JUNE/JULY 2022 ARTTIMES.CO.ZA
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Irma Stern: Time | Line Works from the Irma Stern Trust Collection and Other Properties
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STRAUSS & CO EXHIBITION 11 July - 12 August 2022 Johannesburg
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LIVE VIRTUAL AUCTION Johannesburg | 12 July 2022
JH Pierneef: A single-artist auction dedicated to a modernist master
ONLINE-ONLY AUCTIONS 18-25 July 2022
Modern, Post-War and Contemporary Art, Decorative Arts and Wine With a Focus on the 1970s
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Cape Town Auction 20 - 23 June 2022
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Ephraim Ngatane | THE FLUTE PLAYER | R50 000 – 80 000
Art Times June/July 2022 Edition
CONTENTS Cover: Oscar Korbla Mawuli Awuku, Blue Night , 2021, Digital Archival Photo on Hahnemuhle Rag, 84 x 60 cm, The Melrose Gallery
12. M.O.L 29 - GOOD NEIGHBOURS, A MUSEUM WITHOUT WALLS Ashraf Jamal Column 18. TURBINE ART FAIR (TAF) 2022 Going Underground 22. OSCAR KORBLA MAWULI AWUKU Anansinisim 28. CHAPTER 31 Foretelling – Tales of a Printmaker 32. M I L K Pop-Up Collaborative Laboratory 38. DONATION AND TRUST The Bloemfontein Group and the Free State Art Scene, 1950-1989 44. ANNA STONE Prince Albert Icons In Pastels 50. SOLO STUDIOS 2022 Riebeek Valley’s Artists Headline Annual Event 56. LEIHLO LA SECHABA Eye of The People 57. MY CRADLE, MY STORY, MY HERITAGE The willingness of Expressing Vulnerability 60. 2022 SASOL NEW SIGNATURES Pandemic Mayhem and Artistic Careers 62. 2022 NEW BREED ART COMPETITION One-of-a-kind Visual Arts Competition 66. ART IN THE HEART OF THE KAROO Prince Albert Open Studios 72. BUSINESS ART Fine Art Auction highlights 84. ARTGO Exhibition Highlights
John O’Sullivan, Untitled Prince Albert Open studios
Editors Note
SOUTH AFRICA’S LEADING VISUAL ARTS PUBLICATION
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would like to take this time before the Art Times staff take their winter break to head off to local and international destinations to charge our batteries, to say that we will continue online for June, and July returning with the pre-spring edition in August. On a contemplative note, we have learned of the passing of a great South African woman- Marilyn Martins whom we will all miss as she touched many lives and brought inspiration, dignity, and guidance as an art academic and Director of The National Gallery, who came into her own during a very turbulent time of the old to the new South Africa. I can only say personally that I was always very intimidated by Marilyn Martin as she was a sharp, eloquent and gracious woman, who stood up to forces often greater than herself and led from the front. My personal biggest moment of her was to hear her speak fluent isiXhosa at an opening at SANG in the mid 90’s – on that night she broke the mould of her predecessors and opened up the way forward for a nation so long divided to discover itself and be able to fall completely in love with its amazing self. As South African’s we are a resilient people, we have come through a lot, stuck together, and have so much to share, and perhaps so much more to discover and gain from such a diverse group of people. As we leave the building, I would like to say that our online newsroom and adverting will be open, and you are welcome to pop in and say hi. Please be sure to look at our ArtLife Gallery event promotional package and also please support our sponsors, Open Studios in Prince Albert, Riebeek Valley – Art Town, as well as enter the Sasol New Signatures, and the many other art opportunities to show and view local art. I look forward to keeping in touch and I will see you online at www.arttimes.co.za
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
Gabriel Clark-Brown 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. Errata: Hermanus FynArts - would like to apologise for omitting the name of Karin Lijnes from the list of artists who are exhibiting at Sculpture on the Cliffs - 2020. Her work, Freedom Tree comprises of a large steel mobile of five ceramic bird forms.
@ARTTIMES.CO.ZA
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Irma Stern, Crouching Nude, 1947, oil on canvas, Sanlam Art Collection.
Curated by Emeritus Prof. Michael Godby in collaboration with the Irma Stern Museum, the Irma Stern Trust and loans from private institutions.
Sanlam Art Gallery 2 Strand Road, Bellville
26 April – 15 July 2022 Viewing times: Weekdays 09:00 – 16:30 Tel: 021 947 3359 / 083 457 2699 Email: sanlamart@sanlam.co.za
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GOOD NEIGHBOURS, A MUSEUM WITHOUT WALLS Ashraf Jamal
‘This world is but a canvas to our imagination,’ remarked the great solitary, Henry David Thoreau. We forget the infinite pleasure that ‘this world’ affords us when we assign value to art in a restrictive compass – a white cube, say, or a fetish object in a bespoke private home. In their conclusion to Art as Therapy, John Armstrong and Alain de Botton declare that ‘The true purpose of art is to create a world where art is less necessary, and less exceptional; a world where the values currently found, celebrated in concentrated doses in the cloistered halls of museums are scattered more promiscuously across the earth.’ It is this promiscuity, in which the world becomes a canvas, that allows for a greater imagination, insight, and understanding of the value of art. An art fair is a brokerage, a gallery a dealership, the home where art congregates a sedentary fetish. Art’s promiscuous scattering is an entirely different matter. What concerns Armstrong and De Botton is the need for a more democratic grasp of art’s value and purpose. Sceptical of the ‘patronage, ideology, money and education’ that underpins the economy and culture of art, they state with staggering simplicity that ’the main point of engaging with art is to help us lead better lives – to access better versions of ourselves.’ This view is one that Thoreau would enshrine – ‘It is not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.’ It is also central to the curatorial vision for Good Neighbours, which opened at NIROX Sculpture Park on 7 May and runs until 31 August. Visiting NIROX, a rolling green amphitheatre for art, it is this more promiscuous, unbidden, surprising interaction – the kind one
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experiences in the world – that conjures a more wholesome exchange and understanding of what art is, and its place and function in our individual lives. Barring the Cool Room (a studio space usually occupied by artists-inresidence) and the Screening Room, there is no four-walled structure in which art is exhibited at NIROX. Rather, every sanctum opens outward, onto, and into the world. After Andre Malraux, one could declare NIROX ‘a museum without walls’ – though there is a three-walled sheltered structure, titled the ‘Covered Space,’ that is made of rammed earth and raw pine. My point, however, is that
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Manuela Holzer, installation view of Shadow Series, 2014–2020. Steel armature and melted black plastic bags, dimensions variable. Photo: Mafedi Lenake. Courtesy of NIROX Sculpture Park.
NIROX upends the conventions in which art is seen. It places the natural world centre-stage; constructed as the defining framework in and through which to look at things, reappraise their nature, and our grasp thereof. Tumelo Thuthuka’s Power Play (2017), a series of enlarged, defunct clothes’ pegs strewn across the floor of the Covered Space, or his shrunken cityscapes Egoli I and Egoli II (2009), are a case in point. Shown alongside works by Jackson Hlungwani, Collen Maswanganyi, Shepherd Ndudzo, and Penny Siopis, Thuthuka’s works exemplify
the desire for order, on the one hand, and the impossibility thereof. His works form part of a series of evolving exhibitions, spread across the Covered Space and Screening Room, the first of which — co-curated with Obed Mokhuhlani — focuses on “Afropolitanism,” bringing to the fore the various debates that have circulated the term since its inception by Taiye Selasi in 2005. What I imagine to be the most compelling work on show at NIROX between May and August 2022 is Manuela Holzer’s Shadow Series (2014–20), figures of women – the artist
– that are composed of a steel armature and black, melted plastic bags. The elements for their making are industrial and postindustrial, obscene and anthropocene, their composition achingly poignant, for what we are looking at is ourselves – a human being composed in variations of gestural sorrow or grief or some inscrutable pain that is all too familiar. Holzer’s astonishing sculptures – all the more astonishing given their location in a treed field, cast in dappled light – acutely reflect Armstrong and De Botton’s thesis, that ‘Art reminds us of the legitimate place of sorrow in a good life, so that we panic less about our difficulties and recognise them as parts of a noble existence.’ It is dodgy to sentimentalise place, yet we all do – we cling to the memory of a place, to the sensation it produced, and stay fast to that memory, as though our very lives depended on it. Such is the hold which NIROX, as a sculpture park and artists residency, has upon me. On this occasion, however, the visitation was prompted by a major curatorial project – Good Neighbours. The in-house curators are Yusuf Essop and Sven Christian, yet the exhibition itself is constructed to enable a variety of different perspectives, comprising a further six curators — Lyrene Kühn-Botma, Jade Nair, Genre Pretorius, Wilma Mutize, Tshegofatso Seoka, Tammi Mbambo — who represent tertiary art schools across the country, as well as curators from further afield, Obed Mokhuhlani, Guiyani Monteiro, and Ndeenda Shivute-Nakapunda (of the National Art Gallery of Namibia). The title alone affirms the egalitarian nature of the project, caught as it is in ‘that threshold between private and public life.’ More searchingly, given years of enforced isolation, and the symptomatic heightening of isolation, or now maniacal conviviality, the curators are concerned with the reclamation of ‘the common.’ The curatorial principle is an ideal one, refreshing given the opportunism or righteousness which informs exhibitions right now. But then, ‘if good fences make good neighbours’, as the saying goes, they also make for good police states. A faux advert for a private security company in the exhibition’s newspaper, produced by the artist-duo Carla Busuttil and Gary Charles, captures
this sentiment well, as does Rowan Smith’s camo tent or Ângela Ferriera’s Cina Alberta (2011), a 3.5-metre-high aluminium tower, replete with megaphones, that projects the voice of Mozambican investigative journalist Carlos Cardoso, assassinated in 2000 for exposing fraud within the country’s largest bank. Therefore, to understand egalitarianism now – as a radical democratic instinct – is also to recognise its foe, totalitarianism, and the isolationism it feeds upon. As with these other works, Holzer’s Shadow Series matters because it captures the anxiety of our current moment, caught as we are betwixt and between hope and damnation. The scope of the curatorial project wholly grasps this dilemma. We are caught between ‘radical isolation,’ in which we no longer speak each to each, and ‘mass hysteria, where we see all people suddenly behave as though they were members of one family, each multiplying and prolonging the perspective of his neighbour.’ This is Group-Think, with all the terror and terrorism that accompanies it. To address matters of such gravity in a bucolic setting is perverse, but then, after Thoreau, we live in a world that is as stunted as it is beneficent. What matters is not what you look at, but what you see. David Salle echoes this view in How to See – ‘what binds artists together is not style or generation but something deeper: the motivating psychic structures impacted by a specific time and place.’ This, precisely, is the point of Good Neighbours. What we require from an art show is a psychic glue, something that can connect us, overcome fences, reassign our received values, alter the deckchairs of a foundering ship. In a splendid curatorial document – a piece of history in the making – Sven Christian provides us with some bedtime reading, including Hannah Arendt’s The Human Condition, Etienne Balibar’s ‘Rights of Man and Rights of the Citizen’, Homi Bhabha’s ‘Our Neighbours, Ourselves: Contemporary Reflections on Survival’, Judith Butler’s ‘Violence, Mourning, Politics’, etc. We are left under no illusion. While we may gambol about an idyllic setting, drink champers from a basket on a grassy knoll, we cannot
Opposite Page: Ângela Ferriera, installation view of Cena Alberta, 2011. Aluminium, megaphones, 350 x 15 x 15 cm. Photo: Sven Christian. Courtesy of NIROX Sculpture Park.
