ArtT_Ad_No3_136x93_PRINT[gs].pdf 1 2012/04/19 11:14 AM
Subscribe to the SA Art Times for R 260
Choose your cover for your Artist’s Bag at: www.arttimes.co.za/shop or call Tracey at 021 424 7733
....and get an Artist’s Canvas Sholder Bag for free
ARTLife | FINE ART PRINTMAKING IN SA TODAY FEATURE
Chris Diedericks Theo Paul Vorster
Wim Botha Diane Victor Hanneke Benade Abri de Swart
Bambo Sibiya Kate Gottgens Robert Hodgins Themba Khumalo
Artist to watch Phillimon Hlungwani who works at Artist Proof Studio was snapped up recently by The Everard Read Gallery. For more work see www.everard-read.co.za Photo: Christo Harvey
SA FINE ART PRINT GALLERY
FINE ART PRINTMAKING IN SA TODAY FEATURE | ARTLife
Anna Alcock Colin Richards Richard Penn Phillippa Hobbs Deborah Bell
Stephen Inggs David Koloane Colbert Mashile Jan Tshiknthula
Alma Vorster Katherine Bull Patricia Jackson
Norman Catherine William Kentridge Khehla Makgato
Eunice Gersteyn Dominic Thorburn Sam Nhlengethwa Zolani Siphungela
40 SA ART TIMES. May 2012
ARTLife | FINE ART PRINTMAKING IN SA TODAY FEATURE
Mongezi Zanemvula Ncaphayi Alan Grobler
Cindy Britz John Clark
Karen Daymond Kim Berman Ernestine White
Kabelo Kim Modise Sandile Goje
Lene lordan Leon de Blique Lynn Smuts
Bevan de Wet
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 41
FINE ART PRINTMAKING IN SA TODAY FEATURE | ARTLife
Joshua Miles Gabriel Clark-Brown
Guy Thesen Conrad Botes Minitza vander Walt
Ethna Frankenfeld Chonat Getz Judy Woodborne
François Krige (South African 1913-1994) CLIFTON R400 000 - 600 000
Cape Town Decorative & Fine Arts Auction29 & 30 May 2012
Public Viewing 25 - 27 May from 10am to 5pm
Next sale in Johannesburg 7 & 8 August 2012 Johannesburg o�ce 011 880 3125 [email protected]
021 794 6461 - [email protected] www.stephanwelzandco.co.zaThe Great Cellar - Alphen Estate Alphen Drive Constantia
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 43
Irma Stern’s studies of Arabs have caused so much of an uproar in the South African art market that they can be likened to an Arab Spring with Strauss & Co playing no small role in this. Irma Stern’s Arab (R7 000 000 – 9 000 000), painted on the artist’s first visit to Zanzibar in 1939, is attracting considerable interest given Strauss & Co’s record-breaking sale last year of Irma Stern’s Two Arabs for R21 166 000, the highest price ever achieved for any painting at auction in South Africa. Arab has been in the same family since it was purchased directly from the artist by the present owner’s mother over 70 years ago,
and has never before appeared on the market. It is still in its original Zanzibar frame embellished with flowers and foliage that are intended to invoke good fortune. With over 85% of items sold at Strauss & Co’s February 2012 sale, it’s clear that more South Africans are taking the business of art buying very seriously. Bearing in mind this ever-increasing inter-est in South African art, Strauss & Co’s upcoming auction on 11 June 2012 at the Country Club Johan-nesburg in Woodmead has a range of art to suit all tastes and pockets. .
