Art Times April 2023 Edition
Cover: Anton Smit, Spenoid
10. M.O.L 37 BETWEEN MEANING AND REALITY Ashraf Jamal Column
14. PITIKA NTULI’S AZIBUYELE EMASISWENI Launch At Durban Art Gallery
20. NEW WORK BY ANTON SMIT Anton Smit releases the Nubian Series
24. A REVIVAL OF CLAY Rust-en-Vrede Gallery + Clay Museum
30. CELEBRATING PEMBA
By Emma O’Brien36. FOUR DECADES OF SCULPTURE AND MONUMENTAL CREATIONS
Art @ Africa
42. GILD-EDGE ARTFUL EVENTS BY THE SEA Hermanus FynArts 2023
50. BUSINESS ART Fine Art Auction highlights
54. ARTGO Exhibition Highlights
Paul Senyol, Observatory, 1500x1300x40mm Mixed Medio on Canvas, 2023, Rust-en-Vrede
CONTACT ART TIMES
Tel: +27 21 300 5888
109 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock, Cape Town
PUBLISHER
Gabriel Clark-Brown editor@arttimes.co.za
ADVERTISING & MARKETING
Eugene Fisher sales@arttimes.co.za
DIGITAL MEDIA & EXHIBITION LISTINGS
Jan Croft subs@arttimes.co.za
ART DIRECTION
Brendan Body
ARTGO CONTENT info@artgo.co.za
Rights: the Art Times magazine reserves the right to reject any material that could be found offensive by its readers. Opinions and views expressed 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. @ARTTIMES.CO.ZA
Thetitle of the latest show at the Oliewenhuis Art Museum in Bloemfontein, curated by the Art Bank of South Africa (ArtBankSA) – Between Meaning and Reality – sums up the uncertainty of the time we live in. The collapse of dialogue, hardening of positions, rise of exaggerated certainty and intolerance, and the destruction of a healthy scepticism, has resulted in a world in which Truth has become relative, Lies a new normal. This condition is by no means novel. As George Orwell, a prophet for our time, noted in his novel, 1984, ‘Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth’. Social Media, and the ‘cognitive dissonance’ it creates, is at the root of the problem. ‘The state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioural decisions and attitude change’, has resulted in a serial absolutism –extreme positions manically susceptible to alteration, given nano-second shifts in view on social media, an all-powerful cynically controlling force. How does this manipulable reality impact the art world?
‘In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes’. This formulation, mis-attributed to Andy Warhol, defines the hunger we feel for recognition, even notoriety – as long as we are seen. The optimalisation of surveillance, to which we are now blithely accustomed, a system to which we have wholly succumbed –allowing it to harvest our data, tastes, values, beliefs, and further manipulate them – explains the aggravated dissonance between meaning and reality. However, notwithstanding this psycho-social global crisis, the curators of Between Meaning and Reality believe that ‘we can still make meaning in our lives and find value in living it’. Individualism, no matter its commodification, prevails as the means to navigate the radical contingency which defines the present-continuous moment, now made memorable by the phrase on everyone’s lips – Everything Everywhere All At Once.
The question remains – how can art enable and focus us, how nurture value? For the curators of the ArtBankSA show, one of the key ways is through Abstraction, a twentieth century art form, which was and remains primarily concerned with the expression and reception of art freed from the inherited tradition of Realism – the belief that the world we see is objectively verifiable. As the abstract sculptor, Constantin Brancusi, declared, ‘What is real is not the external form, but the essence of things … it is impossible for anyone to express anything essentially real by imitating its exterior surface’. Brancusi is not ruling out the significance of external form, but reminding us that its value lies in its capacity to evoke what lies beyond the objectively quantifiable. Paul Klee concurs, noting that ‘Formerly we used to represent things visible on earth, things we either liked to look at or would have liked to see. Today we reveal that which is behind visible things, thus expressing the belief that the visible world is merely an isolated case in relation to the universe and that there are many more other, latent realities’.
If today, a hundred years after Klee made this declaration, we find ourselves needing to reassess our values, tastes, beliefs, it is because we have become acutely aware that they are not quite our own, that we have been overtaken by superficiality, occupied by a force more insidious than over 500 years of colonial occupation, a force with the psychographic capacity to manipulate everything we hold dear – social media. This is why Orwell’s dystopian vision holds true. And, furthermore, this is why abstraction has re-emerged as an antidote to control. As Klee justly noted, in 1915, ‘The more fearful the world becomes, the more art becomes abstract’. The more it resists the dogma and ideology that strives to subjugate us. Abstraction, in other words, is a marker of freedom, or the desire for it. And if this has proved central to the exhibition, Between Meaning and Reality, it is because its curatorial vision is positioned precisely at this crux.
Mellaney Roberts, The Black Form, 2022, Ceramic, 60 x 37cm. ArtbankSA Contemporary Collection. Photo Credit: Rupert de Beer
Amogelang Maepa, Let the Church Say, Amen! VI, 2021, Ceramic, Painted and Glazed, 15 x 6 x 5cm. ArtbankSA Contemporary Collection. Photo Credit: Image courtesy of Berman Contemporary
Wool, telephone wire, braided plastic, together with the more conventional mediums of clay and acrylic, signal the diversity of the materials used. As for the artworks – sculpture in the round, bas-reliefs, paintings – they distinctively veer towards worlds that are best intuited, guessed at, never quite known. This is because the artworks on show prefer to enshrine mystery. Natalie de Morney’s work ‘Open’ is precisely and appeal to looseness, a world at once snarled and unsnarled. Amogelang Maepa’s ‘Let the Church Say, Amen’, is a call to prayer. Sbonelo Luthuli’s exquisite vase, which as Lao Tzu would say, is a form shaped from nothingness, beautifully evokes the void without which no form can exist. Sylvester Mqeku, Mellaney Roberts and Dudubloom More’s evocative forms dance between volume and surface, edginess and softness, mood-driven, sensuous, tactile. There are portraits and landscapes too, but they are choreographed in relation to abstract shapes and colour. Lindokuhla Khumalo’s portrait in black, cream, earthy and lime green, is a reminder that the ego is by no means centre-stage, that life is informed by inscrutable hues and shades.