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Kamyar Bineshtarigh, Untitled (Remaining), 2022
Carla Busuttil and Gary Charles, advert included in the Good Neighbours newspaper for Mosquito Lightning (2014). To learn more about this project, visit: www.mosquitolightning.com. Image courtesy of the artists.
ignore Hannah Arendt’s alarum – ‘No human life, not even the life of the hermit in nature’s wilderness, is possible without a world which directly or indirectly testifies to the presence of other human beings.’ Here Thoreau returns. After Julia Kristeva, we can no longer afford to be ‘Strangers to Ourselves’. After Naomi Klein, we must reclaim ‘the Commons’ – and our commonality. Mine Kleynhans’ interactive work, ‘Abacus for Emotional Transactions (from a suburban fantasy) (2022), embodies (and bodies forth) this yearning for enduring connection, no matter how fragile. Tshegofatso Seoka’s curatorial interpretation, “Realms of Existence” — which includes works by Paballo Majela, Cow Mash, and Caitlin Greenberg (all based at Tshwane University of Technology) — also examines the traversal of boundaries, be they spatial, racial, or cultural. Then again, Kamyar Bineshtarigh considers the actuality of ‘unlikely neighbours,’ the dissonance generated by asynchronous cohabitation. The overall ethos of the exhibition, however, hankers after a healthy conviviality, humanity, compassion, and, all importantly, empathy, which for Roman Krznaric amounts to a radical ethics.
This venture, with its large curatorial body, defies the pedantry one typically encounters in academia, as well as the breast-beating noise of ideologues. Rather, and perhaps because of the in-house curators at NIROX, Yusuf Essop and Sven Christian, academic weightiness is replaced by a more wholesome and encompassing vision of the place of art in the greater world. As Genre Pretorius reminds us ‘Being a good neighbour is not a simple question with an easy answer, but rather, a well needed point of reflection… Being a good neighbour infiltrates and questions every aspect of our interactions’ and, as such, radically reorients one’s received and reserved understanding of care and compassion. And here I’m reminded of another recommendation by the curators, Robert Frost’s poem, ‘Mending Wall’, and its overwhelmingly incorporative opening lines:
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Something there is that doesn’t love a wall That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun; And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
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TURBINE ART FAIR (TAF) 2022 IS GOING UNDERGROUND www.turbineartfair.co.za
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outh Africa’s first accessible art fair is heading underground from 21 – 24 July 2022 for its 10th edition. Turbine Art Fair (TAF) brings together galleries, artists and curators from around the country to present and sell contemporary art. The fair has become the epicentre of emerging art in Southern Africa, championing established and new talent in an accessible and inclusive environment. Founded in 2013 by The Forum Company, it is the first accessible and affordable South African art fair aimed at small scale and emerging galleries as well as emerging artists and collectors working toward growing the market for South African Contemporary art. “We have always endeavoured to create a unique and relaxed environment for contemporary art to be showcased and experienced. We have and continue to push the boundaries for how Southern African art is presented and engaged with and 2022 will be no different. Visitors can expect a fresh, bold and edgy art fair at one of Jozi’s newest hotspots, a stone’s throw away from the art hub of the city – Rosebank. Watch this space for more details and the big venue reveal” says Glynis Hyslop, Founder of Turbine Art Fair. The 2022 fair, and its location will play with themes of conventionality while exploring how far or ‘deep’ one can go to exhibit art. This playful, edgy and modern take on a fair will surely excite any and all lovers of art as we curate an undoubtedly unique experience that will surely make a mark on Joburg’s social and cultural calendars. Each year TAF showcases a series of special projects which are a huge drawcard for visitors to the Fair.
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TAF Unearthed: developed by Turbine Art Fair, this is a 6 month mentorship programme for 10 emerging artist which covers the business of art and art mentorship and culminates in a curated group exhibition of their work. The 2022 selected artists are: Aneesah Girie, Danna Margo, Gemma Sheppard, Lambi Chibambo, Lerato Ntili, Natali Downing, Pholile Hlongwane, Themba Given Msiza, Tshegofatso Tlatsi & Tumelo Mtimkhulu. The artists will be mentored by: Teboho Ralesai and Fouad Asfour. TAF off the Grid: Curated by Maja Marx in 2022, TAF Off The Grid is dedicated to midcareer artists outside of the main gallery circuit in an effort to support and sustain their careers. TAF Talent: This is the graduate show: a curated exhibition of the top talent from the graduating and Masters classes of the SA universities. The project will be curated: Michaela Limberis and assisted by Siwa Mgoboza. TAF Capsule: This year TAF will be showcasing a featured artwork by renowned artist, Pat Mautloa, recognized as one of the pioneers of modernist painting in South Africa. Mautloa will be showing a large scale work that is broken up in multiple smaller pieces, all to be sold separately. This will allow young collectors to experience how it feels to own a piece of art, literally without owning the whole piece. Highlighting one of the goals of TAF – making art collecting accessible to young collectors. This special project is aimed at considering what it may be like to rethink the conventional approach to investing, democratizing the art investment world which is often only accessible to the few people who can afford it. TAF Talks & Walkabouts: Visitors to the Fair can take part in a curated selection of talks aimed at educating developing art audience and will include insights and interviews with artists and curators. The talks will take place at the Fair and virtually and are free to visitors attending TAF 2022. Walkabouts will take place daily with artists, curators and key people in the art arena of South Africa.
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Glynis Hyslop, Founder of Turbine Art Fair
“We are delighted to welcome back many of our longstanding galleries who have supported us throughout the years as well as a host of new and exciting ones into the mix this year. With the help of our esteemed selection panel, we believe that we have a really exciting lineup for visitors to TAF 22 with 34 exhibitors and 6 special projects featuring work across all artistic mediums such a prints and multiples, painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, textiles and so much more. There is really something for everyone” adds Hyslop. Dates: 21 – 24 July 2022 Venue: To be announced in June 2022. Tickets: R150 online & R180 at the door. Weekend Pass: R300 (Fri- Sun) VIP First Access: Thurs 21 July from 10 – 4: R500 (incl. Coffee & Cake) VIP Cocktail Thurs 21 July 6pm: R800 (incl. Food & drinks) For more info: www.turbineartfair.co.za
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OSCAR KORBLA MAWULI AWUKU Anansinisim The Melrose Gallery
www.themelrosegallery.com
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he Melrose Gallery is proud to announce the representation of Oscar Korbla Mawuli Awuku, an artist and cultural activist, who has become known for his ability to tell stories of Africa through his unique style of body art which he calls Anansinisim. “Inspired by the West African folktale character “Kweku Anansi” (or Ananse) the Spider. Anansi is an Akan name given to the spider. In most Anansi tales, he is depicted as a trickster who finds himself in difficult situations but manages to extricate himself out of them by either outwitting the powerful, unsuspecting, and gullible, or by morphing from human to spider form and climbing out of reach. These unsavory character traits notwithstanding, Anansi should also be recognized for his resourcefulness and ability to creatively adapt to new situations. Indeed, some Caribbean cultural scholars have compared these qualities, that is, the ability to “survive and thrive under debilitating circumstances,” be it through con artistry or strength of character, as typifying the essence of Caribbean peoples, especially Jamaican (Edmonds 28). The story of Anansi holds visual symbolism for Awuku as he fuses visual networking designs of the spider with historical Ghanaian Adinkra symbology to create personal transitional designs on the body that re-echo the knowledge and wisdom of our ancestors that are gradually losing their sustainable values and norms to contemporary audiences.” (Harvey, 2005) “My experimentation with body art has been largely informed by the historical and design decisions that have characterized the production of Ashanti and ewe kente cloth. This includes the weaving process where threads are thrown over and beneath others in
a repetitive, rhythmic manner to form patterns and shapes in the overall design.” - Oscar Korbla Mawuli Awuku (Sedode, 2022) As a women’s rights advocate, Awuku through his painting also tells tales of great African women. His work portrays the advocacy and empowerment of women in order for them to stand equally for leadership roles just like men do in society. Thus he makes an intentional effort to put women at the forefront of his work. (Sedode, 2022) Awuku also loves to put on the African ritual mask when painting, which he sees as a way of showcasing and promoting the rich culture and heritage of Africa. (Sedode, 2022) “I mostly put on the mask for performance and also it’s believed that the person that wears the ritual mask conceptually turns into the spirit represented by the mask itself. But basically, I just want people who see me in the mask to appreciate our aesthetics and not have negative misconceptions about them because they are part of our culture,” he said. (Sedode, 2022) About the featured artworks: Liberation Songs is my own artistic expression of using music and classical instrument to liberate the souls of the oppressed. Blue Night captures two women in a ritual mask rocking shoulders with a man in the middle which metaphorically represents the essence of gender equality. The ritual mask which also serves the purpose of cultural identity but metaphorically represents the strong cultural heritage, values and norms that women poses and pass down to generations.
Sons Of Ra, 2022, Digital Archival Photo on Hahnemuhle Rag, 59.4 x 84.1cm
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Above: Blue Night, 2021, Digital Archival Photo on Hahnemuhle Rag, 84 x 60 cm. Opposite Page: Liberation Songs Series, 2022 Digital Archival Photo on Hahnemuhle Rag 59.4 x 84.1cm
Blue Night, 2021, Digital Archival Photo on Hahnemuhle Rag, 84 x 60cm
Pallet of Drudgery II, 2021, Digital Archival Photo on Hahnemuhle Rag, 84 x 60cm
Fixing Nets, 2021, Digital Archival Photo on Hahnemuhle Rag, 84 x 60 cm
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Oscar Korbla Mawuli Awuku
Fixing Nets captures a child fixing nets looking weary of a tedious work. The piece protest against child labor yet highlights how the youth has been stripped away to a horrific experience that this children endure. Pallet Of Drudgery is a protest against child labor yet highlights how children are made to do hard work at some coastal areas in Ghana, where some children below 18 are made to indulge in fishing for stipends to support their families and few unlucky ones lost their lives during the process. Sons Of Ra is a historic celebration of Ancient Gods in Egypt. It is my own artistic expression of highlighting worshipers Of Ra. Ra (also given as Re) is the sun god of ancient Egypt. He is one of the oldest deities in the Egyptian pantheon and was later merged with others such as Horus, becoming Ra-Horakhty (the
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morning sun), Amun (as noonday sun), and Atum (the evening sun) associated with primal life-giving energy. For more information contact craig@themelrosegallery.com or visit www.themelrosegallery.com Reference Harvey, G., 2005. Animism: Respecting the living world. Columbia University Press. Sedode, P., 2022. Oscar Korbla Mawuli Awuku: The Visual Artist Telling African Stories Through Body Art. [online] Kuulpeeps. Available at: <https://kuulpeeps.com/2021/04/12/oscarkorbla-mawuli-awuku-the-visual-artist-tellingafrican-stories-through-body-art/people> [Accessed 16 May 2022].