Images: Irma Stern: Arab. signed and dated 1939, in the original Zanzibar frame. oil on canvas R7 000 000 – 9000 000
William Joseph Kentridge: Dutch Iris Signed: signed and numbered AP III/IVetching and aquatint, R350 000- 400 000
Jacob Hendrik Pierneef: A Nude with Roseslinocut: R10 000- 16 000
‘Stern’s Arab Spring’ at Strauss & Co Continues
The mid-year auction of Stephan Welz and Company in Cape Town on May 29/30 will offer a selection of significant works from some of South Africa’s most sought-after artists, as well as vari-ous international art works. Amongst the painting highlights is a portrait by Irma Stern of a young African woman, her eyes averted and impassive, her long neck adorned with brass neck bands in the tradition of the Ndebele people. Painted in 1954, and purchased by the current owner
directly from the artist, this evocative work has never before appeared on the market, and with a pre-sale estimate of R 3 000 000-4 000 000 is sure to generate considerable interest. Continu-ing the portrait theme is a very fine example by Neville Lewis entitled Portrait of a Young Herero Woman, which carries a low estimate of R 60 000, as well as a painting by Francois Krige entitled San Woman, with an estimate of R 200 000-300 000. Another Krige painting, Clifton, with its view of the famous beach and the Twelve Apostle mountain range in the distance, is an unusual example of this artist’s work. Lovers of surrealism will not be disappointed; Keith Alexan-der, South Africa’s foremost surrealist painter, is without peer in this genre, and Ovoid, on offer at between R 400 000-600 000, masterfully captures the vast silence and sense of solitude so typical of the Namib Desert he loved so well. Two works by Fred Page, another surrealist painter whose work is rapidly gaining widespread recognition, are also on offer. The company is also delighted to be of-fering four Robert Hodgins paintings, each gifted by the artist to the current owner and never before available on the market. Serial Disintegration of a
Human Head, and Night Brothel both exhibit the fine use of colour, space and placing so integral to Hodgins work whilst touching on the sombre human condition which was often the theme of his paintings. Works by several contemporary artists are also available, notably Meyer Uranovsky, whose powerful work entitled Museum feels as if it has been brought to life by some gigantic force of nature. Each of the other departments also offers several items of interest. From the book session, Congo, signed by Irma Stern and on offer at R25 000-35 000 is sure to generate keen interest. Collectors of Oriental ceramics and works of art will not be disappointed at the selection on offer, and for those who appreciate the work of local cerami-cists, the rare offering of a large Esias Bosch tile panel decorated with koi fish, on auction at an es-timate of R 160 000-180 000 is sure to delight. An 18th century Cape Armoire at R 150 000-180 000 is the piece de resistence of the furniture session, whilst an Arts and Craft silver bowl, and a 18ct white gold diamond tennis bracelet suspending a diamond charm in the form of a handbag, are sure to attract much attention in these sections.
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ARTLife |
06 SA ART TIMES. May 2012
SA ART TIMES. May 2012 45
By Michael Coulson. Photo’s by Christo Harvey
“Thank heavens the builders have finished at last,” says Wits Arts Museum (WAM) senior curator Julia Charlton, a sentiment belied by the banging and hammering that punctuates our talk. “Oh,” she explains, “that’s just the picture rails being hung. Or it may be the installation of the fixtures for the coffee bar downstairs. But the structural work is all completed.” And beautifully completed it is, too; financial stringency may have trimmed the budget for the new facility, which started at R46m, escalated to R68m, and then had to be pared back to R42m, but there’s been no skimping on the quality of what remains, whether the gleaming white cube of the main exhibition space or the cavernous storage spaces and other behind-the-scenes facilities.While the old Gertrude Posel gallery in the Senate House was also purpose-de-signed, it was never particularly welcoming, not least because visitors had to run the gauntlet of the notoriously user-unfriendly Wits security staff. Having said that, a decade is far too long for one of our premier educational institutions to be with-out a gallery space, but Charlton is confident the wait will have been worthwhile.The new gallery actually incorporates elements of three existing buildings, most notably the old Lawson’s Motors property on the corner of Jan Smuts and Joris-sen. The coffee bar in the ground floor foyer occupies a corner of the old garage forecourt and will, Charlton hopes, attract passers-by as well as students and visitors to the gallery. Wherever possible, existing elements of the structures have been retained or matched; where this could not be done, the most sympathetic alternative materials have been used by architects Nina Cohen and Fiona Garson (whose father, the noted historian Noel Garson, spent his entire career at Wits).Having the architects involved in the process right from the start, Charlton says, made the process of cutting back and reaching compromises much less painful. Indeed, making a virtue of necessity, in some ways she believes the new WAM is “stronger for being more rigorous.” Overall, the location extends over 5 000 sq m. The main exhibition area will perpetuate the Gertrude Posel identity, and coincidentally will occupy the exact space where Reinhold Cassirer established the Sotheby’s auction house in SA many years ago.The exterior of the building has been recladded and the melding of the three buildings has allowed for interesting changes in levels and windows in une3x-pected places that give teasing views of the local environment.Charlton herself virtually grew up on the campus, her father Bob being one of Wits’ more popular and able (the two don’t always go together) Principals. She did her first degree at Wits (I can still remember her show at the long defunct Rembrandt gallery on the West campus), proceeding to an MA (FA) at UCT. Stints at the Unisa and Jo’burg Art Galleries followed before a desire to paint led
