Art Times Dec/Jan 2023 Edition

ART THE WORLD

As another year draws to a rapid close, I would like to pay homage to a year like no other. 2022 started off with Covid 19 restrictions following 2 years of lockdown, as well as continued insecurity of artists and the art industry, which for the most had adapted - especially to a new means of online communications and marketing.

The lifting of Covid 19 restrictions was welcomed especially by art fairs, art events, and galleries whose sales improved, I believe on the basis of personal contact and physically seeing the work in reality. My personal highlight of the Covid era besides Zoom Meetings was when the NY Met created a hologram of their “Little Dancer aged fourteen” girl by Degas for it to travel. The Hologram box did look like something out of Star Trek, but I am sure in a number of years we will have it as an app on our cell phones. During this time NFT’s were the craze where a few artists made millions while the bulk of artists flooded the market with the new concept and hype, which is all healthy in terms of bringing new concepts and innovation to the industry.

My hope for 2023 is that no matter the economy and political mood there would be an upswing in local and international trade and travel, South Africans are both resilient and innovative but above all I believe, despite some media and politicians- that we have the ability to come together and enjoy our rich diversity and new thoughts- while taking the best from the past. If we don’t look backward we will lack the memory and richness of our collective lives to go forward.

The Art Times will be active online and on social media during the festive season, it’s always a time when one has the time to make sense of the previous year and plan possibly better things for the next year. Lastly in this editorial, I would like to thank all our supporters, subscribers, advertisers, and yourself for your invaluable assistance to keep the lines open and have a national and accessible daily art channel to grow and stimulate our arts community. Without your support, The Art Times wouldn’t be here. In this regard, we all at the Art Times look forward to moving into 2023 with you to make it an incredibly creative and prosperous New Year.

Clark-Brown

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Gabriel

Simphiwe

ARTBANKSA

Ashraf Jamal

SOFT POWER: GEOPOLITICS AND ART

Muchhas been said on the ‘cultural capital’ of art. Anyone attuned to the artworld is doubtless, like myself, astonished by its seductive power, monetary value, and cultural agency. Art opens doors, emboldens and strengthens diplomatic agreements and economic exchanges. That said, it is not merely an expedient tool in a greater Machiavellian game, but, as Nonto Msomi, the comptroller of ArtBankSA, reminds me, art, or culture more generally, is the engine room of ‘soft power’.

‘The ability to co-opt rather than coerce’, soft power shapes ‘the preferences of others through appeal and attraction’. In Africa, a key player in global art and design – precisely because the powers that be, volatile and ever-shifting, can no longer ignore its stellar presence – Black Portraiture has become a dominant focus in the contemporary artworld. This emergence is symptomatic of the new reach which Africa and its diaspora has thrust centre-stage. Unsurprisingly, Africa’s newfound prominence in the artworld has much to do with its prior disregard and exploitation by colonial powers. That colonialism persists, in other guises, should however remind us that revisionism, in and of itself, cannot solve over 500 years of oppression, exploitation, and, after Walter Rodney, ‘underdevelopment’.

It was against the extractive mechanism of colonialism, now being revised through restitution, that Pan-Africanism – a vision of African for Africans – should emerge. However, a continent cannot be understood hermetically. Hyperconnectivity defines world history. Which is why Steve Bantu Biko, a Pan-Africanist and leader of the Black Consciousness movement, should remind us that Africa would give the world a ‘human face’. This is a canny Afro-Futurist vision of

international relations that places a core subSaharan value, Ubuntu, at the epicentre of human empathy and collective understanding – that we are whom we are because of others. Ubuntu, as a cultural value and practice, is an example par excellence of soft power.

Nonto Msomi, together with Nathi Gumede, are currently engaged in precisely such a ministration on behalf of the Department of Sport, Art and Culture (DSAC). As part of the South African ‘Cultural Season’ their role is to exhibit the nation’s art in Tanzania, and, so doing, engender precisely what Biko advocated – a human interface between countries . That Tanzania, under its great leader Julius Nyerere, was committed to socialist principles, supporting the ANC in exile, amongst other liberatory movements –namely, the Pan African Congress (PAC), the Mozambiquan Liberation Front (FRELIMO), the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the Zimbabwean African People’s Union (ZAPU) – clearly demonstrated a commitment, across Africa, towards decolonization. Today, in our relatively democratic era – despite the fact that warlords and demagogues still prevail, and sadly, once again gaining traction worldwide – it behooves those committed to cultural exchange, to hold fast to the best and most inclusive values.

In this regard, art has a profound role to play, precisely when its creative power is more inferential, suggestive rather than declamatory. In Msomi’s curatorial selection, it is the black personage – black being – that is paramount. She is not interested in a substrate of historical pain, but in the easeful self-affirmation which the artists communicate. In Buhle Nkalashe’s colourful portrait, the figure’s direct gaze is an invocation not an assertion, the language of the body consoling, the one hand restfully placed, signaling a life wholly immersed in itself. Given over 500 years of black oppression – the voiding of selfhood, agency, being, soul –it is unsurprising that Black Portraiture should finally have its day. In their Tanzanian offering, Msomi tracks the inner worlds of singular black

Andile Maphumulo, Ngiyasebenza, 2020 Paint on canvas, 60 x 44 cm

Andile Maphumulo, Inkosi yebhodwe, 2020, Paint on canvas 60x44cm

Chulumanco Feni, Inkhokheli, 2021, Oil paint, oil pastel and acrylic on brown paper

Stephen Langa, Stay in charge of you, don’t let the outside world control you, 2021, Charcoal, acrylic and pastel on paper 130 x 90 cm

beings, instead of types – because, of course, it remains expediently true that the black body is still all too easily, and remorselessly, objectified. In South Africa’s cultural exchange this is not the case. On the contrary, it is Biko’s ‘human face’ that emerges in a consummate expression of soft power.

Lebo Thoka’s ‘Unknown Woman’ is stately, Chulumanco Feni’s ‘Inkhokheli’ is ruefully contemplative, Major Ndlovu’s ode to Sir Zanele Muholi affirms their gender fluid complexity, yet, at the same time, Muholi’s stratospheric global prominence as the ‘Black Madonna’. On the other hand, Zakhele Hlabisa’s ’Mama Albertina Sisulu’, offers us, after Njabulo Ndebele, the ‘ordinary’ – the precise inverse of the ‘spectacle’, or spectacular, which, for Ndebele, fails to grasp the prosaic beauty of black life and culture. This ordinariness is further captured in everyday domestic scenes by Andile Maphumulo, in a bid to remind the world that Black Life need not only be understood in extremis.

If soft power is seductive, it is because it speaks to our deepest intuitions and yearnings. The ArtBankSA understands this well. South Africa, after all, remains a vital political player – despite its complex position regarding the Ukrainian / Russian war – most especially on the African continent which remains in search of its greater self. This search is by no means peculiarly African. Right now, the world over, we are witnessing threats to democracy, singular human agency, the rights and rites of the Self. This is the global unconscious expressed by millions the world over. Given this dread and anxiety, all the more do we need art that is consoling, reassuring, affirming, loving. The contribution of DSAC, through ArtBankSA, is a delicate window, and mirror, of our ever-evolving quest for a great state of being.

“If soft power is seductive, it is because it speaks to our deepest intuitions and yearnings.”

Zakhele Hlabisa, Mama Albert Sisulu, 2020, Paint on canvas, 63 x 80 cm

Buhle Nkalashe, Victor, 2021, Mixed media on canvas, 100 x 120 cm

Sipho Nkosi, Warrior queen, 2019, Photograph, 53,4 x 80,1 cm

A RECKONING IN SPRINGS

On November 26th the Springs Art Gallery (SAG) opens an exhibition with the unflinching title – Reckoning. Its focus is 40 ‘emerging artists’, its remit, to inspire, provoke, challenge, and renew South Africa’s vision, blunted by its failure to future-proof the country and support the next generation. Hailing from all the provinces of South Africa, and working in radically diverse media, these artists are not only our potential but our reserve – no society can sustain itself without addressing the needs of its youth, as climate activists the world over are now demonstrating. Their beef is not with art per se – though they are deliberately desecrating famous paintings by the likes of Vermeer and Gustav Klimt – but with the ethical and political unscrupulousness of the artworld, its support by dubious corporations – in the recent case of the desecration of a painting by Klimt, the museum was supported by an Oil company. The point of these activists? That an extractive economy is unsustainable. Emergent artists, however, are not.