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CHAPTER 31
Foretelling – Tales of a Printmaker www.artistproofstudio.co.za
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t Turbine Art Fair 2022 in celebration of the fair’s 10 years of new artist voices and accessibility to contemporary African art, Artist Proof Studio will present a collection of artworks that speak to this milestone. Our selection of artists range from emerging young talent to popular established artists. We have also included fresh graduates who showcase printmaking excellence and innovation by pushing the boundaries to create new contemporary styles of printmaking. We’re very focused on empowering young artists with a specialised creative education while also strengthening and developing the generational depth of our print community. It is this collection that will be accessible to established collectors, new collectors and art lovers alike. We have led an innovative and evolving printmaking culture that sets the new standard of African contemporary printmaking. There are captivating stories presented by collaborating artists who have shared this journey with us each year. Foretelling – Tales of a Printmaker at Turbine Art Fair 2022 will reflect the growth and new possibilities of the artists we collaborate with as a leading print studio. After a year of settling into our new premises in Houghton, we’re geared up to bring nothing but. It’s a uniquely rich environment, and one where all the participants have a lot to share, and gain. We’re hoping that all our patrons, artists and partners will join us to celebrate everything we’ve achieved, and to add their own contribution to an even better future. Save the date – 21-24 July and visit our booth at Turbine Art Fair. Bekezela Mabena, Ekhaya, Linocut, 67.7cm x 101cm, 2022
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Above: Sifiso Temba, Rebecca, Lithograph, 77x57.5cm, 2020. Opposite Page: Nadine Mathenjwa, I ’Tempele lami ll, Cyanotype, Linocut, 84,5 x 62,5cm, 2021
Lebohang Motaung, Deeply Rooted, Linocut, 91.5x63.5cm, 2020
Ramarutha Makoba, Motherland Series III, 50cm x 35,5cm, 2021, Silkscreen Ramarutha Makoba, Motherland Series II, 50cm x 35,5cm, 2021, Silkscreen
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MILK
Nel Art Gallery 07 - 30 July www.nelart.co.za
Above: From the second M I L K Edition 2022. Opposite Page: Tosca Neena, from the series ‘Not the Ladies’ 2022.
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I L K is an interdisciplinary project founded in February 2022 by Zimbabwean painter Gillian Rosselli, the South African photographers Neena Borrill and Tosca Marthinus and Zimbabwe based Austrian photographer Martina Gruber. M I L K emerged as a necessary pop-up collaborative laboratory during the 2022 Cape Town Art Fair in celebration of visibility off the mainstream commercial art world. The 4 artists spontaneously shared a studio space in Cape Town for the initial period of 1 week and embarked on a journey of multiple performances, photo shoots, investigating and exploring frameworks of diverse socio-economic-political circumstances and realities. The work evolved under the umbrella of ‚Current Affairs 2022 – Conversations about the Body‘ M I L K’s aim is to work as a collective in multiple safe, accepting environments where new narratives of this kind will be open to engaging conversations, allowing the artists
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to integrate individual ideas and explore possibilities of a common vision. “The body of works M I L K creates and performs together with their bodies and the camera are personal reactions to situations they witness, in person or from a distance, in the past and in the present. Using their bodies as a language that communicates where words fail“. As artists working in different mediums and coming from different social-cultural backgrounds we look at possible and extended areas of collaboration, crosscultural, cross-national, cross-continental. Where does one individual end and the other begin? Where do we speak in one voice, where do we draw the line and where do we see possibilities and necessities to cross over and reach out and step into the other‘s fields, and occupy fields together? Where do we agree and where do we disagree?
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Above: Gill Rosselli, from the ‘Umbilical Cord’ series 2022. Opposite Page: (Detail) Rosselli Gruber, from the series ‘Love is Love’ 2022.
How does the practice of using our bodies across various fields and practices indicate boundaries between 4 individuals resonate with the current practices of a collective? The project is a creative, mutual, open, interdisciplinary and interactive approach of exploring the form, concept and presence of ‚collective‘, translating and shifting a ‚collective‘ into a variety of diverse fields and discourses, through performance, painting, drawing and photography. Where do we come across lines, how do we draw them, who draws them where, open or hidden?
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Gillian Rosselli Zimbabwean, b. 1962 Rosselli‘s work reflects her preoccupation with social injustices of migration and the impacts of colonialism. Her recent performance series discusses identity constructions, wearing queer labels, family constellations and the need to imagine freedom. Rosselli has exhibited locally and internationally including the ground breaking exhibition, ‘Five Bhobh - Painting At the End of an Era’ first major exhibition of contemporary Zimbabwe practice, exhibited at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town in 2018.
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(Detail) Rosselli Gruber, from the series ‘Femizide’ 2022.
Martina Gruber Austria, b. 1968 In the tradition of American writer Joan Didion, Gruber photographs solely to find out what she is thinking, what she is looking at, what she is seeing and what that means. Gruber is a photographer, social anthropologist, a wanderer, a gatherer of inspiration from journeys. As an artist Martina explores the medium of still and moving images, printmaking and is drawn to the seemingly unremarkable, peoples‘ stories, reflections and the wide view. Her works are observations of her changing surroundings in the social landscapes and tell narratives around the beauty and challenges of everyday life.
They unify their ideas when creating a shoot. Their focus medium is photography; however, they explore other mediums as well such as mixed media, video and sound installation. Their subject matter is comprised of objects or people in a simplified frame, all shot in black and white. They use manual in-shot techniques to manipulate or distort the final idea, without any post production. They use their creative liberty to bend the rules of commercial photography and aesthetic conventions to portray themes of psychology and social conditioning. Matching visuals to human emotions or states of psyche is achieved through camera techniques which blur the subject.
ToscaNeena is a photography couple originating from Cape Town, South Africa, formed by Tosca Marthinus and Neena Borrill in 2019.
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DONATION AND TRUST
The Bloemfontein Group and the Free State Art Scene, 1950-1989 By Yolanda de Kock www.nasmus.co.za
The Bloemfontein Group in 1988 at their 30-year anniversary exhibition at Oliewenhuis Art Museum. From the back and the left: Eben van der Merwe, Arthur Cantrell, Walter Westbrook and Mike Edwards. Front from the left: Renee le Roux, Alexander Podlaschuc and Frans Claerhout. (Photo: Oliewenhuis Art Museum)
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his article is based on the dissertation I completed, Donation and Trust: The Bloemfontein Group and the Free State Art Scene, 1950-1989, during August 2017. The dissertation is a critical analysis of the Free State art scene from 1950-1989, conducted primarily through an account of the Bloemfontein Group. It argues that this period is a significant indicator of a shift in the city’s art scene, from an earlier, formalist focus to a more conceptual orientation in the art scene in Bloemfontein. An important aspect of this research is the significance of the formation of the Bloemfontein Group, and the extent of their role and influence during this period, which together can be seen as a key catalyst in the shift to conceptual art. Through extensive archival research, I have constructed a visual timeline of the art scene in Bloemfontein, including significant events in the wider Free State region. The construction of the timeline is a crucial part of the unravelling and interrogation of undiscovered conceptual developments relating to museum practices in the Free State. This is in turn informed by conversations and debates, how an art phenomenon such as the Bloemfontein Group not only contributed to a contemporary artistic identity in the Free State, but was also the driver behind the establishment of the Oliewenhuis Art Museum in Bloemfontein.
Understanding the Bloemfontein Group: In 1958 the Bloemfontein Group was formally established under the leadership of Professor Frik Scott, with the support of his wife, Dora. The founding members of the group were Frans Claerhout (1919–2006), Reneé le Roux (b 1927), Alexander Podlashuc (1930–2009), Eben van der Merwe (1932) and Marianne Podlashuc (1932–2004). Within this ten-year period, the Group also expanded to include Mike Edwards, Fayetta and Neville Varney, Authur Cantrell, and Walter Westbrook (all joining in 1961), and Iris and Stephan Ampenberger, who joined in 1963. These artists created the group with the intention of sharing ideas, producing art together, and expressing their frustrations with what they understood as the narrow-minded and conservative Free State art world. The geographical position of Bloemfontein as the central city of South Africa would suggest it as an obvious focal point for national cultural activity. However, art life in the Free State has seldom evinced much dynamism. The art societies operating in the province had tended to be extremely conservative and unadventurous, and the advantages of the situation of the main city were never exploited. The Bloemfontein Group desired to hold exhibitions that challenged the limitations of Bloemfontein’s embryonic art scene. While their individual artworks differed in visual appearance, they shared a modernist sense of painting practice. The Bloemfontein Group worked together for approximately ten years. Although artists’ groups in their own capacity are often not considered as important artistic ‘movements’ in the charting of an art history, I believe that the Bloemfontein Group played a vital role in establishing an artistic environment in the Free State. I also propose that the formation of the Bloemfontein Group shifted the conservative mindset of the Bloemfontein art scene by presenting artworks with
Opposite Page: Ampenberger, Young Couple, Oil on board, 60.5 x 45.5 cm. (Oliewenhuis Art Museum Permanent Collection)
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R. Le Roux, Abstract, Water colour on paper, 16 x 35 cm. (Oliewenhuis Art Museum Permanent Collection)
conceptual emphasis, as well as revealing European influences in the form of abstract and expressionistic techniques to local viewers. This can be seen in the work of Reneé le Roux (1927), Eben van der Merwe (1932), and Iris Ampenberger (1916–1981) below. These techniques were not often practised in the Free State and were quite unfamiliar to Bloemfontein art enthusiasts and artists. Following the death of Prof Scott in 1976, his wife and children established the F.P. Scott
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Trust. On the 30th anniversary of the formation of the Bloemfontein Group, the Trust donated 24 artworks to the National Museum. It was the first collection of Free State artists exclusively and became the first collection of artworks in the Oliewenhuis Art Museum when it was opened in 1989. This research, therefore, focuses on the impact of the Bloemfontein Group on the Free State art scene, and more specifically, on the role played by the donation of the Group’s artworks in the establishment and development of the Oliewenhuis Art Museum.
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The Free State art Scene 1950-1989: While conducting this research I was constantly confronted by the ‘narrowminded art scene’ described in the available documents and Stylistic Link catalogue written by Fred Scott of Bloemfontein during the 1950-1989 period. As a result of the limitations of the archive I found it challenging to either support or discard this theory, as some of it is based on the subjective opinions of different groups and individuals.