her to take a part-time job with a commercial gallery in Norwood. However, juggling a job and painting was just too much, so it was back to JAG, as curator first of prints and then contemporary art.Charlton sees the early 1990s as an exciting time to have been at JAG. “We had the Sekoto retrospective, the Vita exhibitions, Arts Alive and the first Joburg bien-nale.” But the desire to start a family took her to the Gertrude Posel in a part-time capacity in 1997; she went full-time just after the turn of the century when her children became a little less demanding.This too was an exciting time for her. She could sit in on Anitra Nettleton’s lectures on African art and then go into the storerooms and get close to the real thing. Rayda Becker, then curator of the collection, always emphasised the connections between exhibiting, teaching and research, and this has spilt over into her own philosophy.“I don’t see myself as just an arts administrator – I have a broader responsibility. Seeing works on our storeroom shelves gives me the germ of ideas for exhibi-tions. And we must resume the interaction with students that we’ve lacked for the past 10 years. Above all, though, our function must be to be the pre-eminent museum of African art, in the broadest sense. It includes Irma Stern and William Kentridge just as much as West African sculpture.”Prof Nettleton, incidentally, now chairs the associated research-oriented Centre for Creative Arts of Africa, which is funded by the US Mellon foundation. Another key member of staff is special projects curator Fiona Rankin-Smith, who’s been at WAM and its predecessors since 1984.With close on 10 000 works, including 5 000 in the Standard Bank collection of African art, there’s plenty of scope for mounting varied exhibitions from WAM’s own resources. While she also wants WAM to accommodate touring exhibitions, she stresses that at least at first they must have an African context; late, when the venue’s image is established , they may be room for other art.
The opening of WAM gains added prominence by forming part of Wits’ celebration this year of its 90th birthday. The inaugural exhibition, titled WAM! Seeing Stars, which opens in May and will be on show for three months, will demonstrate the eclectic range of the collection, ranging from Ndebele beadwork through the wooden sculpture of Jackson Hlungwane to the likes of Willem Boshoff and the late Robert Hodgins, as well as unknown artists from as farback as 1900.
The publicity material promises that “Seeing Stars will have you reeling.” Well, maybe. But it’s certainly great news that Wits again has a gallery space worthy of the name, and in the assured hands of Julia Charlton it can only be an important addition to the city’s cultural attractions.
Curator of the Wits Art Museum (WAM) Julia Charlton
Perhaps you are either for Damien Hirst or against him. I thought I fell into the latter category. Hirst seems to have singlehandedly turned art into a commodity on a production line scale, removed from any form of skill or craft. I wasn’t expecting much from his retrospective at the Tate Modern (until 9 Sept), allowing me to be pleasantly surprised. It came as something of a revelation to realise once again why and how he shocked the art world as a cocky young Goldsmiths student. A retrospective gives one a wonder-ful sweep of an artist’s progression – and in his case it has given me new respect for the young Hirst’s originality, but also thrown into sharp focus just how shallow his work is now.His first spot painting is a delight – bright colours, squiffy circles and dribbling paint – a far cry from the mechanised production line of today. That first shark seems to lunge out of the tank at you, the audacity of its concept and execution making it a legitimate icon of its time. The early wooden cabinet with his granny’s pills has a human touch that the rooms filled with sleek metal cabinets, surgical steel instruments and doctors’ dummies don’t. The disgusting vitrine of the flies, zapped to death or feasting on the blood of a dead cow is clever black humour, but by the time you get to the real live butterflies you begin to wonder whether the Natural History section doesn’t belong somewhere other than an art gallery. True, the stained glass panels with butterfly wings are exquisite - probably the only thing of beauty in the exhibition.There is a stark contrast between the sheer bravura of his early work, and the tedium of his current crop. Hirst talks about his fascination with the end-less repetition of a theme, encapsulating why his work elicits boredom. Just how many more spots can he make – or rather produce? It’s as if he now has six different motifs and simply uses them in varying