Curated by Nonto Msomi, Reckoning is primarily spurred by radical uncertainty regarding our global future, honed by the psychic-emotional-economic challenges posed by Covid, a pandemic by no means over, though its harshest effects may appear to be so. ‘During the pandemic society collectively held onto the hope of the global shutdowns coming to an end’, Msomi remarks. We were ‘looking forward to a world forever changed, with an optimistic outlook of grand reforms that were long overdue but in need of a catalyst to be realised’. Poised between longing and doubt, Msomi captures the gnawing irresolution that prevails – the intuition that optimism is in abeyance, dread the new normal. No matter one’s position regarding the desecration of artworks – the new rage and despair affecting the world’s most seductive object of value, art and the

artworld – we cannot refute that ours is a highly volatile and unstable time. Hence the upcoming ArtbankSA exhibition Reckoning The vectors of the show comprise ‘identity, heritage, the self, and collective contemporary South Africa’, all of which, now, are confronting ‘uncomfortable historic truths’ which many deny – namely, that ideology has come in the way of ethics, that fracture and psychic disfigurement persist, that the majority remain bonded and in chains, the future of the youth devastated. That the ArtbankSA is compelled to address these matters is unsurprising and vital. Who can forget the riots across Natal and Gauteng in July last year? While unrest may have been contained – and there is no certainty in this regard – what cannot be disputed is the rage and despair of the oppressed, dispossessed, poverty-stricken, and hopeless. It is true that -l opportunists exploited a deep-seated grievance, however, my core point concerns the ‘reckoning’ that remains to be addressed. As Msomi reminds us, we must ‘reflect on the decisions made now’, before the day comes when all will have to face an insurmountable societal ‘fracture’.

What, you might ask, does art have to do with it? If the climate activists are correct – then everything. Art is by no means innocent. This is Msomi’s point. The 40 artists, on show in Springs till 24 February 2023, pivot about a core irresolution. Jakie Ntavhanyeni Madide’s ‘Looting Tear’ dramatizes desperation and greed, a society driven by hunger and consumerism, which exposes a destructive systemic inequality between a poor majority and wealthy minority. Jacki Helene Mcinnes’s ‘After the fire: Jagger reading room’, exposes another destruction, both environmental and economic – in fact, as activist unceasingly remind us, it has become impossible to separate the two. Kgaogelo “Cow Mash” Mashilo’s ‘Moo-shomo’, a combine of found art and sculpture, shows a woman on her hands and knees atop an overturned metal basin. Here contrition meets despair, longer meets lack. Cassian Garret Robbertze echoes this despair in ‘Discard’, a figure of an unclothed body snarled in a rictus of agony.

“40 ‘emerging artists’, its remit, to inspire, provoke, challenge, and renew South Africa’s vision, blunted by its failure to future-proof the country and support the next generation.”

Mthobisi Maphumulo, We are not black we are colourful, 2020

Neil Louw, Apprentice, 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 76 x 61 cm

Vivien Kohler, All hail, King Tsepo, 2021

Not all the works Msomi has selected are grave. Niel Louw’s ‘Apprentice’ is nurturing, as is Lindo Zwane’s ‘Ukuzigqaja’, a joyous depiction of a mother and son. But what cannot be disavowed, despite our optimism, is the substrate of pain which is as historical, as geological, as it is psychological.

Ofense Seshabela’s withering mixed media work, ‘Lordz’, sums up the depth of oppressive power. Then again, in a series of portraits by Vivien Kohler (‘All Hail, King Tsepo’), Mthobisi Maphumulo (‘We are not black we are colourful’), Sipho Nkosi (‘Warrior Queen’), Stephen Langa (‘Stay in charge of you, don’t let outside world control you’), or

Thembi Mthembu (‘Limitless’), we arrive at the crux of Reckoning, a show which, while pivoting between hope and hopelessness, past error and future correction, nevertheless signals a greater consolatory drive. After all, we need hope, we need our youth. No continent on earth has a greater repository of youth, and if this is an indicator, surely it suggests that a greater future awaits us? This remark may seem rhetorical, but as Nonto Msomi reminds us, we must ‘maintain the courage to ask questions’.

Jacki Helene McInnes, After the fire; Jagger reading room, 2021, Mixed media on board, 82 x 90 cm (Detail)

DiVERSiTY

DiVERSiTY

F I B R E A R T

iIn collaboration with the South African National Quilt Festival

Group exhibition on show until 29 January 2023, featuring: Zyma Amien, Elaine Barnard, Danielle Clough, Rosalie Dace, Monique Day-Wilde, Tilly de Harde, Willemien de Villiers, Pierre Fouché, Jeanette Gilks, Kathryn Harmer Fox, Jenny Hearn, Fiona Kirkwood, Kimathi Mafafo, Gerda Mohr, Linda Rademan, Paul Schutte, Mandy Shindler, Roy Starke, Hannalie Taute, Diana Vandeyar and Angie Weisswange

Stellentia Road, Stellenbosch | Entrance Complimentary Tues – Fri: 10h00 – 17h00 | Sat – Sun: 10h00 – 16h00 info@rupertmuseum.org | rupertmuseum.org/exhibition/diversity

SIGHTS – UNSEEN

New Acquisitions and Hidden Gems from the Sanlam Art Collection

2 November 2022 – 2 February 2023

Sanlam Art Gallery Bellville, Cape Town blog.sanlam.co.za

Consisting of more than 2000 artworks viewing the Sanlam Art Collection can take a very long time. Being spread across Sanlam’s office environments across the country also means that one must travel a bit. Although Bellville may be another country for the average Capetonian, a visit to the only publicly accessible corporate art collection in the Western Cape may prove well worth a visit.

“Sights Unseen” the current exhibition at the Sanlam Art Gallery in Bellville, showcases new acquisitions to the collection on show for the first time and hidden “gems” not seen in the gallery for many years as these works have been in office environments, inaccessible to the general public.

A new acquisition of significance by young emerging artist from Johannesburg, Frans Thoka, is a particularly striking rendition of a landscape of what appears to be ploughed land. Intriguing is the use of grey, “prison blanket” as the support enhancing the metaphoric import of combination of land and blanket. At more than 2 metres high and 3 m wide, the painting towers over the more sedate, conventional landscapes on show by Thomas Baines and Hugo Naude. But this is just the beginning of an extended art historical narrative of landscape painting in South Africa on exhibition. Four large scale paintings by Helmut Starckee cover three large walls of the gallery with impressive showcasing, this much underappreciated artist’s talent to combine design, fantasy and reality into a potent mixture that tugs emotionally to one’s experience of colour and the transition of landscape from the cracked mud dry riverbed to an efflorescent composition of colours. Alongside these also hang significant early paintings by Nigel Mullins revealing how the idea of landscape can be manipulated to represent a diversity of narrative in one space.

Blessing Ngobeni, Figures, Fish, acrylic and collage on canvas.

JH Pieerneef, Mountain Landscape, 1967

Sydney Kumalo, Woman with Dove, bronze, 1977

Laubser-Maggie, Sunover Lake Gardan, circa 1920, oil on board

Boshoff Willem, City Book, various wood, 2006

Bell, Hodgins, Kentridge, Artistes-Screenrpint and Lithograph on paper,1997

Havenga, Marnus, Interior, charcoal on paper,2022

Little though matches the punchy colour and astute composition of a selection of early paintings by Maggie Laubser shown in series. The resonances of emotional content of the three paintings provide an insight into the inner life of a turn of the century women artist who was embarking on a very new adventure in art.

In stark contrast to these lyric and expressive pieces, one is confronted with the optophonetic and concrete poetry of Willem Boshoff. A selection of four early, 1980s produced, Kykafrikaans prints were acquired in 2022. These visual and conceptual mind twisters require a little time to be appreciated. A little effort and closer looking will bring some enlightening revelations and to any conscientious viewer. A QR code on the label provide additional information on the artist and sound scape of the two of the poems performed.

Other works represented in the exhibition are by Karel Nel, Wayne Barker, Erkia Hibbert, Julio Tambellini, Walter Battiss, William Kentridge,

Deborah Bell, Robert Hodgins, Pranas Domsaitis, Osiah Masekoameng, Günther van der Reis, Moses Kottler, Wim Blom, Blessing Ngobeni, Simon Lekgetho, Lyness Magwaza and Helen Sebidi.

The exhibition is rounded off on the mezzanine floor with a selection of smaller figurative sculptures ranging from the delicate, tightly observed presentations by Anton van Wouw and Hendrik Nkhofe, Moses Kottler, through the expressive carvings of Lippy Lipschitz, George Ramagaga, Stanley Nkosi and Albert Dasheka, to the lyrical abstractions of Edoardo Villa, Bill Davis and Frieda Ollemans.

For more information or to book a tour of the exhibition and storage facility with the curator call 021 947 3359 / sanlamart@sanlam.co.za

Gallery hours: Monday to Friday 09:00 – 16:30.

Frans Thoka, Go wa ke go tsoga, oil on blanket, 2019

Paul Blomkamp’s

50 HANDPAINTED ETCHINGS OF SOUTH AFRICA

“The Architecture of Light’

The Melrose Gallery –One&Only Cape Town themelrosegallery.com

Work for this exhibition, 100 Images of South Africa, actually started 25 years ago. All this time I have been nursing and nurturing this idea of bringing a collection of images together showing, mostly, unheralded, and unheroic places of South Africa. The humble, the unspectacular, the largely overlooked.