However, after close examination, I can conclude that the Bloemfontein art community was undeniably narrow-minded. I propose that the lack of an official art museum contributed to this conservatism and the fact that the two different art societies within this small artist community guided by the ‘elitists’ did not add value to this conservatism. The formation of the Bloemfontein Group and the nature of their artworks clearly did not qualify for the local art societies as they believed that the
E. Van der Merwe, Autumn landscape, Oil on board, 78 x 61.5 cm. (Oliewenhuis Art Museum Permanent Collection)
Group’s work was not sellable. The latter became visible when I compiled the illustrated timeline of exhibitions and happenings in Bloemfontein. It is a fact that only during the late 1970s some of the Bloemfontein Group members’ work was included in the annual exhibitions of the societies. This group of artists rebelled against the elitist individuals in their environment and fearlessly mocked influential individuals of the local art societies and the National Museum who kept them from expanding their careers. Locally, the Group’s work was not seen as noteworthy enough to form part of local exhibitions, but on a national level their work was received with high praise. This in itself is an indication of the influences and inconsistencies of local art societies. The mockery and satirical images of Marianne Podlashuc provided an understanding of the Group’s frustrations, but also expressed the determination of like-minded kindred spirits to change their environment regardless of being further excluded from the art scene. I propose that this characteristic defined the Bloemfontein Group as the avant-garde leaders in the Bloemfontein art community. Ars Brevis, vita longa becomes an iconic image, as it provides insight into the Orange Free State art society, clearly dominated by pretentious, conservative and snooty individuals. The title of
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this drawing, “Art is brief, life is long” is more like a symbolic stance expressing what the society stood for. I want to conclude with the following: as indicated earlier, the Bloemfontein Group donation belongs to Oliewenhuis Art Museum’s permanent collection and with this research I was able to examine the impact of this donation on the inception of an art museum in Bloemfontein. Also its impact on subsequent additions to the collection. I came to the conclusion that the Bloemfontein Group’s donation is an indicator of a regional art identity. This research also contributes to the fact that it is not only the Bloemfontein Group’s collection that could be seen as the foundation collection of Oliewenhuis Art Museum but also the A.C White donation. With this research, I understand Oliewenhuis Art Museum’s establishment and its founding collection more comprehensively. I have also realised that as its permanent collection has never been researched before, this dissertation could be seen as a steppingstone to a broader, historically informed understanding of the collection as a whole. About the Author: Yolanda de Kock is currently working at Oliewenhuis Art Museum as an Education Officer. She obtained Masters Degrees in Fine Arts in 2009 from the University of the Free State and in Heritage Management from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2017. 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.
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DISCOVERY
2022
ART
ENTRIES 12-18 SEPTEMBER
NEW
ANNA STONE: PRINCE ALBERT ICONS IN SOFT POWDER PASTEL Words by Elza Miles www.princealbertgallery.co.za
Above: Joanna walking in Mark Street, Pastel on cotton, 62cm x 36,5cm. Opposite Page: Rosiland Botes, Soft Pastel on Cotton, 56cm x 720
Dorothy Kay (1886-1964), the doyen of Port Elizabeth artists, observed: “Whatever you do, it is a portrait of yourself”. This too applies to the writer of this text.
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nna Stone always knew that she wanted to be an artist. She grew up in Kuruman where she was born in 1971, matriculated in Johannesburg at the Art School, Hoërskool Die Kruin, and furthered her studies in Pretoria at the Technikon (Tswana Technicon) where after acquiring the National Diploma she gained the National Higher Diploma in BA Fine Arts. Stone engages with her Prince Albert icons the moment she applies pastels on cotton. Every step of this engagement involves her: the preparation of the cotton acquired in Knysna that supports the image that evolves from the application of her pastels until the image responds and engages with her and subsequently the viewer.
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When the heavy curtains of Sunday Afternoon, Prince Albert are drawn the stage is ready: the performance starts. Joanna, Mark Straat takes the stage. She in her polo neck jersey is portrayed in the profile. Her smashingly vibrant personality is counteracted by another profile, the Volkswagen further back to the right. Both profiles are offset by the greenery of the foliage above the Beetle and further back. Somehow the car seems to be waiting for the girl: she, an imaginary Cinderella, is to slip into and drive away with her dream prince. Then the scene moves to Nieuwe Straat, Jannie and Rosalind appear. Jannie sits in the kitchen and stares in front of him. Both his hands are nestled on the curve of his walkingstick. His stool is in front of their electric stove on which two sauce pans are visible. He seems hemmed in by the stove, the diagonal of the table on the left and the curtain on the right.
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Above: Gawie Nel, Deurdrift Street, 64cm x 39cm. Opposite Page: Ansie Van Wyk, soft pastel on cotton, 60,5 x 120
Above: Hendrik in Pastorie Street, pastel on cotton, 41cm x41cm Left: Abraham Mars, Pastel on cotton, 31cm x 40,5cm
Boy at the Market, soft pastel on cotton, 50,5cm x 41cm
In Rosalind, Church House the icon sits on a bentwood chair and purring in front of her is a Siamese cat: guardian of marriages. Just as her blue eyes behind the glasses find repetition in the bright blue eyes of the cat so the white delineation of the floral design of her dress is echoed in her grey hair and the white fur of the cat. Rosalind and cat sort of frame the exterior showing a huge blue gum in front of the Dutch Reformed Missionary Church. The trunk and branches soaring heavenwards echo the two diagonals further back on the right inviting you to enter the church. Now enters Ansie van Wyk, Nieuwe Street balancing a huge shopping bag on her head. She secures it with her left hand and from her arm dangles fruit in a plastic bag. Apart from this baggage she carries in her right hand a pot plant. Her rose coloured top is complemented
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by the deep green foliage of the Euphorbia behind her, emphasising sacred womanhood. Now Gawie Nel, Deurdriftstraat appears. He is a gardener, a man blessed with green fingers. He always, with an encompassing smile, assures you of his well being. Yet now without that endearing smile he is troubled. He halts at cross roads and a stop sign cautions him. The colourful patchwork cloak that is synonymous with the Jan Schoeman (Outa Lappies) outfit has changed. A simple cloak, ranging in tones of blue, mauve and crimson covers his shoulders. The only reminder of his familiar outfit is his cap. Visible in the sky above his head is a windpump that takes on the significance of the wheel of life. Jan Schoeman responds to the call from below left and he moves into eternal light.
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SOLO STUDIOS 2022 Riebeek Valley’s most established mid-career artists headline annual event 26-28 August
www.solostudios.co.za
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n Riebeek-Kasteel locals are either growing olives or making art. Or both; some of the 100 odd artists living in this Swartland hamlet grow and press their olives albeit in small quantities, according to Olive Boutique, which processes oil for the small artisanal producers in the area. At the end of August, however, Capetonians and art lovers from around the country won’t be gravitating to Riebeek Valley to sample olive oil made by artists, but to dip into and soak up the art in gallery exhibitions and a select number of studios belonging to the town’s more serious artists in the annual Solo Studios event. For three days ticketholders will be able to wander into the selected artists’ studios. There isn’t a better way to experience art than view it where it was made, in the context of other works, surrounded by preparation drawings, tools, and snippets of inspiration and to have the artist on hand to answer questions about their motivations and process. It works at demystifying artmaking and connects artists directly to collectors. “It is enriching for people to see what happens behind the scenes. It is a completely different experience than going to a gallery. I love going into other artists’ studios,” observes Jacky Lloyd one of this year’s participating artists. Riebeek-Kasteel resident Klaus Piprek founded the event in 2016 in response to calls from the community to make the town’s art population and production more visible, but he was also keen to forge connections between the artists. “I was surprised to learn that so few of the artists knew of each other,” recalls Piprek. Participating artist Tamlin Blake confirms this to have been the case.
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Ade Kipades, polygon pulsation, 2021, Acrylic on incised mdf, 60x80cm
“The art community here is a bit fragmented. So many of the artists moved to the valley because they are hermits,” says Blake. Despite the retiring nature of some of the artists, Solo Studios received around 40 applications to participate this year. This might have something to do with the discerning and new art collectors that the event appears to attract. “The buyers are very competitive,” observes Lloyd who has participated as a guide in a previous iteration. The guided tours, which are offered with a Premier Weekend Pass to the event – modestly priced at R395 - are the highlight of Solo Studios, as they allow buyers to browse at their leisure. The preview of works on the Friday is popular for those who wish to lay their hands on the “better works,” which go quickly, according to Lloyd.
Above: Solo Exhibition by urban artist Falko One, 2020 (Recently demolished). Opposite Page: Emma Willemse, Last remains I, 2022, Digital collage printed on Hahnemühle, 39x30cm
In a town bursting with artists, competition to be selected to participate in the main event is stiff. To retain the local ethos of Solo Studios; artists can only apply to participate if they live in Riebeek-Kasteel and are full-time artists. A different local art aficionado is appointed annually to assess the applications and select those that are certain to deliver a high-quality art encounter for visitors. Piprek is intent on maintaining a high-standard art event that stands apart from those held in other small Western Cape towns. Among the 18 artists who were able to meet the criteria is Blake, who will use her studio to explore ideas about NFTs, however visitors can also view a new tapestry work in the making which is part of a series exploring the history of some of the woven textiles – think crochet blankets – she has inherited. Emma Willemse, who recently staged an impressive solo exhibition at Union House in Cape Town will once again open her studio to ticketholders. This deeply cerebral artist’s work, often sculptural pieces made from disused floorboards evokes, time, history and nostalgia. Lloyd is participating for the first time. Her extraordinary ‘boats’ fashioned from marble were recently exhibited in a solo exhibition in Stellenbosch. There is no other artist in
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Jacky Lloyd, Tapestry Weaver Tamlin Blake, 2022, Marble bas relief, 410x180x43mm
Guided Walkabouts
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Above: Louis Nel, 17.12.2021, 2021, Oil on Canvas, 50x35cm. Opposite Page Top: Studio Artist Andre Francois van Vuuren. Below: The art of wine.
this country who chisels their own marble sculptures – or relief fragments. Each of the participating artists boast such different aesthetics. Louis Nel with his atmospheric seascape oil paintings, Tanya Majo, who plots the natural world through collage and Ade Kipades’ bold flat coloured abstract works inspired by the Le Corbusier’s architectural lines combined with a Disney cartoon mode of representation. They are undoubtedly appealing but he is threatening to show some new works in a more fluid abstract mode, rendered in a muted palette. Other artists who will bravely fling open the doors of their studios include Andre Francois van Vuuren, Andries Dirks, Greta McMahon, Kevan Moses, Lizette Visser, Sharon Bischoff and Wiehan de Jager. There are many other art-related events on offer; from 10 gallery exhibitions to thoughtleadership talks, a film premiere of a feature on land artist Strijdom van der Merwe
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titled Sculpting this Earth and House Union Block will present a curated exhibition. With pop-up restaurants adding to the culinary offerings which include wine farm and olive farm tastings and dining it is not surprising that most visitors opt to stay for the weekend. As there are limited tickets and accommodation options visitors have learned to book in advance. It is well-established that wine and art make for good companions but so too does an abundance of olives and art. • Solo Studios runs in the Riebeek Valley from August 26 to 28th. Visit https://solostudios. co.za to book your tickets and weekend package. Premier Weekend Pass - R395.00. Friday Preview Pass - 195.00. Weekend Pass - R295.00. Saturday Pass - 195.00. Sunday Pass - R150.00.