There are many more works on show, spanning the worlds between abstraction and realism. One senses the thrill on the part of the curators, to let their new acquisitions shine. Furthermore, in refusing to take sides,
the curators instead ask us to evaluate the positions that we, the viewers, take. There is no doubt, however, that the curatorial team is keenly attuned to the difficulties we live in – That we have become increasingly uneasy. That we are failing to grasp, let alone control, the worlds we inhabit, and which inhabit us. If Klee is correct in stating that ‘The more fearful the world becomes, the more art becomes abstract’, this is because anxiety prompts flight, triggers confusion, exacerbates certainty. It is therefore unsurprising that, today, we find ourselves living between meaning and reality. The pegs we have driven into the ground have come unstuck, the GPS is scrambled, the narrative of our lives, once predictively summed up as comprising a beginning, middle, and end, is now a multiverse in which everything, everywhere, occurs at once.
This realisation is surely changing what we see and how we see the world. It is unsurprising that immersive art is dominant worldwide – we yearn to plunge, to disappear. However, as the curators of Between Meaning and Reality remind us, we are also always pivoting at a threshold, between spaces, always negotiating meaning and meaninglessness, beauty and its desecration, Truth and its abandonment. Thus it is that we find ourselves on a cusp, at a crux.
14 April to 21 January 2024
All photos Kobus Robbertze themelrosegallery.com
Pitika Ntuli’s ground-breaking exhibition
‘Azibuyele Emasisweni’ (Return to the Source), curated by Ruzy Rusike, is to travel to Durban Art Gallery in April 2023.
Pitika was recently honoured with yet another award for the exhibition, with a Kyknet Fiesta Award for Best Achievement in the Visual Arts for his well-received run at Oliewenhuis Art Museum as part of the Vrystaat Kunstefees in 2022.
The exhibition was nominated for a Global Fine Art Award for the best digital exhibition in the world and was presented with one of two sought after People’s Choice Awards in Paris in 2021 for its online presentation as part of the National Arts Festival during the pandemic. The team of judges considered over 2000 curated shows across 18 countries and 5 continents including many of the world’s most respected museums and national galleries.
Durban audiences will be treated to a presentation of 55 sculptures created from bone, each accompanied by a praise song written and recited by Pitika. These will be presented with captivating engagements by more than 33 thought and creative leaders who submitted their own material in dialogue with the sculptures. These are in the form of song, music, film, writing and dialogues.
The collaborators include the likes of Minister Naledi Pandor, Albie Sachs, Ela Gandhi, Sibongile Khumalo, Bra Don Mattera, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Zolani Mahola, Ndaduzo Makhathini, Buti Manamela, Antoinette and Zee Ntuli, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Homi J. Bhabha, Shaheen Merali, Simphiwe Dana, Eugene Skeef, Aris Sitas, Monthati Masebe and many others.
“With this exhibition, Pitika has returned to bones, or rather has reconnected himself with the bones of all creation. African Diviners often use bones to connect with the realms of the spirit. But his work with bones more immediately reminds me of the Biblical Ezekiel, in the valley of dry bones. Through the prophet, the God of all Creation makes His breath enter into the bones and they come to life.
This exhibition is in the tradition of our diviners and the vision of the Biblical prophet. Where Ezekiel once walked in the Valley of Dry Bones, Pitika once collected bones in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, among other places. Over and over again, Pitika has made his creative breath enter the bones, and they come to life”. Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong’o – extract from his catalogue foreword.
Pitika, an elder, poet, sculptor, traditional healer, writer, academic, and activist, worked with Ruzy Rusike, the curator, to conceptualise an exhibition that would encourage humankind to ‘Return to the Source’. To a time of respect for all things, and a natural order that teeters on the balance in a time of anomie.
Azibuyele Emasisweni underscores the realisation that we don’t live in isolation, and that what we do and how we do it has a much wider impact. For this and other reasons Pitika felt it important to invite others to collaborate with him leading to an absolute treasure trove
of content that explores African spirituality, the ancestors, life and death, slavery and the Middle Passage, exile, conservation, politics, corruption and much more.
The exhibition will be presented as part of this year’s Articulate Africa programme and will include an exciting calendar of walkabouts, workshops, panel discussions, and performances coordinated by Durban Art Gallery and The Melrose Gallery team.
www.themelrosegallery.com
Please scan this QR code to hear Pitika reciting one of his Praise songs.
Sculptors are hereby invited to submit proposals to the 6th instalment of SculptX, the premier annual sculpture fair in South Africa. SculptX is presented by The Melrose Gallery in association with Melrose Arch.
We will once again present works by emerging, mid-career, and established sculptors throughout various gallery and other indoor and outdoor spaces throughout the Melrose Arch urban precinct in Johannesburg.
SculptX has become a highlight of South Africa’s annual arts calendar as it is unique in that it presents only sculpture, but includes a wide range of sizes, prices, mediums and subject matters. This is one of the few events of its type that provides valuable opportunities for emerging talents to show alongside many of South Africa’s most acclaimed sculptors.
Please feel free to submit proposals for large scale works, and any exciting projects that would help us to shine a light on sculpture and sculptors. Applications for Sculpt X are open to artists, art collectives and project spaces.
All interested parties can submit their application through our online portal, please contact Joy Woolcott for application details at sculptx@themelrosegallery.com
Cut-off date for proposals is the 31st May 2023. SculptX 2023 runs from 6th august 2023 until 31 October 2023.
Anton Smit releases the Nubian Series antonsmit.co.za
The Nubian Series consist of 5 variants entitled: SPENOID, CERVICAL, ZYGOMATIC, TEMPORAL and CORON. These free-standing heads measure approximately 580 mm tall and 20 mm wide and are made in bronze.