But each image has touched me personally. Many are located in the surrounding areas to where I live. Some I have driven past, many times. Subliminally they have etched their character into my mind.

Humble and unimposing at first glance I have strived to put them in the spotlight. This is what has kept me loyal to the project for all these years. Essentially it is the opportunity to take these rather prosaic images and transcend and transform them with bright and radiant colours and having the chance to take them to a new place of illuminated stature.

There is something truly exciting about transforming the drab into something that can boast a new presence.

Over the years I have bonded with these simple images. They have become indelibly imprinted in my soul. I have tried to work out why they have earned my love and respect. The mystery remains unsolved, but I do know how I relish producing them. They have become my family. Sadly, many of the places I have chosen to paint do not exist anymore. They must have stood proud at some stage of their existence. Their owners must have been brave and optimistic.

I have tried to show this in this body of works.

Initially I thought the etching technique would serve this project well. I soon discovered the demanding and time-consuming labour involved in producing 4,500 prints would be counterproductive. I had to find a more direct and ‘easier’ way to produce this vast amount of work.

After much trial and tribulation, I came up with a technique (allied to etching) wherein I would use a metal plate on which the drawing was photo sensitised. On this plate the positive drawing was reversed to negative. Simply put the background of the drawing on the plate could now be etched away leaving the line drawing standing proud. This meant I now could now roll the black printing ink on and produce a relief print.

This relief print enabled me to produce a more rugged ‘strong’ and robust print.

Ultimately when the entire collection is completed it will comprise 4,500 prints, each of the 100 images having an edition of 45 each and 10 Artist’s proof each.

Each print is individually hand coloured. The process involves initially printing a black and white print and then laboriously hand painting it with oil colours. When the hand colouring is complete the work is then printed again with black ink.

“Each image has touched me personally. Many are located in the surrounding areas to where I live.”

Much thanks must go to my loyal and dedicated partner and assistant Jennifer Saunders aka Jennifer Spencer Christian in helping me so faithfully produce this large volume of work.

50 Paintings of South Africa will run at The Melrose Gallery at One&Only Cape Town from 16 December until 26 February 2023. For more information visit www.themelrosegallery.com

Paul Blomkamp (1949-) is a South African artist who works from his studio in Rivonia Gauteng.

A near death experience resulting from Legionnaire’s Disease in 1979 left him with an acute interest in Quantum physics.

His artworks embody his search for the all-encompassing ‘Electric Essence’ that pervades all that exists. Bright electric colour is the benchmark of all his works.

Blomkamp designed and made many large modern Stained-Glass windows for over 25 years. This included windows for many secular buildings, private homes, churches, and Synagogues including St Stithians College (22 windows), State Theatre in Pretoria, Rosebank Union Church 60sq m, Civic Centre Methodist Church 60 sq metres, Absa Bank Headquarters, Johannesburg.

His artworks grace many private and corporate collections around the world, and he has had several solo exhibitions including the Goodman Gallery and The Melrose Gallery.

themelrosegallery.com

SOCIAL IMPACT ARTS 2022

Process and Practice

Socialimpactartsprize.org

The Social Impact Arts Prize awards artists who situate their practices in socially concerned conditions ranging from the environment and climate change to human relations and social pressures of an unequal society. It places a focus on reflective processes, the knowledge that such artistic methods and methodologies can generate, and the lessons society can learn from the outcomes of these projects. The projects all focus on making an impact on collective thought, informing and engaging decisionmaking while creating inspiring aesthetic experiences. Ten projects have been granted the award this year:

The Mapula Embroidery Project will be presenting eleven panels embroidered by forty-one artists from the Winterveld. These bold and sensitively produced works reflect on the current environmental experience of the Mapula women and their families in the Winterveld, while also imagining a future in which their community lives more consciously and prospers. The Winterveld is an economically vulnerable settlement north of Tshwane, home to 170 Mapula embroidery artists, some of whom have been conceptualising, designing and collectively fabricating hand-embroidered artworks and usable items for over 31 years. Their work hangs in museums and private collections worldwide.

Listening Garden is part of an on-going project by Io Makandal situated at the daylight point of the Jukskei River in Lorentzville. The artist uses the terms ‘third landscape’ and ‘opportunistic plantscape’ to describe the hybrid ecologies that make up sites such as these, where plant-life, soil and micromatter is shaped by the residue of human and industrial practices. Makandal is developing a

space for reflection and contemplation along the Jukskei River with the aim of fostering meaningful relationships between this natural resource and the community around it.

A Still Life is a collaborative initiative led by Taryn Millar, Sarah Cairns and Aarti Shah who use artistic processes to reconsider relationships between nature, people and place. For the Social Impact Art Prize, A Still Life will be working with artist Hannelie Coetzee to realise the second iteration of a project that considers the inner life of dead and dying trees. The project isolates three trees in Johannesburg infected with polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) beetle, which is said to threaten around 30% of the ‘man-made forest’. The trees will be used as a lens through which to interpret the ecosystem of human, plant and city life that makes up this complex and interconnected urban environment.

Doba-Dash is a 3D combat racing game developed by SpaceSalad Studios that draws attention to the daring environmental work of informal waste collectors or ‘Street Surfers’. With its roots in the Zulu word for ‘collect’ or ‘pick up’, Doba-Dash gamifies the experience of informal recycling as it plays out on South Africa’s streets.

Mpumelelo Buthelezi is a photographer from Johannesburg whose project, E’Plazini, asks questions about the nature of ‘work’ in relation to informal waste collection. “What counts as work? What is ‘important’ work, and who is dignified through that work?” Colloquially referred to as ‘waste pickers’, recyclers in South Africa collect, sort and sell materials such as card, plastic, glass and metal, diverting recyclable and reusable waste from landfills.

The durational living sculpture is mimetic of a fertile womb of gestation, healing, growth, and potential for possible futures.

South African cities – like yours –remain exploitative, exclusionary, and classist, with little regard for those struggling in the margins that hold the centre together. This problem of scale is really em bedded within our representational and visual systems and forms, and even in our language. Most people think the climate issue is happening outside of their individual lives.

This is the story of climate change expressed through drawing and embroidery.

Art in public space brings a multi-sensory experience for the viewer, connecting bodies, land and diverse types of knowledge without being didactic.

Taryn Millar, Sarah Cairns, Aarti Shah with Hannelie Coetzee

If the river’s mouth could speak, what would it say?

two tempests (for the river that swallowed its mouth) is a project by Bettina Malcomess that draws from the history of the Gariep Dam region in order to address the problem of scale in relation to climate change. Each part of the project (a film and radio play) will take ‘The Tempest’ as a departure point, reconfiguring Shakespeare’s tale of weather, power and human interference with the intention of bringing environmental issues into sharper focus.

The Orange River Project encompasses a journey undertaken by Nina Barnett, Sinethemba Twalo, Amy Watson and Dee Marco that follows South Africa’s longest river. Using layered, divergent and overlapping research methodologies, the practitioners will respond to the river at various points along its course over a ten day period, with the intention of drawing attention to the vulnerability of this resource and the narratives it carries.

Kammakamma is a project by Abri de Swardt that uses fabulation and collage to address the confluence of unstable narratives arising from, erased by and co-existing with the Eerste River mouth. Drawing from the indigenous

Khoe language term for river, ‘kamma’ has been absorbed into Afrikaans to mean ‘make believe’. Kammakamma considers the river both as a living entity and a space of fictional entanglement, a point where bodies of water converge with human and ecological communities, histories and practices. If the river’s mouth could speak, what would it say?

Pollinator Pathways introduces a planted prototype to the Rupert Museum site as a means of directing attention towards the delicate balance that exists between pollinators (bees, birds and butterflies), indigenous plant-life and food security.

This year the first Graaff-Reinet Artist residency award has been granted to Terroir, Georgia Munnik, Larissa Johnson and Chanelle Adams, who will be immersing their varied practices in the Museum’s archives.

The exhibition will run at the Rupert Museum from 01 December 2022 until 31 January 2023.

Socialimpactartsprize.org

Without healthy ecosystems and thriving pollinators there will be no food security. INTRODUCING

IN-RESPONSE: ART OF THE SPACE AGE

Selling group exhibition Jan Rupert Art Centre Graaff-Reniet until 21 May 2023

Detail of the mural at the Jan Rupert Art Centre by Ilukuluku Collective

During 2012-2015, the Jan Rupert Art Centre hosted the exhibition Art of the Space Age featuring the works of international artists Giacomo Balla, Victor Vasarely, Auguste Herbin, and Yaacov Agam amongst others from the Huberte Goote Collection, managed by the Rupert Museum. Works featured were abstract, bright, colourful, and energetic; through optical illusions and kinetic movement the visitors were invited to question their eyes and doubt their perception.