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KASI: EYE OF THE PEOPLE/LEIHLO LA SECHABA 1 July- 1 August 2022 NWU Botanical Garden Gallery Text by Mahlomola Maroba
Andile Bhala, Umlobi wentlanzi
Andile Bhala, Qhubeka phambili
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he NWU Gallery is thrilled to present an exhibition titled Leihlo la Sechaba (Eye of The People) curated by Mahlomola Maroba. Leihlo la Sechaba (Eye of The People) is an expressive group exhibition intended to showcase the talent that South African townships have in the form of artists/ creatives. The participating artists are Andile Bhala, Sebastian Legoete and Rooney Saaed. The exhibition has a simultaneous and even greater responsibility of expressing the heartbeat/lifestyle of the township – a shadow of South Africa’s recognised reality beyond the marred narratives usually pontificated. Leihlo la Sechaba is an expression of sexuality – one of the basis of expression for humanity in the 21st century. The exhibition is an expression of how South African townships function & survive in this day and age, how evolving cultures are stifled by lack of language and therefore expression. In the same breath we note how South African townships are incubation centres for fashion, culture, tradition, lifestyle, music, entertainment, general creativity and expression - finding its way in global trends today regardless of the clear lack of language to express oneself freely due to the constraints/challenges in the environment. A flower cultivated in the darkness.
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The exhibition explores various themes including survival, expression of sexuality – particularly traditional sexualities as well as focusing on the very misunderstood LGBTQI+ community, food, fashion, expressive culture & tradition, religion and the ordinary day-to-day lives of people in the space. The exhibition begins by understanding what the township entails and then goes further to understand the different expressions found in the townships. Leihlo la Sechaba further explores the shadows by showcasing how expression is found in sexuality – investigating how the themes mentioned above are rooted in binaries and how marginal communities within the space survive and find expression in a space that has no language to understand them. The exhibition expresses how evolution happens in the darkness, in a space that is not understood but continues to produce material that is not only vital to itself but also to the country South Africa – because it is the townships of South Africa that keep this nation alive, in the darkness we find this light.
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Lesege Moncho, Harmony (Harvest time), Oil Impasto on stretched canvas, 140 x 80 2021
Ras Silas, Maikutlwa aka a imetwe, (overwhelmed)
O MANG, O TSWA KAE, O YA KAE? MY CRADLE, MY STORY, MY HERITAGE. 1 July- 1 August 2022 NWU Main Gallery Text by Boitumelo Makousu
The NWU Gallery is thrilled to present an exhibition titled O Mang, O Tswa Kae, O Ya Kae? curated by Boitumelo Makousu. This group exhibition features Khotso Mahloma, Lesego Moncho, and Ras Silas. The exhibition explores the willingness of expressing vulnerability of one’s experiences, memories and healing. O mang? O tswa kae? O ya kae?,does not only invite you on to geometric patterns and other forms, mediums and materials but rather to a journey of understanding the story behind the diverse compositions each artist expresses and has significantly shaped who they are. Every individual encounter’s moment in their lives that shapes their being but concurrently challenges one’s strength and capabilities of withstanding what you believe in. This body of selected works interrogates the connection of which culture, identity, spirituality and the natural environments of where one comes from, where
they are presently and where they intend to go. These works initiate conversation, as we very often tend to overlook the power of redefining ourselves and what core values shape us. It is during these unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic contingently initiated introspection of self, acknowledgement of the paths travelled and the intentional move going forward which also allows encouragement, and healing. The exhibition intentionally embraces how interconnected Ras Silas, Mahloma and Moncho are through their own identities by using geometric patterns in their own interpretations and sharing the stories that connects the intangible flow and contrasts that are built up by separating areas of stillness between the patterns, forms and the expressive free-flowing motifs that form of repetition, shape and feelings such as how one’s life experiences take place.
Khotso Mahloma, Purity (virgin), Canvas, Smoke Acrylic and pastels.
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2022 SASOL NEW SIGNATURES Pandemic Mayhem and Artistic Careers By Cate Terblanche, Art Curator, Sasol Art Collection
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s if the choice of a career in the visual arts is not fraught with challenges and trials, the pandemic was bestowed upon us with apocalyptic vengeance. Two years have passed since the world in a gob smacked moment, fell into a dazed, mind numbing misadventure of sleep walking termed ‘the new normal’. Virtual has become reality, and reality has become virtual. But for visual artists, this has meant virtual devastation. Unlike their counterparts in other creative industries such as music and performance, visual artists are highly dependent on physical platforms to showcase their work, most of which evaporated with lockdown. This begs the question, how relevant is a career in the visual arts, and how does one navigate this ‘new normal’? For starters, I think that a career in the visual arts will always be relevant, artists and creatives are those who challenge conventional thinking, are innovative, and are often commentators on social issues and archivists of our collective lived experiences. The visual arts sector as a whole also provides several avenues of employment, ranging from creating and teaching, to marketing and selling, and makes a meaningful contribution to the country’s GDP. But it is not a career for the faint hearted. It is a very competitive industry which seeming allows for a lot of diversity but is surprisingly controlled. It’s often said that ‘its not what you know, its who you know’, and in the artworld this saying seems more apt than in other industries. Hooking up with the right gallery or winning a prestigious competition are some of the ways in which an artist’s career can be fasttracked. But for each award-winning artist breaking into the international arena, there are hundreds which don’t. In contrast to the opportunities flaunted by the art industry as a whole, the individual artist may find navigating this world fraught with challenges. The reality is that the majority of artists, both emerging and mid-career, often have to juggle several jobs to make ends meet
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financially. Many of these jobs are contract jobs, paying the lowest rates legally possible, with no additional benefits such as pension fund or medical aid contributions. Adding to the financial burden, the act of producing art is in no way a guarantee of an income, rather it can become an expensive liability, as many artists with hordes of unsold artworks stored in cupboards or garages can attest to. And then, to top it all, the over-worked, exhausted, bleary eyed creative still needs to handle their own marketing as they mostly do not have the resources to contract the relevant experts to aid them. So, they tend to try as best as they can, to promote their work via their own social media platforms, which don’t necessarily reach an audience beyond their own family and friends, and a few existing clients. Add to this a relatively unlegislated environment which leaves the door open for many artists to be exploited, and you have a major challenge for any artist right from the onset of their careers. Despite this, a career in the visual arts is still actively chosen by many, knowing full well the challenges and difficulties of ‘making’ it in a complex industry. And here I think the support offered by corporates such as Sasol in providing a platform for emerging artists to showcase their work through the Sasol New Signatures Art Competition, is invaluable. It also provides opportunities for dealing with the ‘new normal’, taking into account the decreased availability of physical platforms and the increased potential of virtual platforms. This is especially valuable if the competition is presented in a hybrid format. For this discussion, I do not want to focus on the rewards for the winner, or those in the winner’s circle, as these are quite obvious. I want to rather consider the benefits for those artists who don’t win. Art competitions are not without challenges, and especially first-time entrants need to be aware of these. Firstly, the effect on the artist’s self confidence when their work is either rejected or loses out to a seemingly ‘better’ work.
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Cate Terblanche Art Curator Sasol Art Collection
Art competitions can be brutal, and the rejection may adversely affect the artist’s self-esteem if they are not resilient enough. Unfortunately, rejection is a large part of the art industry. Artists are rejected by learning institutions if they are not ‘good’ or ‘talented’ enough. They are rejected by galleries, they are rejected by buyers, collectors, their exhibition proposals are rejected, and on and on. Rejection by their viewing audience can be particularly harsh. Learning to deal with rejection is a core skill for any artist, but not necessarily the easiest to conquer. But the other side of the coin is that rejection can be a learning experience, showing the artist areas in their own work which may need attention, but also exposing them to different interpretations of the similar themes, quite possibly the same concept their own work deals with. Rejection is not always an indicator of failure but may be a catalyst for change. Secondly, one of the most underestimated benefits of being included in a competition’s exhibition, is the exposure the artist receives, including artists not part of the winning circle.
It is a well-known fact that many galleries, buyers and collectors visit these exhibitions with the specific idea of identifying future artists for their galleries, or to purchase artworks which may have the potential to increase in value as the artist’s standing increases. The exposure also extends to the marketing and public relations input by the sponsor, which accelerates any marketing effort made by the individual artist. While the debate around the relevance of art competitions will probably continue for a long time, I tend to support the idea that in a world guided by the ‘new normal’, art competitions are uniquely positioned to provide a platform for emerging artists mainly due to the ability to straddle the various challenges faced by artists. The 2022 Sasol New Signatures exhibition, as well as the solo exhibition by the 2021 winner, Andrea du Plessis, will be open for viewing from 25 August to 2 October 2022 at the Pretoria Art Museum.
2022 NEW BREED ART COMPETITION: Exciting New Breed Art mentorship opportunities lined up for this year www.newbreedart.co.za
With sexual transgressions against women dominating global headlines in recent times, the judges couldn’t agree more on the relevance and timeliness of Baitumetse Moloabi’s series of thought-provoking works entitled “Ntho tse snaXXX”, and were unanimous that she deserved to be the overall winner of the 2021 competition.
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entorship is a very important focus of the New Breed Art offering this year, which included a face-to-face mentorship session with the Free State Art Collective, the upcoming New Breed Art Webinar Series sponsored by Absa and featuring established, leading South African artists, and a workshop on Professional Art Practice by the Art Bank of South Africa. This is all in addition to and in run-up to the 2022 New Breed Art Competition, which has been officially launched. Now in its sixth year, the New Breed Art Competition is presented by
New Breed Art Mentorship Session: The mentors in front, Baitumetse Moloabi, Neo Theku, Lesego Motsiri and Miné Kleynhans, and at the back, Kay Fourie, Xola Sello, Nandipha Jantjies and Bongani Tshabalala.