Nubian Series
This nubian augur hides his ebony face in the cathedral of shimmering light as evening perished into a blue-black night And his colourless, eternal soul, fearful of symmetry smile at the abyss of self. In this hiatus forms the nummulite obliquely cutting, solidifying the featureless anthracite.
– Anton SmitFor more info: www.antonsmit.co.za/product/nubian-heads/
Top Left: Cervical
Above: Temporal
Below: Spenoid
Opposite page: Coron (Detail)
Exhibitions performances talks, presentations demonstrations, workshops food and wine, films and children’s events
A Fusion of Arts Festival and Winter School
More information at hermanusfynarts.co.za or admin@hermanusfynarts.co.za Sign up for our newsletter and social media platforms to keep updated on who, what and where in the run up to the FynArts Festival
rust-en-vrede.com
Duringthe past few years, we have seen the revival of clay as a prime material for contemporary artists. Perhaps we as humans seek to become more grounded - more connected to the earth - amid perpetual crisisfatigue. Perhaps we have finally come to the same realization as art critic Roberta Smith (who wrote in The New York Times in 2009) that “the art-craft divide is a bogus concept regularly obliterated by the undeniable originality of individuals who may call themselves artists, designers or artisans.”
Pottery is believed to be the first synthetic material created by mankind and is described by art historians and archeologists alike as the silent keepers of human history. It should therefor come as no surprise that ceramic itself has one of the richest histories of any medium on earth.
Rust-en-Vrede Gallery and Clay Museum, situated in the clay-rich northern suburbs of Cape Town has since its establishment dedicated itself to preserving the legacy of South African ceramics. This non-profit organization (not to be confused with the wine farm in Stellenbosch) also continues to expand on the contemporary clay narrative by regularly hosting exhibitions, talks, workshops and events dedicated to pottery.
2023 happens to be an important year for South African ceramics - it marks the centenary celebration of master potter Esias Bosch’s birth – and Rust-en-Vrede is reveling. Bosch, who opened the Clay Museum in 1986 alongside Maarten Zaalberg, is considered by many to be the “father of South African creative ceramics”. Thus, it seemed fitting to start the year with an exhibition featuring a selection of Bosch ceramics consisting of pieces from the museum’s collection, as well as works on loan from private collectors and institutions such as the Iziko National Gallery. Esias’s children, Anton Bosch and Esra Bosch, dedicated to the art of creating ceramics themselves, were invited to exhibit alongside their father in The CUBE
Esias Bosch Display, Rust-en-Vrede Clay Museum
Esias Bosch Display, Rust-en-Vrede Clay Museum
[This particular cabinet in the Clay Museum is dedicated to selling smaller, highly collectible contemporary ceramics, alternating every two months.]
An exhibition highlight so far has been a public lecture, presented by Clay Museum afficionado and Ceramics Historian Dr. Ronnie Watt titled ‘Terra Cognito: A Celebration of Esias Bosch’ during the month of February. During this well-attended event, visitors had the opportunity to meet with various members of the Bosch family, including Anton Bosch, and sister Andree Bosch (researcher and coauthor of a retrospective book about their father). The celebrations do not stop there however, as members of the public can look forward to an Esias Bosch inspired tilemaking workshop presented by family friend and ceramicist Lissa Claassens in the month of May. Some of Esias’s ginger jars from the Rust-en-Vrede Clay Museum collection also served as inspiration for an upcoming exhibition for the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival in Oudtshoorn curated by Donavan Mynhardt of Rust-en-Vrede Gallery. This group exhibition consists solely of clay creations (including ginger jars by Esias himself) and is titled ‘Aardling: Narratiewe in Klei / Kilnfolk: Narratives in Clay’. Other participating kilnfolk include the likes of Hennie Meyer, Christo Giles, Siyabonga Fani, Clementina van der Walt and Kate van Putten.
Apart from the current Bosch Centenary exhibitions, clay enthusiasts can look forward to viewing pottery and clay sculptures in an upcoming solo exhibition by Patsy Groll in
the gallery in April, as well as a new CUBE exhibition featuring Afrocentric pottery by Fezile Ntshofu in the Clay Museum.
Ceramics have certainly been elevated from craft to high art material, with the resulting artworks being coveted by collectors and exhibited in galleries and museums all over the world. As we relish in our newfound connection to terra firma, we can look forward to this ageold artform taking up its much-deserved space in the realm of contemporary art.
Rust-en-Vrede Gallery and Clay Museum 068 457 8589 / gallery@rust-en-vrede.com / www.rust-en-vrede.com
Gallery Hours: Weekdays from 10h00 –16h00, Saturdays from 9h00 until 13h00. Works by Esias Bosch can be seen at Rusten-Vrede Gallery and Clay Museum until 15 December 2023.
April Exhibitions:
The CUBE – Potter’s Work featuring Fezile Ntshofu – 11 April until 13 May 2023
Journey by Patsy Groll, Me and the Boiiis by Max Kuijers and Send My Love by Paul Senyol – 15 April – 20 May 2023 (Official opening: Saturday 22 April 2023
Aardling: Narratiewe in Klei / Kilnfolk: Narratives in Clay – Klein Karoo National Arts Festival – 19 April 2023, Oudtshoorn
“I do not know if ever I will become a great artist, but an artist of my own nation I surely am to be…”, (1944)
In 1992 the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum invited George Milwa Mnyaluza Pemba to commemorate his 80th birthday with an exhibition and opening event. The exhibition of around 30 works was made possible thanks to many local collectors agreeing to loan work for the celebration of this important milestone. His birthday celebration was attended by liberation heroes, Govan Mbeki and Dan Qeqe in support of his status as an icon of the Liberation Movement. Attendees remember Pemba heckling Mbeki gently (they were good friends) with regards to his status as a comrade, with Pemba happier to be known simply for his work as an artist.