IN-MOTION: Art of the Space Age, a reworked exhibition featuring a bigger selection of these works opened end 2021 in Stellenbosch. With this, the second Open Call of the Rupert Museum was launched - inviting all creatives from any industry to respond to these iconic and ground-breaking inventions created in the eye of 1960s popular futuristic trends.

As a result, over 200 entries were received with the judging panel reaching a conclusion of 39 successful applicants whose responsive artworks are now the IN-RESPONSE: Art of the Space Age exhibition. In summary, the pieces featured in the selling group exhibition provide a contemporary take and materialbased approach to the icons that served as its inspiration. The artists sought symbolic meaning while exploring the possibilities of their chosen subject, material and its execution.

Abstract, pixilation and ‘warped’ images emerged from Louw van Zyl, Maré van Noordwyk, Tony Pietersen, John Lizamore, Pedro Malada and Pyda Nyariri. Skill and a mix of printmaking techniques are expressed through the work of Collin Cole, Dina Kroon, Heather Moore and Monique DayWilde. Eve de Jong, Cecil Cameron, Gaelen Pinnock, Yolandi Schreuder, Jacky Lloyd, Rika Haasbroek, Cornelia Wessels, Ilze-Mari Maartens, Paul Birchall, Erna Ziegelmeier, Hendrien Horn and John Bauer all portray endless play, the finest of geometric detail, and innovative approaches in plastic, metal, wood, marble, and clay. An energized feeling emerges through the tactile, colourful, and expressive combinations by Amita Makan, Dal Botha, Sheila Walwyn, Diana Vandeyar,

Exhibition View. Courtesy of Ilukuluku Collective

Diana Vandeyar, Quilt in Motion, Fibre Art

Kiveshan Thumbiran, Brahmgyani series, Shiva Ram, Digital prints on Epson advanced Matte paper

Nicki Friedlein, Primrose Charmz, Monique Etsebeth, Dylan McGarry and Teyana Neufeld. Digital displays that combine elements of technology, sound, movement, print and material bring the theme into the age of the now, these works are by Asha Zero, Cecilia Maartens, Nicholas Hales, Oliver Mayhew, Herman Pretorius, Torick Hatha, Bonolo Chepape and Khiveshan Thumbiran.

The external boundary wall of the centre now features a permanent mural stretching over 43 meters and feature 15 vibrant colours. This is the work of the Ilukuluku Collective that was envisioned and realized the designs of 20

learners from the local primary school Isibane. These learners engaged in an afternoon workshop with Ilukuluku exploring architecture, design, colour and shape – ending in a joyful afternoon of play and happiness.

Visit the Jan Rupert Art Centre to share in this happiness and journey through the space to question, explore and engage. Each artists’ statement about their response and details to acquire pieces is available in the online catalogue, accessible on rupertmuseum.org.

Isibane Primary School and Ilukuluku Collective workshop. Courtesy of Ilukuluku Collective

QUARANTINE: COBUS VAN BOSCH

Prince Albert Gallery

16 December – 16 January princealbertgallery.co.za

Cobus van Bosch’s solo exhibition, Quarantine, a reflection on the psychological ramifications of the Covid pandemic, can currently be seen at the Prince Albert Gallery. It has been eight years since his last solo exhibition in his hometown, Prince Albert in the Karoo.

As a visual artist active for more than 24 years in various mediums, Van Bosch currently fo cuses exclusively on oil painting - mostly por traits and groups of people as an investigation into the human condition in an historical and contemporary South African context.

His work has long explored specific South Af rican histories such as the South African war (1899 - 1902) and incidents and people rarely mentioned in former history books. In the past four years he has moved away from historical narratives in favour of a more intuitive and per sonal approach.

“These days, I’ll start a series of paintings without a specific ‘theme’ in mind,” says Van Bosch. “I simply paint portraits and people whose images evoke a certain emotion in me. Much of my source material comes from exist ing photographs - or parts thereof - many of a non-South African origin. In the end, all that matters, is whether it moves me emotionally or not.”

It is during the process of working with mul tiple paintings simultaneously that a theme does eventually seem to present itself to Van Bosch, such as childhood experiences, rites of passage, paternalism, or the traditional sec ond-class status of women in society.

“Although many of these works have a per sonal significance to me, I tend not to give them individual titles anymore, in order to leave them open to multiple interpretations,” Van Bosch adds.

Above: Untitled, oil on canvas, 210mm x 300mm. Opposite page: Untitled, oil on canvas, 210mm x 300mm

Untitled, oil on canvas, 920mm x 610mm

oil on canvas, 210mm x 300mm

“We live in a physical world, but our experi ence of it is never without emotion. This is true also for all kinds of art - painting, sculpture, music, theatre, literature, etc. - one tends not to remember the actual details of an artwork as intensely as the emotion it evokes.

“It has often been said that painting is about paint -something I wholeheartedly agree with. Although I use photographs (historical and contemporary) as a reference, I am not really interested in copying the world around me. A painting is also a tactile thing, a physical ob ject with its own characteristics. Furthermore, I love the “happy accidents” that occur when you work fast, expressively and with a load ed brush. The resulting images are not perfect representations of the outside world, but I be lieve that this makes it more interesting to look at and experience.”

The works in Quarantine were painted during the Covid pandemic, the resulting months of lockdown and its aftermath. “Most of us won’t easily forget the economic downturn and the physical and psychological effects of the

event. It was scary, frustrating, and disastrous to the lives and livelihood of millions of people around the world - a very emotional time,” Van Bosch says.

Van Bosch’s first solo exhibition was in 1998 at the Mark Coetzee Fine Arts Cabinet in Cape Town and he has had more than fifteen solo exhibitions since, in galleries and museums all over South Africa. In 2013 his exhibition For gotten Histories was awarded the Kanna prize for Best Visual Arts show at the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival in Oudtshoorn. Some of his work has been taken up in various corpo rate and academic collections and museums such as Sanlam, SASOL, Didata, Rand Mer chant Bank, McMillan Insurance, the William Humphries Gallery in Kimberley and the An glo Boer War Museum in Bloemfontein. Van Bosch was also a visual arts writer for Me dia24 in the 1990’s and early 2000’s.

The exhibition in Prince Albert will run until 16 January 2023.

Untitled,

A TREASURE TROVE OF UNDISCOVERED MASTERY

André Wilhelm Groenewald Presented by Jeanne Hugo vd Merwe hugomodern.art

Agter Wynberg, Oil on board, 61 x 734cm

Born 1941 in Cape Town, South African artist André Wilhelm Groenewald has been painting ethereal scenes for over six decades. His first solo painting exhibition at the age of 17 was held at the prestigious ‘Hollywood Furnishers’ on Long Street in 1959. With the success of this sell-out show, Groenewald managed to raise enough funds to attend the Michaelis school of Fine Arts. He studied with and under the likes of Lippy Lipshitz, Carl Buchner and Maurice van Essche.

Groenewald was the acting principal of the Parow Art Centre for over a decade and a docent at the P.J. Olivier Art School in Stellenbosch.

With a focused subject matter of imaginary tranquil scenes, there is an ever-present palette of phthalo and prussian greens, cobalt, turquoise and viridian that dominates his work.

In 2021, Art consultant Jeanne Hugo van der Merwe stumbled upon a handful of outstanding paintings in a sought-after private collection she was evaluating. She presumed that the paintings were mostly created between 1960 and 1990 but was baffled by the practically unknown, masterfully painted works that was, simply signed, ‘GROENEWALD’

Bemused by its fauvist character yet tranquil & cool colour palette, the more she saw, the more she wanted to see. Determined to learn about these mysterious South African paintings she set out to discover more about the artist and was undeniably delighted when her quest finally led her to him - still alive and still painting passionately and living mere blocks away from her own home in Welgemoed, Cape Town.

When they met, it was as if two kindred spirits collided. What she found was a true artist, an unsung masterful painter with an illuminated collection of paintings made over many decades of semi-isolation.

Above: Baai, Oil on board, 45 x 60cm. Opposite Page: Vat Vlug, Oil on board, 61 x 74cm

Wynrooi Landskap, Oil on board, 60 x 76cm

What followed was more than a year of monthly visits and the building of an extraordinary friendship between Jeanne and André. They would chat for hours about life and art and history and its people. She indulged in his poetic use of colour and his affinity for imagined landscapes, informed only by the musings of his own mind.

Even though Groenewald had some strong friendships with likeminded artists such as Kevin Atkinson, Groenewald’s easily triggered temper and strong opinions kept him somewhat isolated from the fine art fraternities of the 20th Century. “Good for us!” she thought, because now we have a coherent body of work that has been kept well preserved for such a long time.

Walking into his humble home was like “opening a little cardboard box filled to the brim with only the finest tones of topaz and emerald gemstones.” She learned of his impressive artistic achievements, including multiple exhibitions at the South African Association of Arts, inclusion in several esteemed SA collections and close relationships with some of South Africa’s most acclaimed 20th century artists.