sequences. There are spots, cigarette stubs or ashtrays, pill cabinets, flies, formaldehyde and most recently, bling. So there are spots made of dead flies, cabinets with cigarette stubs and butterflies with zirconas. It all blurs into one final room of golden excess fit only for an oil sheikh’s mansion.This is a superbly edited show by the Tate and one is very aware that the curators have pared away most of the forgettable excesses. In the proc-ess though, they may have heightened the sense of repetition. Even the diamond-studded skull, that point where death and money join together, is easier seen in reproduction. Gillian Wearing is a YBA (Young British Artist), she went to Goldsmiths and she won the Turner Prize in 1997, two years after Damien Hirst, but that is where the comparisons with him end. The Whitechapel Gallery has ‘a comprehensive survey’ of her work on until 17 June which shows an artist constantly challenging herself, looking for new ways of interpreting the world around her. What she comes up with both inspires and disturbs. Wearing is fascinated by the masks people wear, by the discrepancies between the
public and the private face. There is a warmth and humanity in her work that is entirely lacking in Hirst’s.It is only when you get up real close that you see her series of self-portraits as other members of her family features intricate masks. There is a constant dissonance between layers of reality, whether it is the photographs of people holding up signs of what they are thinking, or the interplay between anger and affection in the unsettling Sasha and Mum. The video confessionals may be behind masks, but they tell the sad story of lives that have been shattered –many of them adults still struggling to cope with childhood abuse. Wearing’s masterpiece is 10-16, a video where she has placed the stories of children in the bodies of adults. Her mismatch never seems to be simply for its shock value, but rather an impassioned portrait of the heartache of our society, and in that way she has found a theme that could be mined endlessly without ever becoming repetitive.Attacks, murder, shooting, crack, porn – all words that feature in the newspaper headlines that form the basis of Gilbert and George’s 2011 London Picture series on show at two White Cube galleries (Mason’s Yard and Bermondsey) until 12 May. Headlines are by their very nature shock-ing and sensationalist, and these posters picked from newsagents over six years form a lurid portrait of the capital city. This is not the London that the Olympics marketing team want to publicise, a city of crime and mystery.The works range from multiples of four standard tabloids to thirty-six, all in black and white with a key word picked out in red. In the bottom corner, each one has a different picture of the Queen, taken from a real coin and blown up to show her image scratched and battered by life’s daily grind. And behind the headlines lurk the familiar faces of the artists. At times they are blurred by reflections in car doors, or they peer through bricks or lace curtains, observers of modern life. The exhibition is arresting in its starkness, and how it plays with interpretation, but only the scale makes it more interesting to see in real life. What is quintessential British design? The Mini, the E-type Jag, the Dyson vacuum cleaner, the Brompton Bike? The post-war Olympics of 1948 were called the Austerity Olympics. Sixty years later, and Britain is once again feeling the pinch. The V&A is hosting a look at British Design 1948 - 2012 between the two Games (until 12 August) which tracks the country’s change from a manufacturing powerhouse to a service economy. It’s a trip down nostalgia lane which includes Sanderson prints and Mary Quant dresses, Sex Pistol posters and computer games. Art features prominently in the exhi-bition: Henry Moore’s sculpture of The Family in one of the first ‘new’ towns, stained glass by John Piper and a tapestry by Graham Sutherland for the bomb-damaged Coventry Cathedral. In the Sixties the emphasis is on how the radical innovation of art students such as David Hockney and Richard Hamilton inspired consumer culture.
Nushin Elahi’s London Letter Read more at http://london-letter.com
Damien Hirst (4 April – 9 September 2012) Tate Modern The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living 1991. Lullaby, the Seasons 2002 (detail). For the Love of God 2007. Mother and Child Divided (installation view) Images © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.Gillian Wearing: Self Portrait at 17 Years Old, 2003. Me as Sander, 2012. Will Britain Get Through This Recession?, 1992-3 Images Courtesy Maureen Paley, LondonGilbert & George Jail 2011. Images Courtesy White Cube. Henry Moore: The Family
Sanlam Art GallerySanlam Head Office, 2 Strand Road BellvilleTel: 021 947 3359 Fax: 021 947 1602Viewing times: Monday to Friday 09:00 – 16:30Entry is free
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Leading works from the Sanlam Art Collcetion
17 April – 8 June 2012
A selection of 40 rarely publicly seen significant works from the Sanlam Art Collection stretching over more than century of South African Art History.
24 July – 28 September 2012
A rare opportunity to view a representative selection of works by one of South Africa’s most eloquent, yetunder acknowledged bronze sculptors. Compiled incollaboration with the University of JohannesburgArt Gallery.
Gerard De LeeuwCentenary Exhibition
AD 210 x 297/2.indd 1 2012/04/18 2:13 PM