This celebration occurred in the wake of Pemba’s growing recognition nationally. While Pemba was well known by the art fraternity within Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) he was not widely recognised as an important artist in the broader South African art scene (not uncommon occurrence for artists working outside of the main art centres). In 1991 an exhibition of his work almost sold out at the Everard Read Gallery in Johannesburg and propelled him into the national arena. Later in 1996 a major retrospective exhibition and catalogue of his work was presented by the South African National Gallery. The catalogue under the careful curatorship of Hayden Proud presented new research and provided a more serious and detailed evaluation of Pemba’s role in the history of South African art.
Throughout his career Pemba cultivated friendships with local Port Elizabeth artists and patrons. He was encouraged to join the EPSAC (Eastern Province Society of Arts and Culture now ArtEC) in 1956 by artist, Dorothy Kay, where he exhibited in Arts Hall (now part of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum). Kay, who was a creative force in
the local art establishment, reflects in letters at the oddity at the time of a black artist both attending their painting circle and being very articulate around art and art practices. Kay’s correspondence reflects the divide that existed between black and white South Africans at the time but it is clear from her correspondence on his work that she greatly admired his talent. Pemba in an early diary entry on the same issue, discusses the sense of difference entrenched in South African communities and comments on how he feels art could be an opportunity to find common humanity, “in the end black and white will discover that they are only men”. This quote is evident in the sensitive manner in which he captured people’s likeness regardless of race or background. Due to pressure from a younger generation of artists towards high modernism and abstraction and an incident of jealously over good press coverage that Pemba received on one of the exhibitions, Pemba stepped back from EPSAC and stopped exhibiting on the annual exhibition in the late 1960s.
Pemba’s passion for portraiture was exemplified through local anecdotes that describe Pemba approaching people to sit for him that he felt an affinity for. The oil painting, Portrait of Mr Gluck (1947), currently in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum’s collection was one such instance. Pemba was commissioned to paint Mr Gluck’s daughter but requested instead to paint the father. Mr Gluck passed away soon after the initial sitting and the portrait remained as a very special record for the family. The work was purchased from the estate of the daughter, the late Ms Dinky Goldberg in 2005. Dorothy Kay was herself a very good portrait artist and art history would have been richer if the chance had arisen for Pemba and Kay to paint portraits of each other.
Pemba’s watercolour portraits are the jewels in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum collection. Pemba attributes his skill in watercolours to his former teacher Ethel Smyth at the University of Fort Hare and later Professor Austin Wintermoore at Rhodes University who taught him the fundamentals of drawing. Pemba received a bursary from the Bantu Welfare Trust to study at Rhodes University for five months in 1937. The watercolour portraits show off Pemba’s immense sensitivity in capturing the character of the person sitting for him. The watercolour painting came to light in an exhibition held at the Highburg Gallery in 1993 organised by Cathy Binnell. The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum’s collection of watercolour paintings were acquired from this exhibition.
While Pemba drew on subject matter from around South Africa, his oeuvre is connected significantly to his home city. Four of the Pemba paintings in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum’s collection reflect the development of the city. A delicate watercolour view titled, The birth of Site and
Service (1930) reflects the implementation of early land policies which provided impoverished communities a site with basic services and access to a government loan to build. This policy however was implemented in a manner that ensured segregation. This gentle watercolour therefore hides in its light brush marks the beginnings of the Apartheid city.
In 2016 the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum received a generous donation of three Pemba works including two oil paintings beautifully depicting a street scene in New Brighton dated 1957 and the Horse Memorial situated in the inner city when the memorial was positioned in front of the then King George VI Art Gallery (now the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum). At this time, Pemba was exhibiting regularly on the EPSAC annual exhibitions, and his paintings reflect the civic pride remanence of many of artistic views of the city painted at the time. His later image of the development of the highway too sits amongst similar images painted by contemporary artists critical of the agenda of mid-century South African city planning.
The new highway development is linked in local lore with the forced removals and destruction of the racially diverse community of South End. In the painting, Port Elizabeth Highway, the Apartheid flag flies high above rust coloured scaffolding, holding up a frame in preparation for casting of the new concrete highway. In Pemba’s image a lone figure walks with a stick, dwarfed by the monstrous structure of Apartheid urban planning.
One cannot understate the importance of Pemba to the history of art of the Eastern Cape and more broadly South Africa. He is counted amongst the pioneer black artists who forged a path for non-white artists before and during Apartheid. Looking back at Pemba’s career, his determination to practice and live as a professional artist at a time in South Africa history when this kind of ambition was actively suppressed, is herculean. Pemba turned professional in the late 1940s and held his first solo exhibition in East London in 1948, the same year that the National Party took power. Despite many hurdles which only increased as the country moved towards to the state of emergency, he continued to pursue his art with the support from a few dedicated patrons, and his wife Eunice who helped him to sustain his artistic practice during tough times.
Pemba’s younger idealism was worn down by the increasingly draconian Apartheid regime and his subject matter reflected this. Pemba painted the history and lives of black communities at a time when the country was segregated, and the reality of black lives was suppressed from mainstream media. Many of his paintings reflected both the struggles of daily life and celebrated the humanity and strength of people around him.
In 1986, the Imvaba Arts Association formed during the State of Emergency to oppose the Apartheid regime. The young artists who joined this organisation admired Pemba and his work. Members included: Lou Alman, Michael Barry, Mxolisi Ganto, Sipho Kulati, Gavin Mabie, Naomi MacKay, Mpumelelo Melane, Sponono Nkopane, George Pemba, Liso Pemba, Titus Pemba, Annette du Plessis, Mxolisi Douglas Sapeta aka “Dolla.” A few had been past students. Pemba was asked to join Imvaba as a veteran to the cause and mentor for the
group. In an important piece of art activism, Imvaba painted murals on a local New Brighton beer hall claiming this space for artists and art activism. Today this space has been renovated and is known as the Mendi Art Centre. The centre provides space for all the arts to be taught and performed including fine art.