Groenewald ultimately agreed that his work had to be shared with the world once again. Hugo took the project to heart and started

documenting the wealth of oil paintings, acrylics, watercolours and pastel sketches bundled up in his home collection. She spent many hours categorizing styles, themes, and eras of his work to present the public with a chronological portrayal of André Groenewald’s prolific oeuvre.

“Earthed by their tranquil scenes, the artist’s paintings are highly executed in their technicality, and each exudes a unique serenity. I believe Groenewald has added a unique flair to the history of South African painters’ understanding of Modernism in Europe.”

Over forty artworks have been meticulously selected to form part of a superb collection, the embodiment of André Groenewald’s solo exhibition gratifyingly presented to the public by Jeanne Hugo vd Merwe. It is a celebration of brush strokes and bold form, vibrant colours - and a chance for André Groenewald to share his life’s work.

André Groenewald’s solo exhibition will be available to view from 01 December 2022, at Hugo’s home gallery, 25 Hofmeyr, Welgemoed, Cape Town. To request a catalogue or book a viewing slot, visit www.hugomodern.art

Skemerson, Oil on board, 60 x 76cm

A COTERIE OF CATS

The encounter with his cat in his shower when she saw him naked, is a key moment in the French philosopher, Jacques Derrida’s exposition of The Animal That Therefore I Am. In this text Derrida explores the boundary between human and ‘animal’. Inexplicably he felt uncomfortable and ashamed before her inscrutable gaze. He found himself looking deep into the eyes of God. ‘I hear the cat or God ask itself, ask me: Is he going to call me, is he going to address me?’ The cat did this without ‘breathing a word’. Derrida realised, ‘The animal looks at us, and we are naked before it. I am the animal that my cat sees’ (Derrida 2008:118). He admitted to the possibility that the animal thinks, and to experience an animal looking back at us challenges the confidence of our own gaze — we lose our unquestioned privilege in the universe. The startling effect of the cat’s gaze on Derrida was due to it occurring within a milieu where the scientific or philosophical eye never expected the animal being observed or interpreted to examine the examiner.

It is important to note that Derrida did not pose a philosophical question to his audience in the vacuum of abstract thought. Instead he based his query on a real experience: being faced with his own little cat, his “pussy cat”, in the bathroom. She was neither a generic animal nor a generic cat symbolising the characteristics with which our culture has always charged the feline race. Derrida emphasised this by stating, ‘If I say, “it is a real cat” that sees me naked, this is in order to mark its unsubstitutable singularity’ (Derrida 2008:9).

But, philosophical machinations aside, cats are playful creatures as every cat lover knows. It is this aspect that I tried to capture in this coterie of cats scampering through the grounds of the delicatessen at Tokara. The cats are cloned from three prototypes made in three different materials. Boxed was made from cardboard, Brillo from steel wool and Scribble, the cat (the comma matters), from clay. They were submitted to their bronze forms and variously patinated.

Wilma Cruise at Tokara Sculpture Garden isart.co.za

Brillo, 2016, Bronze Edition of 10, 56 x 64 x 30cm

Above Left: Scribble, the cat (the comma matters), 2016, Bronze Edition of 10, 60 x 18 x 34cm. Above Right: Box(ed), 2016, Bronze Edition of 10, 66 x 26 x 36cm. Below: Wilma Cruise Scribble, the cat (the comma matters) & Boxed.

Diary Page 2016, collage & mixed media, 100 x 60 cm.

The playfulness is not dependant on logos, or a symbolic language but a recognition of emotion in the other. At this point both the observed and the observer are responding beyond the reach of words.

The Exhibition of Wilma Cruise opens on Sunday the 4th of December at the Delicatessen at Tokara Wine Estate, Helshoogte Pass, Banhoek, Stellenbsoch. The Deli is open from Tuesdays to Sundays for breakfast and lunch - deli@tokara.com / 021 808 5950.

Contact Ilse Schermers of IS Art for more information regarding the exhibition: is@isart.co.za or 083 6269058.

Scribble, the cat (the comma matters)

(Detail)

REFLECTION

Reflecting the internal and the external Artist Proof Studio artistproofstudio.co.za

Artist Proof Studio proudly presents Reflection, an annual Third Year Graduate Exhibition showcasing artworks by the class of 2022.

An exhibition that immerses itself through the process of internal and external reflection. The title Reflection in this context refers to the personal internal processes of the nine featured students, each contemplating and mirroring their identities in relation to what is deemed socially acceptable.

The collective, explores themes around spirituality, sexuality, assigned gender roles, social expectations and norms within the Pan African context.

Informed by their various backgrounds, they delve deeper into their individuality through various printmaking techniques including linocut, reduction, etching, monotype and screen-print to name a few.

As young South Africans living in a post COVID world, they question their place in society, in pursuit of a sense of meaning and certainty in an uncertain world.

Artist Proof Studio is a multi-faceted community-centred organisation, established in 1991. We train talented individual not only from South Africa but across the African continent. The organisation specialises in arts training, print collaborations, partnerships, sales and distribution of prints.

APS graduates are better positioned to become leading art practitioners in the market and are proudly represented art fairs, and reputable art galleries throughout the country and internationally. Over the years we have seen innovation and an evolving printmaking culture that pushes the printmaking boundaries. The class of 2022, who began their journey in 2020, are the next generation of printmakers to embark on this creative journey.

Phillipah Rumano printing progress

Phillipah Rumano, Moral Fortitude, Linocut, 83.4 x 54.5cm, 2022

Lesego Ditshego, Within & Without, linocut, 41.1cm x 27.5cm, 2022

Vusimuzi Nkosi, Farmton, Linocut, 43.3cm x 29,7cm, 2022

Samukelo Matomela, uGugulethu, Linocut (Color Reduction), 35cm x 53cm, 2022

Amid COVID, the students faced unique challenges like no other generation before them, with new laws introduced such as social distancing, wearing of masks and encouraged stay indoors. This meant our studio was not the known vibrant space where students share creativity but was now forging into a hybrid learning. The spirit of the organisation did not be wither, instead innovative methods to learn printmaking were introduced, through online learning and as circumstances developed so did the curriculum, teaching methodology and innovating techniques. The willingness and courage of the students propelled them to seize the opportunities and adapt.

The unique journey experienced by this group has played a role in moulding who they are today.

The collective invites the audience to engage in the subjects dealt with in the art and be part of their journey through the printmaking medium, each selecting a technique to convey this.

The exhibition is a concentration of these experiences through the nine artists’ individual introspection.

Boitumelo Lethoko (b. 2000, Johannesburg) “Since the passing of my grandmother in May, I have been forced to find a way forward. The physical creation of my body of work is an action of cathartic release.”

Dhelmon Lante Elie (b.2000, Johannesburg)

“My body of work is informed by what I believe in and commit my life to. I believe that creating images is a gift that I need to use to share the messages that I believe are important to live a better life.”

Jason Langa (b. 1997, Johannesburg) “…In my artworks I am exploring concepts of misplacement, solitude, migration, and freedom as well as the sense of Journey…”

Lesego Tatiana Ditshego (b.1994, Johannesburg)

“…My body of work is an exploration of aspects of my identity. My work expresses the more intangible parts, such as the sensitivity

Vusumuzi Nkosi printing progress

and depth of my emotions linked to history and the society that I live in…”

Phillipah Rumano (b.1988, Harare)“ …My work is a personal and intimate exploration of my life experiences. In human fragility, I am intrigued by how I manage to survive amidst the chaotic toughness and roughness of the world…”

Samkelo Matomela (b.1996, Kwa-Zulu Natal) “…The butterfly motif in my work, is as a symbol which recognises, changes and conquers circumstance – morphing into the better self, as I wish for the people and communities around me…”

Thembisile Masemula (b.1999, Daveyton) ‘“Being beautiful doesn’t imply having a ‘perfect’ body, it is much more than that. I am focusing more on inner beauty. I see beauty as embracing every inch of your body exactly as it is. No one is perfect…”’

Tshegofatso Phore (b. 1993, Johannesburg) “In my work I explore the vulnerabilities that I feel I am denied having as a black South African man. Society does not enable men to be powerless, helpless or ‘at the mercy of’ without being belted with shame or failure.”

Vusumuzi Nkosi (b.1996, Mpumalanga) “I must believe in my future and never let the past hold my future, through that process of never forgetting where I come from.”

2022 NEW BREED ART COMPETITION

My art is my voice newbreedart.co.za

“As a deaf person, I am not able to communicate with my family. My artwork describes my family and the challenges that I have when I want to express something. They do not know sign language and normally I have to do lip reading to communicate with them. Communication with my family is a real challenge for me”, said Keabetswe Mosetlhe (translated from South African Sign Language), the Overall winner of the 2022 New Breed Art Competition and the Public Choice winner.