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Phatshoane Henney Attorneys, in association with Oliewenhuis Art Museum, The Art Bank of South Africa and the Free State Art Collective. As it has been since its inception in 2016, this one-of-a-kind visual arts competition strongly supports the uncovering of new and emerging Free State artists, providing art development and mentorship opportunities for up-andcoming local artists, giving national exposure to showcase talented local artists and ultimately advancing the art careers of many promising New Breed Artists. The need for art mentorship has been identified as vital to the growth and
development of emerging artists, which is why various exciting mentorship events have been lined up for this year to provide support and guidance during the build-up to the New Breed Art Competition and elevate the contribution of the entire New Breed Art project as a whole. First off was the New Breed Art Mentorship Session presented by leading artists of the Free State Art Collective, who have also all been former New Breed Art Competition winners and/or finalists. Local artists recently had the valuable opportunity to receive personal guidance, mentorship and inspiration from
some of our most talented local artists, so as to improve the application of their skills and help them be competition-ready. The mentors (all members of the Free State Art Collective) on the day specialise in a variety of mediums: • Baitumetse Moloabi, 2021 New Breed Art Competition’s overall winner • Neo Theku, 2019’s New Breed Art Competition’s overall winner • Kay Fourie, 2019’s New Breed Art Competition runner-up • Miné Kleynhans, 2019 New Breed Art Competition Merit Award winner • Xola Sello, 2018 New Breed Art Competition Merit Award winner • Bongani Tshabalala, 2019 New Breed Art Competition Public Choice Award winner • Nandipha Jantjies, 2021 New Breed Art Competition finalist • Lesego Motsiri, 2021 New Breed Art Competition finalist “We are confident that the talented local artists who attended this session, have gained much inspiration and invaluable input from our accomplished artists, who have already gone through the competition process, grown and developed much as artists since, and are in fact now building thriving art careers. Aspiring to a successful career in the arts includes embracing development opportunities and entering art competitions, and we look forward to receiving their entries,” says Magdel Louw, Competition Coordinator and Marketing Manager at Phatshoane Henney Attorneys. Next up is the New Breed Art Webinar series, sponsored by Absa, which will be a dedicated four-part virtual webinar series led by some of South Africa’s best and most well-known artists, taking place at regular intervals throughout the course of this year. “All artists nationwide are welcome to attend these sessions via Zoom, and benefit from these established artists’ mentorship and experience,” adds Louw.
Art Practice, which will be all about the business of art and how to build a thriving, sustainable career as artists. “It is a great opportunity to get invaluable tips and advice on pricing your artwork right and increasing your chances of selling your work, and correctly finishing your artworks to have them competition- and exhibition-ready,” Louw remarks. To stay in the know about these exciting virtual webinars and workshop, artists are strongly encouraged to follow the New Breed Art social media pages on Facebook and Instagram. This year’s total 2022 New Breed Art Competition prize money of R100 000 consists of R50 000 for the overall winner, R20 000 for the runner-up, and R10 000 for each of two merit award winners, as well as the Public Choice Award winner. In addition, artists selected to participate in the New Breed Art Competition Exhibition at Oliewenhuis Art Museum, including the final winners, automatically qualify for consideration and possible inclusion in the exclusive Free State Art Collective, founded and headed up by Karen Brusch. They also have a valuable opportunity to gain exposure with the Art Bank of South Africa, a national programme of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture tasked with purchasing art from emerging South African artists. “We are excited about the incredibly valuable New Breed Art mentorship opportunities lined up for this year and invite all artists to grab at every opportunity to grow their art careers. We look forward to the high level of talent that’s bound to come forth from the Free State art arena once entries to the competition open later this year.” Key competition dates • Submission of entries at Oliewenhuis Art Museum: 12-14 September 2022 • Selected works exhibited at Oliewenhuis Art Museum: 4 October-13 November 2022 • Selected works open for voting on website to determine Public Choice Award: 4 – 31 October 2022 • Winners announced at formal prize-giving function: 3 November 2022 Entry forms are available at: www.newbreedart.co.za
In August, the Art Bank of South Africa will in turn host a virtual workshop entitled Professional
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6
THE
GRAND All artworks priced at R 1000
25.06.2022 - 23.07.2022 www.rust-en-vrede.com
RUST-EN-VREDE GALLERY
CLEMENTINA VD WALT
ART IN THE HEART OF THE KAROO: AS VARIED AS THE KAROO ITSELF! 16-19 June 2022 www.princealbertopenstudios.co.za
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rince Albert is famed as a magnet to creatives of all sorts; healers, foodies, artists, writers and crafters all seem to gravitate here. It is one of the aspects that makes Prince Albert Open Studios so popular. Over four days, from 16th to 19th June, visitors can engage with artists and view/buy their latest work. Here is a small taste of some of the treats in store: Di Smith has 3 new bronze works for Open Studios and a new body of landscape work called Everyday Karoo. “All I really want is to continuously get lost in the creative process and I would love my work to evoke some thought, emotion or comment by the viewer.”
Di Smith, Vulnus, bronze
Di van der Riet Steyn is a jeweller who makes pieces incorporating ‘found’ objects. Her current line ‘Karoo Blues’ is inspired by the collection of crockery shards she has gathered over the years. Diane Johnson-Ackerman is currently working for an exhibition in Swakopmund in August this year, based on the architecture of the town. “I am enthralled by the eclectic mix of the European influence on the African culture.” Erika van Zyl is an impressionist working in oils, preferring to work en-plein air and a la prima. “The unspoiled raw Karoo landscape speaks to me and painting outside on locations is my favourite workplace. Painting the light is my main intention.” Heleen de Haas is a conceptual artist who uses letters a her medium, in land art installations, hand-carved on local stones, on ceramics, for interior decorating, calligraphy on hand made and moulded paper, and a unique lettered labyrinth in a dry dam.
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Di van der reit Steyn, Karoo Blues
Erika van Zyl, en plein air
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John O’Sullivan, Untitled
John O’Sullivan paints in watercolours, oils and acrylics. His latest work features some of the iconic views and buildings around Prince Albert. He also has a passionate interest in sailing craft and creates models from found objects. Kevin de Klerk uses wild animals as a vehicle to express the similarities between man and beast, particularly African Wild Dogs and Hyenas. He uses these as metaphors for the complexities of being human. Maruanda Wynne is a thread artist, specializing in hand embroidery and hand quilting. “I prefer to use fabric that had a previous life.” She had an overwhelming reaction to her latest embroidery, a pair of red shoes which sold before it was completed.
Pat Hyland makes “Functional art with steampunk tendencies. My lamps often incorporate old Land Rover parts. Recently my designs have evolved into incorporating other found objects, for example espresso machine parts and bicycle parts.” Rebecca Haysom Rebecca Haysom works in the form of intimate narrative collages, and playful installation elements, as well as drawing and painting. Renée Calitz works in many media to “slowly make sense of life.” Her current work is with thread. “The process of stitching by hand is like mapping a journey between the different ‘layers’ of life.”
Above: Renee Calitz, My Garden. Opposite Page: Maruanda Wynne, Red Shoes
Deirdre Maree, Along the Way II
Pat Hyland in his studio
Sue Hoppe Karoo, Reminiscence 3
Sally Arnold focuses on detailed, realist pencil drawings and oil paintings of magnified botanical subjects, alluding to imbalances in endangered Nature. Sonja Fourie’s studio is part of her Karoo shop Moeder Aarde. “My favourite medium is acrylic, which works perfectly for me while I am working during quiet hours in my shop/ studio and living space.” Sue Hoppe is a multimedia painter/ photographer whose work has been impacted strongly by her move to Prince Albert. “My current work has morphed into a celebration of ‘Karooness’, mostly in cyanotype, encaustic and ceramics. Sue Savage hand-builds her ceramic pieces. “The Karoo rain bowls are the start of a series celebrating the force of nature that is rain in the Karoo, and of other elemental forces - wind, dust, heat, and freezing winter temperatures.” Prince Albert Community Trust will be hosting acrylic painter Elcado Blom at the POP Centre. Elcado began with portraits of local people. Louis Jansen van Vuuren saw his talent and has been mentoring him. Selwyn Maans will also be exhibiting. He heads up Knipoog Media Team of PACT (the in-house media crew for Pact who provide all visual images, videos and posters posted daily on all social media platforms.)
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Prince Albert Gallery will be hosting: Anna Marie Stone, who paints mainly in soft pastels and oil on canvas. “I came to the Karoo to work and to be inspired by a different landscape, ways of being, interesting people and new experiences.” Deidre Maree, who paints in oil and acrylic. “I use images from personal experience and transform them through mark-making to create detailed, dynamic surfaces.” Turid Bergstedt, who has been making kaleidoscopes since 1992. “My passion is not only the science and mathematics involved in the process, but that the making puts one in touch with oneself.” Prince Albert Open Studios - Art in the heart of the Karoo 16th to 19th June 10 am to 5 pm. Colourful bunting and distinctive blue A-frame boards will point the way. Maps available from Prince Albert Gallery, PA Tourism and Guesthouses. See website for details, www.princealbertopenstudios.co.za
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Year 10
for the love of the arts 10 – 19 JUNE 2022 More information at hermanusfynarts.co.za
Business Art
STRAUSS & CO.
Strauss & Co to host a comprehensive single-artist auction of works by Irma Stern www.straussart.co.za
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trauss & Co is proud to announce details of a single-artist sale of the highly important artist Irma Stern, to be held at Welgemeend Manor House in Cape Town on Wednesday, 8 June 2022. Titled Irma Stern: Time | Line, this boutique sale of 140 works from the Irma Stern Trust Collection and other private properties will feature rare paintings, drawings, prints, books and a stoneware piece that collectively span the entirety of Stern’s prolific and distinguished career.
The bulk of the works in Irma Stern: Time | Line are derived from the Irma Stern Trust Collection. To commemorate 56 years since inception of the Irma Stern Trust, Nedgroup Trust (Pty) Ltd, Trustees of the Irma Stern Trust, have released 124 artworks from its Collection, many of which have never been exhibited before. The benefit of this sale will be to strengthen the Collection for the future by preserving the Collection and making it accessible by developing the existing Irma Stern Trust website into an important research resource. In doing so, the trustees bring Irma Stern’s aim of promoting fine arts within and outside South Africa to fruition, as is stipulated in the artist’s final will and testament.