Pemba’s influence continues to be felt in the vibrant fine art community still present in his old neighbourhood of New Brighton. Pemba was passionate about uplifting young artists in his community. His father had always encouraged him to develop his talent and Pemba carried on this tradition by teaching classes when
possible. At one time Dan Qeqe provided space at his residence for Pemba to teach. One of Pemba’s past students and resident artist, writer and poet of New Brighton, Dolla Sapeta, remembers the importance of these classes to his creative development.
Pemba was awarded with an honorary Masters’ Degree from University of Fort Hare in 1979 and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Port Elizabeth (now Nelson Mandela University) in 2002 for his contribution to South African art . The South African Government posthumously bestowed George Pemba with the Order of Ikhamanga
in Gold at the National Orders awards on 19 October 2004, for his pioneering and exceptional contribution to the development of the art of painting and literature. In 2012, the South African Post Office honoured Pemba by producing a set of 10 commemorative stamps in celebration of what would have been his 100th birthday.
We thank the Pemba family and GFI Art Gallery for honouring the Art & Legacy of George Milwa Mnyaluza Pemba.
Birth Of Site And Service, Watercolour on paper, 21.8 x 34.8 cm, 1930, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum Collectionartatafrica.art
Art@Africa creates immersive art experiences that elicit powerful emotions in its audience in their the gallery, situated in the Silo District of the Cape’s V&A Waterfront and a sculpture garden (Prive Perfume Workshops) located across the road from the iconic Huguenot Monument in the charming town of Franschhoek.
Art@Africa’s founder and impresario, Dirk Durnez, has an impressive background of collaborating with artists on large-scale projects, including Epcot, Universal Studios, Sea World, Disney Paris, as well as edutainment centres, museums, and public art across the globe. Durnez’ keen eye for identifying exceptional art, coupled with his ability to nurture and mentor emerging artists, is what sets Art@Africa apart.
By providing a platform for these emerging artists, and working closely with established artists, Art@Africa fosters a cross-pollination of South African talent. Through this approach, the gallery is able to showcase a diverse range of contemporary art and support the growth of the South African art scene.
With 40 years of international experience in edutainment, themed construction, and architectural storytelling, Art@Africa brings a wealth of expertise to the table. In addition to helping clients, architects, developers, and interior designers select the perfect artworks for their projects, Art@Africa also provides valuable architectural and Imagineering advice.
Additionally, when it comes to Large and Monumental Artworks, Art@Africa offers unparalleled engineering expertise to ensure that the final project is not only visually stunning but also structurally sound.
Installation with helicopter, Ratanga Junction
Dirk has 38 years international experience with Monumental creations (phantasialand 8 storey high sculpture)
Monumental sculpture production
Gary Pollard, 3 wise monkeys
David Griesel, Insomnia Fish, Hermanus
Crown Chakra by Vuyo, Kunye
Recently, the owners Dirk and Kat Durnez transformed a section of their home into a Studio for Art Residencies, aptly named Kunye, which means “together” in Xhosa. The studio provides a space for young and emerging artists to hone their craft and receive guidance from Dirk.
Dirk’s wife and co-founder, Kat states: “For many sculptors, accessing expensive materials and equipment needed to create their art is a challenge. At Kunye, we provide young and promising sculptors with a stocked and equipped studio, as well as Dirk’s invaluable assistance,40 years’ experience and knowhow, and ideas to help them establish a career in the arts.”
Kunye is a testament to the Durnez’s commitment to fostering the growth of the South African art scene, even during challenging
times. By providing resources and support, they are ensuring that the next generation of sculptors has the tools and knowledge they need to succeed.
As a gallery that showcases the work of exclusively South African artists, Art@Africa is committed to celebrating the diversity of contemporary South African art.
Dirk: “We reject the notion of the white cube gallery space that can be intimidating and exclusive to certain audiences. Whether it’s through our gallery spaces, sculpture garden, public art installations or art residencies, Art@ Africa has the experience and is dedicated to making art an inclusive and enjoyable experience for everyone.”
“With 40 years of international experience in edutainment, themed construction, and architectural storytelling, Art@Africa brings a wealth of expertise to the table.”
Itwas once known as ‘Village of the Sea’ (Ardene Tredgold’s delightful ‘story of Hermanus’, still an entertaining read after nearly 60 years). Now not so much a village anymore, the town has secured a reputation for art. And, of course, the centrepiece is the annual Hermanus FynArts Festival which creatively warms up mid-winter. So here we happily go again…
Scheduled for June 10 to 18 June, a tight gild-edge programme of exhibitions, talks, demonstrations and alluring cultural sideshows will give the “village of the sea” its tourism boost. (Which, of course, doesn’t mean the loyal locals aren’t first in the queues.)
By now an anchor event is the project known as Sculpture on the Cliffs (SOTC) which will have its eleventh outing this winter. The artworks stay up for a year, to the delight of many. Based at the panoramic lookout of Gearing’s Point, the sculptures always engage with the environment and the changing moods of the sea is part of the aesthetics at play.
This year the SOTC theme has taken on an upbeat. Visualising the glorious seaside space as a playground for hearts, minds and inventive-sussed visitors, the curator, Melvyn Minnaar, has come up with a (not too tongue-in-cheek) jingle of “Walking Back To Happiness” for the popular public art show.
He explains: “All over the world people are noting again the curative and therapeutic power of art. After the pandemic’s isolation, during an era of deep political and social uncertainty, artists have a special role. It’s a function they’ve always fulfilled: showing the power of invention, of creativity, as a means of dealing with upset and upheaval.
“That theme underpinned great international art events recently – such as the last Venice Biennale. And there is no reason why we can’t dance to that tune here in Hermanus.