Keabetswe entered her fragile, yet masterfully executed, ceramic figures entitled “Signing” . She is a 22-year-old deaf student from Thaba Nchu studying at the Motheo TVET Colleague.

The judges agreed that Keabetswe deserved the highest accolade in this year’s competition and was awarded R50,000 in prize money as the Overall winner.

The public was allowed to vote and determine the 2022 Public Choice Award winner, and with more than 2200 votes cast by 1600 people, Keabetswe won her second award and prize money of R10 000 for being the public’s favourite artist in the 2022 competition.

The CEO of Phatshoane Henney Attorneys, and spokesperson for the New Breed Art competition, Lesley Mokgoro, announced the winners of the 2022 competition at the Oliewenhuis Art Museum on 03 November 2022.

Keabetswe Mosetlhe

Keabetswe Mosetlhe, Signing, Ceramic Clay, 2022 Overall Winner and Peoples choice Award

The second-place winner, Katleho Lesige won R20 000 for his work titled “Surviving Lefatse” , a striking photograph casting an unfiltered spotlight on the continuing scourge of genderbased violence.

The two Merit Awards were awarded to Kamohelo Gift Sebonyane, for his mixed media work on canvas entitled “Let’s break the silence of the past”, and also Kwandiwa Dlwati, for his two works, one in ceramic and the other in mixed media, which deals with topics relating to the role of women in rural areas and the economic impact of load shedding on rural communities. Both these winners were awarded R10 000 in prize money.

The New Breed Art Competition was established in 2016 as a unique visual arts competition for Free State artists. Now in its sixth year, the competition provides an excellent platform for Free State artists to showcase their talent and benefit from the prizes and national exposure the competition provides.

For the competition exhibition, the judges carefully selected 27 works by 24 new breed artists to form part of the competition exhibition. From these 24 new breed artists, the judges were tasked to select the winner, runner-up, and 2 merit award winners, while the public was allowed the opportunity to vote for and so determine the Public Choice winner.

“Despite interesting debate and frank conversations about the subject choices of our 2022 artists, when it came down to selecting the winners, the judges were on the same page in their decisions. With the winning works dealing with tough topics and conversations, the judges felt inspired by the bravery and integrity of the artists and their choice of issues, expressing satisfaction at how the artists have in their art captured their lived experiences”, remarked Mokgoro.

This year’s eminent judges were Nathi Gumede, assistant project manager at the Art Bank of South Africa, Storm Janse van Rensburg, Senior Curator and Head of Curatorial Affairs at Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town and Melissa Goba, Independent curator and panel convener of the MTN and University of Johannesburg New Contemporaries Legacy Panel.

Kamohelo Gift Sebonyane, Merit award winner

Katleho Lesige, Second-place winner

Keabetswe Mosetlhe, Peoples Choice Award

Kwandiwa Dlwati, Merit award winner

Kwandiwa Dlwati, Facing the dark, mixed media. Merit award winner

Katleho Lesige, Surviving Lefatse. Photographic. Second-place winner

Kamohelo Gift Sebonyane, Let’s break the silence of the past, Mixed Medium on Canvas, Merit award winner

Nathi Gumede spoke on behalf of the 2022 judges and remarked that the judges felt they needed to highlight that their decisions were heavily reliant on the need to highlight artworks that spoke to prevalent social, economic, and political issues. They also emphasized the importance of the artist making art that reflected society and provided a form of a mirror for us as a society to look into and review as it were ourselves.

Mokgoro thanked the competition partners for the support they continue to provide to the competition and their passion for art and the artists.

The 2022 competition partners were:

• Oliewenhuis Art Museum

• Art Bank of South Africa

• Free State Art Collective

A special mention and thanks were also given to Absa Bank Limited for sponsoring an inspiring series of engaging online webinars with key South African artists under the New Breed Art banner.

For more information on the competition and the winning artworks, visit newbreedart.co.za

Kwandiwa Dlwati, Rural Woman, Ceramics. Merit award winner

UNISA ART GALLERY

Visual Multimedia Arts – Student Exhibition

Curated by: Dr Gwen Miller and Mr Kabelo Maja (3rd level) Dr Ania Krajewska and Mr Lawrence Lemaoana (4th level) unisa.ac.za

The student exhibition, entitled Visual Multimedia Arts takes place at the Unisa Art Gallery from 3rd December 2022 till 26th January 2023. Curated by a team of lecturers teaching 3rd and 4th year levels, the exhibition is a showcase of the current final level visual multimedia art portfolios created during the 2022 academic year by students in the department of Art and Music.

The purpose of the final year art practical modules is to prepare students towards an independent art practice with a specific focus on problematizing and conceptualizing their own art projects and exhibitions.

Each student is expected to conduct an intense visual and theoretical research of the thematic areas rooted in their personal experience. This results in a wide variety of topics like immigration, the national lockdown, private experiences of loss and trauma as well as ecological apprehensions.

By skilfully employing media such as video, animation, digital prints, AR, photography, sculpture and installation, the students voice their narratives about societal, cultural, and environmental concerns.

Thomas Masingi, series Masculinity Ain’t Working Out, 2022, Photography.

Angie Lázaro, 21 Days, Going Nowhere, 2022. Digital print, 42 x 29,7 cm. Opening stills image for AR video.

Chantelle Essex-Ferreira, Voetsek!, 2022. Hand-punched circles of recycled paper strung together with fishing line, disappointment & despair, 2.5 x 410cm

Masenya Fisha, Lobola Lead Negotiator, 2022, Photography on Polypropylene

OLIEWENHUIS ART MUSEUM

Oliewenhuis Art Museum holds in trust an historical and contemporary art collection of South African art on behalf of the people of South Africa with the aim to enrich the people’s knowledge, understanding and appreciation of our cultural heritage, to reflect its full diversity, to provide a cultural and educational resource, to encourage involvement in the visual arts and nurture a culturally diverse but shared national identity.

The Oliewenhuis Art Museum is housed in a Neo-Dutch style mansion, completed in 1941, which served as residence for the Governor General of the Union of South Africa. The building was converted in 1985 into an Art Museum as a satellite of the National Museum, Bloemfontein, an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.

Committed to building a representative collection of South African visual art, the Art Museum has shown a steady and interesting growth in its collection as South Africa has produced a number of celebrated artists whose works have become highly regarded both locally and abroad. The Permanent Collection currently comprises 1516 works of art in total and the Museum continues expanding its collection of works by South African artists.

Various temporary exhibitions are hosted in the Art Museum galleries, including the unique underground Reservoir gallery.

Current exhibitions on show:

VIRAL IMAGES, a solo exhibition by Johandi du Plessis

The emerging South African conceptual artist and researcher, Johandi du Plessis presents an exhibition, VIRAL IMAGES that beckons questions about the nature and characteristics of images. The “housecat” figure–most popular pet (on the internet) that cannot be fully tamed–is the metaphor for

images’ paradoxical and ambiguous qualities. Images can ‘go viral’; leap and get out of control suddenly, gaining a sense of agency. Similarly, unpredictable yet playful leaps that Du Plessis takes between mediums, materials, and concepts result in diverse artworks that range from installation to GIFs, cellphone and pinhole photography.

Never-ending secrets and untold stories: The embodiment of women in war

An exhibition curated from the collections of Oliewenhuis Art Museum, The War Museum of the Boer Republics and ArtbankSA

This exhibition was curated in collaboration with the War Museum of the Boer Republics to compliment an International Hybrid Conference, hosted at the museum in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and online from 24 – 25 November 2022 titled, The Unsung Heroines and Youth of South Africa, Violent Histories and Experiences of South African Women and Children during Wars, Conflicts and Pandemics. Importantly it also responds to and coincides with the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children from 25 November to 10 December 2022.

Themes of the trauma, suffering, strength and survival of women during the South African War are explored, and the exhibition also engages with the current war women are facing due to extent of Gender Based Violence.

The Sculpture Park

At the end of 2003, Oliewenhuis Art Museum received funding from the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund to launch and to coordinate a Sculpture Park Project. Sculptors residing and working in South Africa were invited to submit proposals for consideration for the execution and erection of sculptures to be permanently installed in the Museum gardens. The Sculpture Park, comprising twelve sculptures, was officially opened on 7 May 2005.

The ideal stop over for all art lovers found in the heart of South Africa

Azwifarwi Ragimana, Medusa, 1998, Red syringa wood, 100 x 76 x 145 cm forms part of the Sculpture Park

The African Carousel

The African Carousel is a public sculpture commission comprising 16 original artworks. It is a safe and fully functioning carousel where myth, fantasy and music, derived from many of the cultural traditions of the people of Southern Africa, come together. The focus of the African Carousel is to introduce children to the concept of art in an unintimidating, fun way and in so doing, to build an audience for the future.

The Cement and Mosaic Project

The Cement and Mosaic Project, comprising five functional sculptures created by 14 unemployed Mangaung residents, is an attraction for both young and old.