Above: Irma Stern SOUTH AFRICAN 1894-1966, Seated Zanzibar Woman, signed and dated 1942, gouache on paper on a raffia mount, 38 by 27,5cm, R 200 000 - 300 000. Opposite Page: Irma Stern, SOUTH AFRICAN 1894-1966, Portrait of a Girl, signed and dated 1953, oil on board, 60 by 39,5cm , R 500 000 - 700 000
(A detailed explanation of the Trust’s formation and mandate appears in the print catalogue and e-catalogue for Irma Stern: Time | Line, and is also available on request.) The contents of Irma Stern: Time | Line will be presented chronologically and opens with seven lithographs from the artist’s print portfolio Visionen (Visions), published in 1920 by the Berlin-based Hesperiden Verlag. The sale features works made in every decade from 1920 until the artist’s death in 1966, with many of her major themes covered, notably portraiture, travel pictures, nudes, religious subjects and marine scenes. Right: Irma Stern, SOUTH AFRICAN 1894-1966, Wood Carriers, signed and dated 1960, ballpoint pen and gouache on sketchbook paper sheet size: 28 x 24cm, R 150 000 - 200 000
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Above: Irma Stern, SOUTH AFRICAN 1894-1966, Woman in Black Dress, signed and dated 1936, oil on canvas, 56,5 by 51cm, R 2 500 000 - 3 500 000. Opposite: Irma Stern, SOUTH AFRICAN, 18941966, Portrait of a Woman in a Sari: Roza, signed and dated 1929, oil on canvas, 76 x 68cm, R 4 000 000 - 6 000 000
Irma Stern, SOUTH AFRICAN 18941966, Woman Carrying Pot, signed and dated 1927, charcoal on paper 152 x 55,5cm, R 400 000 - 600 000
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Irma Stern, SOUTH AFRICAN 1894-1966, Vase in Female Form, signed and dated 1951 underneath , glazed and incised terracotta, height: 28,5cm; width: 12cm; depth: 10cm, R 40 000 - 60 00
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Irma Stern, SOUTH AFRICAN 1894-1966, Psychic: An Old Malay Woman, signed and dated 1941, oil on canvas, 68 x 68cm, R 7 000 000 - 9 000 000
Irma Stern: Time | Line includes a strong selection of female subjects representing various ages, ethnicities and races. Strauss & Co is privileged to be offering a number of major oils depicting singular and powerful women. They include Stern’s 1929 portrait of charismatic Capetonian Roza van Gelderen (1890–1976), a life-long friend of the artist and important model (estimate R4 – 6 million), and Psychic: An Old Malay Woman (estimate R7 – 9 million), a portrait of Cape Muslim sitter made in 1941 that is notable for its lavish use of pink. Notwithstanding her decades-long reputation as the most expensive South African artist at auction, the range of works released by the Trust will cater to a broad spectrum of collectors. The sale includes a number of etchings and drawings of female subjects from the 1950s with estimates starting at R10 000. The sale also includes a selection of Stern works drawn from private collections,
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among them an outstanding terracotta vase in a female form from 1951 (estimate R40 000 – 60 000) from the Shill Collection. Irma Stern: Time | Line is supported by a detailed print catalogue (also available to download at www.straussart.co.za), exhibition and education programme. The public is invited to view works from Irma Stern: Time | Line at a special preview exhibition at Welgemeend Manor House (2–8 June 2022). Dr Kathy Wheeler, curator of the Irma Stern Trust Collection, will be in conversation with Strauss & Co senior art specialist Matthew Partridge on Saturday, 4 June at 10am at the exhibition venue. The talk will be followed by a walkabout with Strauss & Co specialists at 11 am. The auction starts at 6pm promptly on Wednesday, 8 June 2022 and will be run as a live virtual auction. www.straussart.co.za
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5th Avenue Auctioneers
Irma Stern (SA 1894 - 1966) Gouache “Lion’s Head from Lagoon Beach”
Next Fine Art Auction Saturday 4th, Sunday 5th & Monday 6th June
Now acceptiNg eNtries 5thAveAuctions.co.za
011 781 2040
stuart@5aa.co.za
404 Jan Smuts Ave, Craighall Park, Sandton
Business Art
STEPHAN WELZ & CO. Cape Town June Auction 20 – 23 June 2022 www.swelco.co.za
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tephan Welz & Co. is delighted to present its June auction which features works from an Old Master, an Abstract Expressionist, the most notorious YBA, a French Pop Artist and various other works. Our Cape Town auction is set to tantalize even the most seasoned collector. We are particularly pleased to be handling an Albrecht Dürer woodcut, ‘The Holy Family with Three Hares’ (circa 1497-98). A leading figure in the Northern European Renaissance, this religious work is a fine example of Dürer’s contribution to culture and history. Another pivotal moment in the development of print-making is Joan Miró’s work. Red Sun illustrates the development of printing in the early 20th Century. This signed Joan Miró lithograph captures the multiple modes of technique, influence, and symbolism that singles the artist out. The Surrealist piece incorporates recurring motifs such as birds, eyes, and the sun, as well as a Fauvist use of colour.
Albrecht Dürer (German 1471 - 1528) The Holy Family With The Three Hares, R50 000 – R70 000
Unlike Miró, Damien Hirst prefers butterflies as a recurring motif. As one of the most recognizable, but possibly most notorious of the Young British Artists, Hirst’s Valley of Death is our next auction highlight. Death and the fleeting nature of life have always been central themes in Hirst’s oeuvre. Our latest offering does not stray far from these ongoing themes and is an intriguing addition to any collection. The mercurial Thierry Guetta or better known as ‘Mr Brainwash’, is an example of a contemporary artist that explores the intersection of street art and print-making. Mr Brainwash has seen a surge in popularity in recent years and we are pleased to present Pup Art to our June sale. OPPOSITE PAGE: Joan Miró (Spanish 1893 - 1983) Le Soleil Rouge (The Red Sun), R40 000 – R60 000
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Ai Weiwei (Chinese 1957 - ) History Of Bombs, R8 000 – R12 000
Damien Hirst (English 1965 - ) VALLEY OF DEATH, 2010, R8 000 – R12 000
Mr. Brainwash (French 1966 - ) Pup Art (Blue), R40 000 – R60 000
Despite being revered or reviled because of his relation to Banksy, he is undoubtedly gifted with the ability to push boundaries. In contrast to Dürer, Miró and Mr Brainwash, Ai Weiwei’s art is fleeting; his works are often time and site-specific. However, this print, accompanied by a certificate of authentication, from his History of Bombs installation at the Imperial War Museum gives the art appreciator a tangible piece of his work. The installation of bomb and weapon renderings, illustrating munition development in the 20th Century within the context of the Museum, demonstrates Weiwei’s ongoing provocation and his continued examination of the harm humans cause each other.
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Four artists, four prints, four viewpoints, four examples of wonderful works on the Stephan Welz & Co. June auction. We are pleased to invite the public to view the works on offer from the 17th to the 19th of June, 10am—5pm at our Claremont showrooms, Cape Town. Join our specialists and the Hazendal Wine Estate team for a glass of wine on Saturday. The auction catalogue can be viewed on our website and the live auction will start on the 20th of June. Please direct any queries or condition report requests to ct@swelco.co.za or 0217946461.
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25 5 0
Freedom from… Freedom to… Freedom to be…Art times Advert_set up for print 20 May 2022 04:17:02 PM
Art, antiques, objets d’art, furniture, and jewellery wanted for forthcoming auctions
Jenny Stadler, Celestial Navigations SOLD R38 000 View previous auction results at www.rkauctioneers.co.za
011 789 7422 • Bram Fischer Centre, Lower Ground, 95 Bram Fischer Driver Cnr George Street, Ferndale, 2194
ARTGO JUNE/JULY 22
NEW GALLERIES, ONGOING SHOWS AND OPENING EXHIBITIONS ToscaNeena, Morphogenic Distortia, 2022, Nel Art Gallery
ARTGO: JUNE 2022
OPENING EXHIBITIONS
SARONSBERG CELLAR GALLERY A PERMANENT EXHIBITION OF CONTEMPORARY SOUTH AFRICAN ART WHILST ENJOYING SOME OF OUR AWARD-WINNING WINES. WWW.SARONSBERG.COM
GROUND ART CAFFE
EBONY/CURATED
THE VIEWING ROOM ART GALLERY AT ST. LORIENT ART GALLERY
MODERN MASTERS IV AN ANNUAL EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTING WORKS BY PROMINENT SOUTH AFRICAN MASTERS, FROM 1950-2000. 15/06/2022 UNTIL 20/07/2022 WWW.EBONYCURATED.COM
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BOWLED AND BEAUTIFUL SHEILA HUTH - A COLLECTION OF ORIGINAL MIXED MEDIA ABSTRACT AND PORTRAIT PAINTINGS. PUBLIC OPENING EVENT ON THE 2ND OF JULY 2022 6-8PM. 02/06/2022 UNTIL 02/08/2022 WWW.GROUNDARTCAFFE.CO.ZA
SCULPTURAL WONDERLAND AT @SANDTON HOTEL IN BENMORE JOHANNESBURG 4/06/2022 UNTIL 02/10/2022 WWW.STLORIENT.CO.ZA