Sculpture on the Cliffs 2023 - Conrad Hicks
Sculpture on the Cliffs 2023 - Guy du Toit
Sculpture on the Cliffs 2023 - Wilma Cruise
Small sculpture exhibition - Jean Theron Louw
Ceramics exhibition - Ann Marais
Ceramics exhibition - Katja Abbottt
Small sculpture exhibition - Sophia van Wyk
Ceramics exhibition - Elise du Toit
Ceramics exhibition - Maureen Visagie
Ceramics exhibition - Karin Lijnes
“As a youngster I heard Helen Shapiro pumping it out over the radio in our house in Marine Drive. (Near the SOTC site, by the way.) So why not?
“Walking Back To Happiness was written by the British duo John Schroeder and Mike Hawker in 1961.The elegant title of then suggests a return to a state of betterness now.”
Participating 2023 artists are Kevin Brand, Hannelie Coetzee, Wilma Cruise, Jacques Dhont, Guy du Toit, Conrad Hicks, Jaco Sieberhagen, Frank van Reenen, Sophia Van Wyk and Ashley Walters . They have been asked to engage with the concept of cheer, because art can lift the spirit, inspire. Like the song, the sculptures will take on nostalgia, optimism and a physical dynamic for engagement in a special environment.
Most of the artists will participate in an open discussion at the Windsor hotel on Saturday, 10 June 10 at 11:00, priot to the opening of the exhibition at 12:30 at Gearing’s Point by Bina Genovese, Director of Strauss & Co.
All previous participants in SOTC are also invited to take part in Art in the Auditorium, an exhibition of smaller work and some of this year’s debuting sculptors will also take part in this exhibition.
Ceramics have always been a great attraction and this years, under the curatorial eyes of Liz Coates. Thirty-nine well-known artists are featured in this year’s exhibition, Earth, Wind and Fire. This time the curator has chosen
as the theme a legendary band, described by Rolling Stone magazine as ‘innovative, precise yet sensual, calculated yet galvanising. This exhibition will once again take place at the Windsor Hotel and will be opening on Saturday 10 June at 11:30.
Many art-related presentations are included in the Strauss & Co Series of Presentations and Interview. Apart from Walking Back to Happiness, a panel discussion by artists exhibiting on the Cliffs, facilitated by Melvyn, there will be a second presentations on sculpture, Mind through Matter, by Angus Taylor.
Other art-highlights are Kayleen Wrigley’s talk about the history of art-making in Hermanus, Hermanus through the eyes of the artists and Women Artists by Jean le Clus-Theron, I’ve Seen That Face Before by forensic artists, Kathryn Smith, Into Plato’s Cave, about the remarkable art and life of Kevin Atkinson presented by Melvyn Minnaar, and a discussion on the art and artists of The Grootbos Florilegium with artist Vicki Thomas and writer, Colleen Naude. Undesirable LIterture is the topic of art writer, Sean O’Toole.
The full programme and e-booklet are available at www.hermanusfynarts.co.za as well as the link to sign up for the FynArts newsletter. Bookings can be made on Webtickets. co.za, also via hermanusfynarts.co.za and telephonic with Chantel Louskitt, administrative coordinator on 060 957 5371.
sasolsignatures.co.za
TheSasol New Signatures Art Competition, in proud partnership with the Association of Arts Pretoria, is the longest running competition of its kind in South Africa. The competition is open to all South African visual artists who are 18 years and older who have not yet held a solo exhibition. Artists can submit their artworks in all artistic mediums – painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, video and installations.
Sasol New Signatures shines the spotlight on South African artistic talent and creates opportunities to showcase undiscovered artists. This competition has provided a platform for unknown artists to break into the mainstream. “If you are an artist who is looking for a career in the art arena, have the talent and the drive and the vision for a solo exhibition - this is the competition for you! It gives you an opportunity to have your work seen, not only by the judges but also by the
art-loving public. You just never know who is watching” says National Chairperson, Dr Pfunzo Sidogi.
Contemporary, innovative and emerging artists with winning aspirations are invited to submit their artworks at one of several collection points around the country on Tuesday, 6 June and Wednesday, 7 June from 10h00 to 16h00 for judging and selection for the Sasol New Signatures exhibition 2023. A completed entry form and supporting documentation must be submitted along with the artworks.
First prize: R100 000 and an opportunity of a solo exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum (Terms and conditions apply).
Runner-up: R25 000
Five merit awards: R10 000 each
For more info on the competition, to download entry form and collection point information visit www.sasolsignatures.co.za
Zyma Amien Winner 2016
Patrick Rulore Winner 2019
Mondli Mbhele Winner 2022
Lebohang Kganye Winner 2017
Andrea Du Plessis Winner 2021
Jessica Kapp Winner 2018
swelco.co.za
Stephan Welz & Co. has seen the start of many professional careers as fine art specialists and our current team is no exception. In order to function within the secondary or auction market it is important to have a holistic understanding of the multiple and versatile spheres of the art industry. Our junior art specialist in Johannesburg, Robyn Woolley has had firsthand experience in both the primary and secondary market and offers an advisory service to new collectors who are navigating the realms of both art markets to start off their art collections.
Primary Market versus Secondary Market: As an aspiring collector, it is helpful to understand the nuances of both the primary and secondary art markets in order to manage and plan your purchases. It is easy and understandable to be navigated by aesthetical preferences when it comes to purchasing art. However, when collecting art with the aim of reselling some of your pieces there are further elements to consider. The market that a collector decides to participate in depends on a collector’s motivation and intention when purchasing artwork, i.e. to support an artist’s career, as alternative investment assets, or to keep an artwork. If you are interested in building your art collection, a good perspective and understanding of both the primary and secondary market and how they operate is required.
The terms primary and secondary market when applied within the art world still retain their economic definition. A primary market within the art industry refers to galleries as their stock has never been sold before and it is usually sourced directly from the artist. The primary market is the most viable space for an emerging artist where the entry level journey commences. If an artist starts to showcase some commercial and economic success, and a demand for his or her art dawns, the viability of that artist being sold in the secondary market increases. However, this is not always guaranteed as some artists although successful within the primary market, are never sold via the secondary market.