The Reservoir

In the back garden an underground water reservoir, dating from the early 1900s, has been converted into a distinctive exhibition

space after a chance discovery. During the planning phase of the African Carousel in 1994, a site plan of the back garden was requested from the Department of Public Works. An underground construction north of the main building was indicated on the plan; the only access to the area was via a manhole. On further investigation a large underground reservoir was discovered containing approximately half a metre of water.

The transformation of the underground reservoir in the Museum Garden into an exhibition space began in 1996 and the project was completed in November 2002. The Reservoir is used for temporary art exhibitions.

Walking Trails

Situated on 12 hectares of natural vegetation on Grant’s Hill, Oliewenhuis Art Museum offers access to marked walking trails through the unspoilt natural surrounding areas.

Above: Exhibition view of Walking on a rim of Light, a solo exhibition by Diana Page Opposite: Liz Ranger, The Three Divas, 2004-2005, Brick, cement, ceramic, mosaic, glazes and oxides, 216 x 125 x 267 cm, forms part of the Sculpture Park.

Zet Labyrinth

This labyrinth was gifted to the Oliewenhuis Art Museum by Zarine Roodt and dedicated on 7 September 2018. The Zet Labyrinth is a 7-circuit medieval design based on the labyrinth laid in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France around 1220 CE. Walking the labyrinth is a form of meditation as its design facilitates calm and contemplation.

Fossilised Trees

Fossilised Glossopteris trees are abundant in the Senekal District of the Free State. The 9-metre long, well-preserved fossil was recovered and donated to the National Museum and is now displayed in front of Oliewenhuis Art Museum. This fossilised or petrified tree lived about 260 million years ago during the Middle to Late Permian Period.

Oliewenhuis Art Museum is located at 16 Harry Smith Street, Bloemfontein, and is open to the public from Monday to Friday between 08:00 and 17:00 and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays between 09:00 and 16:00. Entrance is free and secure parking is available to visitors and for buses. A ramp provides access for wheelchairs at the main entrance, while a lift provides access to the Permanent Collection display areas on the first floor.

Stay up to date by following Oliewenhuis Art Museum on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for all upcoming exhibitions and events. For more information please contact Oliewenhuis Art Museum at 051 011 0525 (ext 200) or oliewen@nasmus.co.za

The Zet Labyrinth

Business Art

STEPHAN WELZ & CO.

www.swelco.co.za

2022 has been an outstanding year for the South African art market and Stephan Welz & Co. is proud of the staggering results we have achieved during the course of the year. Our specialists have dedicated their time to creating an amalgamation of blue chip and contemporary artists, while simultaneously sustaining the lineage of prominent art associated with the Stephan Welz & Co. name. Although there has been some phenomenal art on offer, our specialists do have a few mentionable favorites.

Alexia Ferreira – Art Specialist, Johannesburg

It’s difficult to pick a favourite artwork because we get first-hand exposure to so many interesting artworks. Typically, I would lean towards a Norman Catherine or Diane Victor out of personal preference (some could say bias), but if I had to put personal preference aside, I have developed a new-found interest in Cecil Skotnes. While I wouldn’t add a Skotnes to my personal collection, I can concur that there is a visual intrigue and sense of gravitas in his works, particularly in his larger panels. I’ve grown to appreciate Skotnes’ artistic journey and his contribution to the history and development of South African art.

What is interesting is that Skotnes initially began his career as a painter, often painting landscapes, but was persuaded by his friend and art collector, Egon Guenther, to pursue printmaking instead. Skotnes gave up painting and began carving a unique artistic identity in wood. Skotnes’ earliest woodcuts were of landscapes and alluded to land, horizon, and sky as horizontally oriented shapes and forms, but as visual explorations became abstracted shapes on the surface. During the 1960s Skotnes expanded on the potential of the woodcut as a medium, focusing on the possibilities of the wood block functioning as an artwork in its own right. The Assassination of Shaka portfolio exposed his artistic skills as a woodcut authority and artist.

Cecil Edwin Frans Skotnes (South African 1926 - 2009) The Narrative, set of 8, R2 500 000 – R3 000 000 Sold for: R2

His recognition that the woodblocks also represented sculptural works led to the production of larger incised panels. The panels that were offered on our November auction are a superior example and represent a painted version of his creative play and spatial tension. The palette of ochres, reds and browns used to stain the wood create a sense of warmth and are reminiscent not only of African tribal art but also the hues of the African bushveld. The larger-than-life figures loom over the viewer, rendering a sense of gravitas. The ambiguity present in Skotnes’ panels compels the viewer to contemplate the complexity of the human dilemma.

Robyn Woolley – Junior Art Specialist, Johannesburg

Throughout the year we have come across several of Lionel Smit’s works however, I have particularly enjoyed the mix of earlier and later works we have received during our multiple auctions. Smit is a multidisciplinary artist who has been revered for his large-scale portraits and sculptures. Nowadays, his work acts as a dialogue between the mediums of painting and sculpture. However, what is intriguing about some of Smit’s earlier works is the intricate small-scale portraits which foreshadow the artistic and conceptual process of later works in his career. He often uses Cape Malayan woman as his subject matter, as he believes they truly represent the notion of fragmented identities and in his earlier works one can see Smit’s struggle to find a subject matter which evokes a sense of conceptual conviction. Another interesting element of Smit’s earlier works is the inclusion of naturalistic elements such as water or clouds which denote a sense of movement, and given the smaller scale of the pieces, this is rather visually effective. This element of movement is present in his later large-scale portraits, and I believe this experimentation led to the autonomous feel of his subject matters.

Although Smit’s earlier works differ in many aspects to the works we now associate with him, there is clearly an evident stream of consciousness regarding his thematical and conceptual objective. When comparing both stages of his works it becomes apparent where Smit’s artistic intent was at the time and how he was intending to develop it.

Amy Carrington – Art Specialist, Cape Town

This year has been an exciting one! The art department has gained some momentum in the last few months, with some very encouraging sell-through rates and hammer prices. I am confident that we will continue to witness this upward trajectory. While we are lucky enough to handle many individual pieces by some of South Africa’s most revered artists, it is always exciting when we come across a large private collection that encompasses artworks that span multiple eras, movements, mediums and turbulent historical moments. I was fortunate enough to handle a private collection that included works by Ephraim Ngatane, Walter Battiss, Neil Rodger and Pranas Domšaitis, to name just a few. These works spent many years on the wall of the owner’s home and were appreciated every day, which in turn presented a portfolio of pieces that were equal parts investment savvy and aesthetically pleasing. This also meant that the works were beautifully preserved and presented by the owner, and I feel that this care translated to our clients who came to view the works at our showroom and peaked interest among our clientele.

Another personal highlight has been further developing our relationships with loyal collectors who have been unwavering in their support of the company throughout Covid19 and the subsequent changes in the auction world. It has also been extremely rewarding to see an increase in new collectors that are entering the market and represent a new generation of buyers. It has been a joy to assist these collectors, with some just wanting to dip their toes in the water, and others wanting to make meaningful investment purchases. We have been able to find pieces that suit different needs and budgets, while getting to share a love for art with a whole new pool of enthusiastic collectors.

Adam Heald – Junior Art Specialist, Cape

Town

Stephan Welz & Co. has opened the door to many new buyers and collectors, who are excited by the prospects of investing in a stable art collection. Often the process of buying investment pieces can be a daunting experience. The most common question asked is “where does one begin?”

Lionel Smit (South African 1982 - ) Figures And Landscapes, set of 12, R60 000 – R90 000

I have enjoyed interacting with the multiple works on paper we have offered on auction throughout this year. Prints can be seen as an affordable entry point into the secondary market. Works on paper are intriguing as they contain multitudes and allow the buyer the opportunity to learn about the different aspects of an artist’s career on both the primary and secondary market. Etchings by Tinus de Jongh, woodblock prints by Cecil Skotnes and even linocuts from JH Pierneef are all accessible ways of learning about the canonical history of South African art. Throughout 2022 we have auctioned off a variety of prints and have come across many collectors and collections with intriguing works on paper.

Throughout 2022 we have auctioned multiple Mongezi Ncaphayi prints. Ncaphayi is a prominent contemporary South African artist, who has a strong presence on the secondary market. We have found that many collectors

have taken an interest in the nuance of his work. Other notable artists who collectors show an interest in on the secondary market would be Sam Nhlengethwa and Blessing Ngobeni, who are represented by some significant galleries in South Africa.

This year I have found exploring the zeitgeist of works on paper an intriguing exercise and I look forward to engaging with more prominent pieces.

As this year draws to a close, we encourage collectors to mark their diaries for the Stephan Welz & Co. February Premium Auction, which will kick-start our 2023 auction calendar. We are actively consigning for this sale and welcome consignment enquiries at ct@swelco.co.za and 021 794 6461.

Tinus de Jongh, Jonkershoek Eersterivier Stellenbosch, Estimate R1 000 – 2 000

ARTGO: DEC-JAN 2023 OPENING EXHIBITIONS

The Cape Gallery

David Kuijers & Tania Babb

Life’s simple pleasures, family, friends, and pets are the focus of David and Tania’s art in this exhibition.

01/12/2022 until 06/01/2023 www.capegallery.co.za

Rupert Museum

Social Impact Arts Prize awards artists who situate their practices in socially concerned conditions ranging from the environment and climate change to human relations and social pressures of an unequal society.

01/12/2022 until 15/01/2023 www.socialimpactartsprize.org

Hugo Modern André Wilhelm Groenewald

Opens 01/12/2022 25 Hofmeyr, Welgemoed www.hugomodern.art

Artist Proof Studio Reflection

Reflecting the internal and the external. The annual Third Year Graduate Exhibition showcasing artworks by the class of 2022. Opens 03/12/2022 www.artistproofstudio.co.za

V I S U A L M U L T I M E D I A A R T SS T U D E N T E X H I B I T I O N

ARTGO: DEC-JAN 2023

OPENING EXHIBITIONS

IS Art Gallery Stellenbosch

Season’s Greetings

Group exhibition for the Festive Season

03/12/2022 until 01/01/2023

138 Dorp Street

Unisa Art Gallery

Visual Multimedia Arts- Student Exhibition Opens 03/12/2022

11:30 for 12:00

274 Preller Street, Muckleneuk, Pretoria www.unisa.ac.za

The Viewing Room Art Gallery at St. Lorient

Ceramic student exhibition from TUT from Tshwane University of Technology Department of Fine & Studio Arts. A showcase of the students’ studio practice during 2022. Artworks were selected from students who achieved a high level of excellence during the academic year. 03/12/2022 until 28/01/2023 www.theviewingroom.co.za

IS Art Sculpture

A Cotorie Of Cats

An exhibition of sculpture by Wilma Cruise Opens 04/12/2022

Tokara, Helshoogte Road, Banhoek, Stellenbosch

ARTGO: DEC-JAN 2023 OPENING EXHIBITIONS

RK Contemporary LUSH - Summer show

We celebrate summer with the emphasis on the colour green - lime, chatreuse, emerald, mint, jade, olive, forest, malachite, sage. 04/12/2022 until 27/02/2023 www.rkcontemporary.com

The Cape Gallery

In Another Light - ‘Seen in another light’ is a reference to that discursive internal revery and seemingly inconsequential flow of images, experiences and emotions that engage the mind at leisure. 09/01/2023 until 10/02/2023

Walkabout: 11 am – 4 pm Thursday 12th January www.capegallery.co.za

DAOR Contemporary

Is thrilled to invite you to the opening of Ebb/Flow a group exhibition themed around the human experience of water and its mythologies. The exhibition is a combination of ebb and its second iteration flow. Opening event 09/12/2022 10am until 2pm. www.daorcontemporary.co.za

10/12/2022

Opening 10 December 11am to 1pm www.131agallery.com

131 A Gallery, Cape Town Conrad Botes - Solo Exhibition Etching And Sculpture

until 25/01/2023

ARTGO: DEC-JAN 2023 OPENING EXHIBITIONS

EBONY/CURATED

EBONY/CURATED is pleased to present a Summer Group show, exhibiting work from existing Gallery Artists. 14/12/2022 until 28/01/2023 www.ebonycurated.com

Prince Albert Gallery

Cobus van Bosch | Solo exhibition: Quarantine

Van Bosch currently focuses exclusively on oil painting - mostly portraits and groups of people as an investigation into the human condition in an historical and contemporary South African context.16/12/2022 until 16/01/2023 www.princealbertgallery.co.za

The Melrose Gallery – One&Only Cape Town The Architecture of Light Paul Blomkamp’s 50 Paintings Of South Africa 16/12/2022 until 26/02/2023 www.themelrosegallery.com

Rust-en-Vrede Gallery Sakpas

A group exhibition of miniatures. 17/01/2023 until 28/01/2023 www.rustenvrede.com

Investec Cape Town Art Fair Cape Town International Convention Centre 17-19 February 2023

ONGOING SHOWS

Prince Albert Gallery

Oliewenhuis Museum

Azibuyele Emasisweni

By Pitika Ntuli Until 05/12/2022 www.themelrosegallery.com

Fragile Beings: Menagerie a solo exhibition by Niël Jonker solo show of terracotta sculpture, as well as charcoal drawings on paper, forms part of the artist’s ongoing series of works titled Fragile Beings. Until 05/12/2022 www.princealbertgallery.co.za

Ceramics Southern Africa 50th Anniversary Corobrik National Ceramics Biennale 2022 6 Spin Street Gallery, Church Square in Cape Town, CBD. 27/11/2022 until 10/12/2022 www.ceramicssa.co.za

Rina

10/11/2022 until 21/12/2022 www.everard-read.co.za

A

Until 31/12/2022 www.artatafrica.art

Art AT Africa

100 days – 100 drawings

A solo exhibition by David Griessel

David’s art has always gravitated towards the weird and fantastic: myths, fairy-tales, history and any narrative driven form of story-telling inspire. 24/11/2022 until 24/12/2022 www.artatafrica.art

UJ Art Gallery

www.movingcube.uj.ac.za

Everard Read JHB

Stutzer and Angus Taylor’s Tswalu Residency Exhibition

Art@Africa Sculpture Garden – Franschhoek

A Symphony of Spheres by Brendan Edwards

timeless, visual vibration of Beethoven’s 5th transformed into an immersive threedimensional experience.

MTN SA Foundation and the UJ Art Gallery supported by Business and Arts South Africa, saw the introduction, and launch of the MTN X UJ New Contemporary Awards earlier this year. Exhibition Opens 25/11/2022

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ONGOING SHOWS

Nel

Our Summer Curation features an array of artists from Cape Town with a sprinkling of artists further afield. The exhibition is malleable, meaning as works sell, they leave the wall and are replaced by new works. Works are also constantly added to keep the hang fresh. Everybody’s welcome. 03/11/2022 until 20/01/2023 www.nelart.co.za

Johannesburg until 14/01/2023 Cape Town until 21/01/2023 www.goodman-gallery.com

A

28/09/2022 until 21/01/2023 www.irmasternmuseum.co.za

Gallery @ Glen Carlou Seeing Far

An exhibition of contemporary art at Glen Carlou in association with Knysna Fine Art and Everard Read. 13/11/2022 until 22/01/2023

Gallery hours: 10am – 5pm. www.glencarlou.com

UCT Irma Stern Museum

Georgina Gratrix

The Cult Of Ugliness

body of work created during a residency at the UCT Irma Stern Museum

Goodman Gallery Group exhibition

Absa Gallery (virtual exhibition - Absa Art Hot Spot) Refuge: An uncommon home Using a combination of found objects and traditional art materials, this exhibition is a journey of self-reflection by the three 2021 Absa L’Atelier Ambassadors: Ayobola Kekere-ekun, Michael Jackson Blebo and Adelheid Frackiewicz. 17/11/2022 until 27/01/2023 www.arthotspot.absa.africa

Smac Cape Town Bonolo Kavul Soft Landing Solo Exhibition

17/11/2022 until 28/01/2023 www.smacgallery.com

Stevenson Cape Town Frida Orupabo I’ve Been Here For Days 19/11/2022 until 28/01/2023 www.stevenson.info

ONGOING

Gallery 2

Moulded and Stitched. Participating Artists: Katja Abbott, Cathy Abraham, Willemien De Villiers, Laurel Holmes, Maia Lehr-Sacks, Kristen McClarty, Jo Roets, Lindsay Quirk. 26/11/2022 until 29/01/2023 www.gallery2.co.za Standard Bank Gallery

- A

Cheerfully Pessimistic Roger Ballen Experience the acclaimed photographer’s work in a virtual gallery or visit the Standard Bank Gallery. www.arts.standardbank.co.za

Oliewenhuis Art Museum

Viral Images - Johandi du PlessisSolo exhibition

An exhibition,that beckons questions about the nature and characteristics of images. Diverse artworks that range from installation to GIFs, cellphone and pinhole photography. 24/11/2022 until 12/02/2023 www.nasmus.co.za

UJ Art Gallery

Nimrod Ndebele - Gerard Sekoto Collection Exhibition

For at least 70 years these artworks have been on private, home display, and they available for the public to see in the UJ Art Gallery. 12/10/2022 until 31/03/2023 www.movingcube.uj.ac.za

Jan Rupert Art Centre

IN-RESPONSE: Art of the Space Age Group exhibition Until 21/05/2023 www.rupertmuseum.org

Zeitz MOCAA

When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting comprises an exhibition, publication and discursive programming that explores Black self-representation and celebrates global Black subjectivities and Black consciousness from pan-African and pan-diasporic perspectives. 20/11/2022 until 03/09/2023 www.zeitzmocaa.museum