There are various reasons why this could occur however, one factor being the collectability of the artist. Collectability is not always determined by economic and commercial success as the art industry is, like most, susceptible to trends. An artist’s collectable status can be determined by many factors; reputation, history and influence to list a few.
The secondary market refers to auction houses mainly since these establishments sell previously owned or purchased artworks. The secondary market evaluates artworks based on prior sale records, the sales precedent for the artist, the subject matter, the importance
Moses Tladi (South African 1903 - 1959) Untitled Landscape, accompanied by A.R Lloyd’s book, The Artist in the Garden, The Quest for Moses Tladi, Est: R80 000 – R120 000
- Sold: R185 303
of the work within the artist’s oeuvre and the condition of the work. Over time, an artwork may increase in monetary value depending on the artists individual market and the availability of the artist’s other works. Comparatively, values provided by art galleries are dependent on the artist’s career, exhibition history and medium of the work.
Both of these markets are not necessarily mutually exclusive and there is often a nature of cause and effect between these two spaces, although they can exist in their own capacity. As someone who has worked in the primary art market it is interesting to see the inevitable differences as well as the strong intertwined nature between the primary and secondary art markets. It is, of course, tantalizing to work with rare and desirable collectables. To learn from a rapidly evolving and fickle market is one of my favorite aspects of being an art specialist. I find the nature of the business (in an auction house) with its ever-changing, yet somehow constant zeitgeist, rather remarkable. Both the secondary and primary markets are age-old industries that have an
Opposite page: Alexis Preller (South African 1911 - 1975)
Olivia Maria Preller (Preller’s Mother)
Est: R600 000 – R700 000 - Sold: R693 390
Left: Gregoire Johannes Boonzaier (South African 1909 - 2005)
Still Life With Flowers
Est: R60 000 – R90 000 - Sold: R95 640
Below: Danie de Jager (South African 1936 - 2003 ) Shawu
Est: R100 000 – R150 000 - Sold: R155 415
impact on our cultural perspectives which is an impressive sentiment.
We encourage art collectors to contact us as we are currently consigning for our premium auctions. Please email us on info@swelco. co.za or cpt@swelco.co.za, or call us on 011 880 3125 or 021 794 6461.
All About the Primary and Secondary Art Markets. Chava Krivchenia. 2020. [O]. https://art-mine.com/collectors-corner/2020/07/ all-about-the-primary-and-secondaryart-markets/#:~:text=The%20most%20 bare%2Dbones%20definition,sold%20on%20 the%20market%20before
The Primary Versus the Secondary Art Market. 2017. [O]. https://magazine.artland.com/theprimary-versus-the-secondary-art-market/
Art: The Primary and Secondary Market. 2015. [O]. https://medium.com/@myartbroker/art-theprima
art.b gallery
art.b gallery & The City of Cape Town present an exhibition titled title, “JUSTIFIED”, featuring a mixture of emerging and semi-professional artists. The result is an argument for new cohorts of artists emerging from training at public cultural hubs. 1/04/2023 until 24/07/2023. www.artb.co.za
Gallery 2
Matterings / Mutterings - A group exhibition by current staff in the department of Visual Art at the University of Johannesburg. The exhibition will explore works submitted in response to a quote from Alice in Wonderland “I have been known to do six impossible things before breakfast”. Opens 01/04/2023 / www.gallery2.co.za
IS Art Gallery
Walking On A Rim Of Light
Solo exhibition by Diana Page
To be opened by Dr Julia Martin & Dr Alex Dodd on Saturday 01/04/2023 at 11:00h
Until 30/04/2023
138 Dorp Street, Stellenbosch www.isart.co.za
RK Contemporary
Entangled - This term can be used in the literal and physical sense to describe an object or form. It can also delude to our very nature of being; conceptually, it can suggest how we make sense of the world and how we identify ourselves as multifaceted individuals within us. 02/04/2023 until 30/04/2023 / www.rkcontemporary.com
Nel
Unbearable Heroes & surrender - First floor gallery
Bonita Alice | Unbearable Heroes: A solo exhibition of Assemblages done over an extended period of time during the previous decade. Never exhibited before, this will be their first public viewing. 06/04/2023 until 15/05/2023 / www.nelart.co.za
Nel
Surrender - Ground floor gallery
Arlene Amaler-Raviv | Surrender: This solo exhibition shows a carefully selected curation of various oil paintings featuring figures and landscapes from the artist’s more recent paintings. 06/04/2023 until 15/05/2023
www.nelart.co.za
Art@Africa
Reverence - Solo Jane Moodie
A series of strong portraits wearing large, magnificent headdresses created from objects of nature portraying the power of the higher consciousness.
13/04/2023 until 30/05/2023
www.artatafrica.art
Durban Art Gallery
Pitika Ntuli - Return To The Source
Curated by Ruzy Rusike
14/04/2023 until 21/01/2024
www.themelrosegallery.com
ARTGO: APRIL - JUNE 2023
AITY Gallery Franschhoek
Kelly John Gough - Being Human 15/04/2023 until 06/05/2023
Opening, Saturday 15th of April at 11 am www.aitygallery.com
Rust-en-Vrede Gallery
Send My Love 15/04/2023 until 20/05/2023
A solo exhibition by Paul Senyol www.rust-en--vrede.com
Rust-en-Vrede Gallery
Journey
A solo exhibition of ceramics, drawings and paintings by Patsy Groll 15/04/2023 until 20/05/2023 www.rust-en--vrede.com
Rust-en-Vrede Gallery
Me and the Boiiis
A solo exhibition of sculptures and drawings by Max Kuijers
15/04/2023 until 20/05/2023
www.rust-en--vrede.com
The Cape Gallery
Zanzibar - Solo exhibition by Roelof Rossouw
”I visited Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar in 2022. It was a great treat capturing the vibrant colours and quaint character on canvas. 16/04/2023 until 13/05/2023.
www.capegallery.co.za
GFI Art Gallery
Umbhiyozo - Celebrating Pemba
The Art & Legacy of George Pemba
18/04/2023 until 03/06/2023
www.gfiartgallery.com
Cape Guild of Weavers
Workshops: 22/04/2023 until 02/05/2023
Richard Crowie Hall, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
www.capeguildofweavers.co.za
GFI Art Gallery
Kubuni: Comics from Africa
A Travelling “Afropolitan” Comics Exhibition to head to 6 major Southern African cities. Presented in partnership with the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) and Alliances Française. 26/03/2023 until 14/05/2023
www,gfiartgallery.com / www.afportelizabeth.com
Goodman Gallery JHB
Against the Grain, an exhibition of photographic works by Ernest Cole, David Goldblatt, Ruth Motau, Ming Smith and Lindokuhle Sobekwa. Across three generations, the exhibition explores how each photographer has used the medium to expose, question and reflect on their social and political contexts. 18/03/2023 until 15/04/2023
www.goodman-gallery.com
SMAC CPT
Pierre Le Riche - Artist Room 11/03/2023 until 25/04/2023
www.smacgallery.com
AVA Gallery
Main Gallery - Unmourned Bodies
Group exhibition curated by Jo Rogge
35 Church Street, Cape Town
09/03/2023 until 20/04/2023
www.ava.co.za
Anton Smit
New work by Anton Smit | The Nubian Series
The Nubian Series consist of 5 variants entitled: SPENOID, CERVICAL, ZYGOMATIC, TEMPORAL and CORON. These free-standing heads measure approximately 580 mm tall and 20 mm wide and are made in bronze. www.antonsmit.co.za
DAOR Contemporary Autumn 2023 - A Group Exhibition
Featuring artists Connor Cullinan, Donna Solovei, GOOD GOOD BOY, Andrea Du Plessis, Carin Dorrington, Emily Rae Smith Labuschagne, Kristen McClarty, Manuela Holzer, and more. Until end of April 2023 WWW.DAOR.CO.ZA
EBONY/curated Group exhibition, curated by Karen Elkington, brings together a group of artists who focus on rooms and furniture as subject matter both to explore concerns, mind states and ideas and to expose the underlying implications of the interior itself. 15/03/2023 until 29/04/2023 www.ebonycurated.com
Fynarts Hermanus
Exhibitions, performances, talks, presentations, demonstrations,workshops, food and wine, films and children’s events. Sign up for our newsletter and social media platforms to keep updated on who, what and where in the run up to the FynArts 09/06/2023 until 18/06/2023
Festival hermanusfynarts.co.za or admin@hermanusfynarts.co.za
Stevenson CPT
Penny Siopis - Never The Same Water Twice: Nine Films (1997-2021)
The exhibition celebrates Siopis’s 70th birthday and her expansive contributions to her field.
18/03/2023 until 29/04/2023
www.stevenson.info
White River Gallery
Group exhibition - Lingering Holding Memory
Curated by Laurel Holmes and Kristen MaClarty
The work of 10 Cape-based artists is making its way to the gallery for this carefully considered exhibition. April 2023.
www.whiterivergallery.co.za
Oliewenhuis Art Museum
Transition, Liminality, Adaption
Artworks on exhibition were selected from Oliewenhuis Art Museum’s Permanent Collection and the Art Bank of South Africa’s Contemporary Collection
16/03/2023 until 01/05/2023
www.nasmus.co.za
Stevenson JHB
Penny Siopis - Feral Figurations
The exhibition celebrates Siopis’s 70th birthday and her expansive contributions to her field. 25/03/2023 until 05/05/2023
www.stevenson.info
Everard Read JHB
Bitches Brew
Exhibition by Sanell Aggenbach; Lucinda Mudge & Lady Skollie 23/03/2023 until 06/05/2023
www.everard-read.co.za
What If The World
Nabeeha Mohamed - Vanitas Woe
Solo Exhibition
25/03/2023 until 06/05/2023
www.whatiftheworld.com
Drawing Inspiration – A Group ExhibitionMultimedia Group Exhibition. This exhibition includes works of drawing by Cathy Milner, Eben Beukes,Elske Henderson, Hannelie Strydom, Ian Albertyn, Jonathan Griffiths,Laurel Holmes, and MJ Morris. 26/03/2023 until 14/05/2023/ www.glencarlou.com/art-gallery
Multimedia Group Exhibition - A curatorial collaboration with Millennium Gallery - the show will include works by twelve South African artists, namely: Alet Swarts, Allen Laing, Berco Wilsenach, Doris Bloom, Errol Westoll, Frans Thoka, Hannes Elsenbroek, Jacobus Kloppers, Jean Dreyer, Marelise van Wyk & Gerrit Loots, Marina Louw, Norman Catherine and Zelda Stroud. 26/03/2023 until 14/05/2023/ www.glencarlou.com/art-gallery
The Pretoria Art Museum
Retrospective exhibition of Dirk Meerkotter
1922–2017
12/03/2023 until 21/05/2023
Wessels St, Arcadia, Pretoria, 0007
Hours: Monday Closed; Tuesday - Sunday: 10am -5pm
Sanlam Art Gallery
Re Mmôgô
“We are together” (translated from Se Tswana) Selections from Sanlam and MTN Art Collections shown together
Until 26/05/2023
www.blog.sanlam.co.za
Zeitz MOCAA
Mary Evans - GILT - Solo exhibition by Nigerianborn, British artist Mary Evans that offersa new series of site-specific responses informed by a period of researchand exploration in Cape Town, which the artist undertook in August 2022.
Until 29 October 2023
www.zeitzmocaa.museum
The Viewing Room Art Gallery at St. Lorient
Open Air Gallery - A Buyers Experience
Every Saturday 11/03/2023 - 16/12/2024
Experience artists at work every Saturday from 09:300 to 14:00 and have the opportunity to buy art directly from the artists.
www.theviewingroom.co.za