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RK CONTEMPORARY VOLITANT / VOLATILE - GROUP SHOW AN EPHEMERAL AND CAPRICIOUS MOMENT OF FLIGHT OR MOVEMENT. 05/06/2022 UNTIL 26/06/2022 WWW.RKCONTEMPORARY.COM
131 A GALLERY CAPE TOWN JUNE TRIO - CHRISTIAAN CONRADIE, ANTON KARSTEL AND LUKE WILLIAMS OPENING 10/06/2022 11AM - 1PM WWW.131AGALLERY.COM
THE CAPE GALLERY
GALLERY 2 MINIATURES IN PRINT - A GROUP EXHIBITION BY THE PRINTING GIRLS - THE PRINTING GIRLS (TPG) IS AN ALL-FEMALE COLLECTIVE OF SOUTH AFRICAN-BASED ARTISTS WHO WORK IN PRINT. 09/07/2022 UNTIL 30/07/2022 WWW.GALLERY2.CO.ZA
‘LET’S MAKE IT REAL - GROUP EXHIBITION THE ESTABLISHED ARTISTS WHOSE WORKS ARE ON SHOW AT ‘LET’S MAKE IT REAL’ ARE TESTAMENT TO THE SUCCESSFUL INTERVENTION OF THE MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS THAT TOOK THEIR INNATE TALENT TO THE NEXT LEVEL. 05/05/2022 UNTIL 11/06/2022 WWW.CAPEGALLERY.CO.ZA
ARTGO: JUNE 2022
OPENING EXHIBITIONS
HERMANUS FYNARTS
10 YEARS, 7 ARTISTS IN CELEBRATION OF FYNARTS10, THIS EXHIBITION WILL FEATURE ALL PAST FESTIVAL ARTISTS. 11/06/2022 UNTIL 07/08/2022 OPENING: SAT 11TH AT 14:30 WWW.HERMANUSFYNARTS.CO.ZA
THE CAPE GALLERY SOLSTICE | GROUP EXHIBITION COLOUR AND THE EXPRESSION OF INTERIOR TIME IN WESTERN ART. LOOKING AT COLOURISTS AND WHAT COLOURS ARE PERCEIVED TO BE, FEEL AND REPRESENT FROM THE ARTISTS EXHIBITING’S POINT OF VIEW. 21/06/2022 UNTIL 23/07/2022 WWW.CAPEGALLER.CO.ZA
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ART IN THE HEART OF THE KAROO PRINCE ALBERT OPEN STUDIOS: WINTER EDITION THURSDAY 16/06/2022 TO 19/06/2022 10AM TO 5 PM DAILY. OPENING OF GROUP EXHIBITION AT PRINCE ALBERT GALLERY: WEDNESDAY 15/06/2022 - 6 PM. WINTER WORKSHOPS: TUESDAY 14/06/2022 & 15/06/2022
WWW.PRINCEALBERTOPENSTUDIOS.CO.ZA
OLIEWENHUIS ART MUSEUM
LEARNING THROUGH ART: THE MUSEUM AS CLASSROOM A VISUAL ARTS CURRICULUM-BASED EXHIBITION CURATED FROM OLIEWENHUIS ART MUSEUM’S PERMANENT COLLECTION. 23/06/2022 UNTIL 21/08/2022 WWW.NASMUS.CO.ZA
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RUST-EN-VREDE GALLERY CLAY MUSEUM
THE CUBE: THERE’S MANY A SLIP A SOLO EXHIBITION OF RECENT CERAMIC WORK BY CLEMENTINA VD WALT, IN CELEBRATION OF HER BEING SEVENTY YEARS ON THE PLANET 25/06/2022 UNTIL 27/08/2022 WWW.RUST-EN-VREDE.COM
GALLERY @ GLEN CARLOU
SHAMAN - A GROUP EXHIBITION CURATED BY ELFRIEDE DREYER 26/06/2022 UNTIL 07/08/2022 IMAGE:KATJA ABBOTT, THE JOURNEY I, 2021, 28 BY 14 BY 28CM, CERAMIC WWW.GLENCARLOU.COM
RUST-EN-VREDE GALLERY THE GRAND 6
THE GRAND IS BACK FOR THE SIXTH YEAR! THIS EXHIBITION WAS INITIATED TO INSPIRE YOUNG BUYERS AND FIRST TIME COLLECTORS TO START BUILDING AN ART COLLECTION. ALL ARTWORKS ARE PRICED AT R 1000. 25/06/2022 UNTIL 23/07/2022 WWW.RUST-EN-VREDE.COM
GALLERY @ GLEN CARLOU PAINT A GROUP EXHIBITION CURATED BY JP MEYER 26/06/2022 UNTIL 07/08/2020 WWW.GLENCARLOU.COM
ARTGO: JULY - SEPTEMBER 2022
OPENING EXHIBITIONS
RK CONTEMPORARY
NEL
GALLERY 2
RUST-EN-VREDE GALLERY IN MY NATURE SOLO EXHIBITION OF CERAMICS BY ANNELIE JANSE VAN RENSBURG 30/07/2022 UNTIL 27/08/2022 WWW.RUST-EN-VREDE.COM
BLOW INTO, BREATH UPON....... CURATED BY KATJA ABBOTT, ARTISTS WERE INVITED TO RESPOND TO THREE SOURCES OF INSPIRATION: A PIECE OF MUSIC, A POEM AND A PHOTOGRAPH 03/07/2022 UNTIL 29/07/2022 WWW.RKCONTEMPORARY.COM
MINIATURES IN PRINT - A GROUP EXHIBITION BY THE PRINTING GIRLS THE PRINTING GIRLS (TPG) IS AN ALL-FEMALE COLLECTIVE OF SOUTH AFRICAN-BASED ARTISTS WHO WORK IN PRINT. 09/07/2022 UNTIL 06/08/2022 WWW.GALLERY2.CO.ZA
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M I L K - FOUR ARTISTS EXPLORED THE FRAMEWORKS OF DIVERSE SOCIO-ECONOMICPOLITICAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND REALITIES. THE WORK EVOLVED UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF ‘CURRENT AFFAIRS 2022 – CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE BODY’ 07/07/2022 UNTIL 30/07/2022 WWW.NELART.CO.ZA
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RUST-EN-VREDE GALLERY FLOREER - AN EXHIBITION OF MOSAICS BY THE STUDENTS OF PIET-MY-VROU MOSAIC STUDIO 30/07/2022 UNTIL 27/08/2022 WWW.RUST-EN-VREDE.COM
SASOL NEW SIGNATURES ART COMPETITION WINNING WORKS WILL BE DISPLAYED AT THE PRETORIA ART MUSEUM 25/08/2022 UNTIL 02/10/2022 WWW.SASOLSIGNATURES.CO.ZA
SOLO STUDIOS
INTIMATE ART ENCOUNTERS IS AN ART INVESTMENT EMPORIUM, AN ANNUAL EVENT THAT TAKES PLACE OVER A WEEKEND IN “ARTS TOWN RIEBEEK VALLEY” (WITH RIEBEEK KASTEEL AS THE HUB), LESS THAN 1 HOUR’S DRIVE FROM CAPE TOWN. 26/08/2022 UNTIL 28/08/2022 WWW.SOLOSTUDIOS.CO.ZA
THE MELROSE GALLERY
SCULPTX 2022 CALLOUT INVITATION TO ESTABLISHED, MID-CAREER AND EMERGING SCULPTORS IN PARTICIPATE IN SCULPTX 2022 01/09/2022 UNTIL 02/10/2022 WWW.THEMELROSEGALLERY.COM
ARTGO: JUNE - JULY 2022
ONGOING SHOWS
IRMA STERN MUSEUM
AITY | FRANSCHHOEK ONCE UPON A PAGE GROUP EXHIBITION 13/05/2022 UNTIL 10/06/2022 WWW.ARTINTHEYARD.CO.ZA
IRMA & ATHI …AN INTERVENTION: EXHIBITION OF ATHIPATRA RUGA ART IN CONVERSATION WITH IRMA STERN ARTWORKS. WALKABOUTS: ATHI PATRA RUGA: 9 APRIL DISCUSSION WITH ATHI PATRA RUGA AND GUESTS: 14 MAY WALKABOUTS WITH ISM DIRECTOR: 3 MAYOLD MEETS NEW PRACTICAL ART-MAKING WORKSHOP: 24 MAY WWW.IRMASTERNMUSEUM.CO.ZA
RUST-EN-VREDE CLAY MUSEUM
THE CUBE: NAKED FEATURING UNGLAZED CERAMICS SUCH AS NAKED RAKU, OBVARA, SAGGAR FIRING, PIT FIRING, AGATEWARE, BURNISHED CLAY AND RAW CLAY. 09/04/2022 UNTIL 18/06/2022 WWW.RUSTENVREDE.COM
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ARTIST PROOF STUDIO
CHAPTER 31 FORETELLING- TALES OF A PRINTMAKER AT TURBINE ART FAIR 2022 WILL REFLECT THE GROWTH AND NEW POSSIBILITIES OF THE ARTISTS WE COLLABORATE WITH AS A LEADING PRINT STUDIO. 21/07/2022 UNTIL 24/07/2022 WWW.ARTISTPROOFSTUDIO.CO.ZA
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SMAC JHB JONI BRENNER BETWEEN YOU AND ME: FOUR MODELS IN THE STUDIO 21/05/2022 UNTIL 02/07/2022 WWW.SMACGALLERY.COM
OLIEWENHUIS ART MUSEUM FREEDOM FROM… FREEDOM TO… FREEDOM TO BE… AN EXHIBITION CURATED FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION OF OLIEWENHUIS ART MUSEUM AND ARTBANKSA. TO COMMEMORATE A PIVOTAL HISTORICAL MOMENT IN SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY; THE FIRST DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS IN 1994) UNTIL 03/07/2022 WWW.NASMUS.CO.ZA
THE MELROSE GALLERY CAPE TOWN
HUSSEIN SALIM GARDEN OF CARNAL DELIGHTS DOCK ROAD, VICTORIA & ALFRED WATERFRONT, CAPE TOWN 05/05/2022 UNTIL 03/07/2022 WWW.THEMELROSEGALLERY.COM
SANLAM ART GALLERY IRMA STERN - NUDES THIS EXHIBITION TRACES IRMA STERN’S TREATMENT OF NUDES IN DIFFERENT MEDIA OVER HER LONG WORKING LIFE. 26/04/2022 UNTIL 15/07/2022 2 STRAND ROAD, BELLVILLE, CAPE TOWN
ARTGO: JULY 2022
ONGOING SHOWS
OLIEWENHUIS ART MUSEUM
PRINCE ALBERT GALLERY CELEBRATES IT’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY BY HONOURING THE LATE HEKKIE MOOS RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION 11/05/2022 UNTIL 18/07/2022 WWW.PRINCEALBERTGALLERY.CO.ZA
IN STRANGER TIMES: THE ART BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA 2021 NEW ACQUISITIONS EXHIBITION THE SEVENTY UNIQUE WORKS SELECTED FROM THE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT ARTWORKS ACQUIRED BY THE ARTBANKSA IN 2021 REFLECT THE ARTISTS’ VISIONS AND OUR SOCIETY, EMBRACING THE EVERYDAY SOUTH AFRICA IN A WORLD IN CRISIS. UNTIL 19/06/2022 WWW.NASMUS.CO.ZA
BOSCHENDAL NORVAL ART GALLERY SMAC ART GALLERY KINDRED - GROUP EXHIBITION 13/05/2022 UNTIL 21/06/2022 FRANSCHHOEK
SMAC | CPT ROSIE MUDGE TALKING BACK 28/05/2022 UNTIL 23/07/2022 WWW.SMACGALLERY.COM
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STEVENSON JHB
MAWANDE KA ZENZILE NQANDA NANGA’MANZI ENGENE’NDLINI SOLO EXHIBITION BY MAWANDE KA ZENZILE COMPRISING NEW PAINTING, SCULPTURE AND INSTALLATION. 04/05/2022 UNTIL 24/06/2022 WWW.STEVENSON.INFO
ART@AFRICA POP UP EXHIBITION AT ABLAND 35 LOWER LONG – CAPE TOWN FOOLS GOLD BY PAUL KNEEN UNTIL 20/06/2022 WWW.ARTATAFRICA.ART
EBONY/CURATED
A POINT OF DEPARTURE GROUP SHOW CURATED BY CHRISTINA FORTUNE. WORKS BY; HANEEM CHRISTIAN, JABU NADIA NEWMAN, MIKHAILIA PETERSEN, RORY EMMETT, XHANTI ZWELENDABA, WOOJU LEE AND AVIWE PLAATJIE. 5/05/2022 UNTIL 10/06/2022 WWW.EBONYCURATED.COM
GOODMAN GALLERY JHB
ROBERT HODGINS: +/- 102 14/05/2022 UNTIL 30/06/2022 TRIBUTE THAT COINCIDES WITH WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ARTIST’S 102ND BIRTHDAY ON 27 JUNE 2022. MANY OF THE WORKS ARE ON PUBLIC EXHIBITION FOR THE FIRST TIME. WWW.GOODMAN-GALLERY.COM
ARTGO: JULY 2022 - FEB 2023
ONGOING SHOWS
ST. LORIENT AND THE VIEWING ROOM ART GALLERY GROUP EXHIBITION- SPIDERMAN 60TH WWW.STLORIENT.CO.ZA/THE-VIEWINGROOM.CO.ZA
OLIEWENHUIS ART MUSEUM
THE POWER OF REPRESENTATION THIS EXHIBITION EXPLORES THE POWER OF ART, HOW IT COMMUNICATES AND THE POWER OF REPRESENTATION THROUGH (AMONG OTHER WAYS) JUXTAPOSING OLDER ARTWORKS IN THE COLLECTION WITH NEWER CONTEMPORARY ARTWORKS. UNTIL 30/10/2022 WWW.NASMUS.CO.ZA
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NATURE MORTE The Still from Life
Jean Welz (1900 – 1975). Still life - earthenware with chalkboard, 1945. Oil on carton. Rupert Art Foundation Collection.
until end August 2022
Jan Rupert Art Centre, 41 Middelstraat, Graaff-Reinet Mon – Fri: 9h00 – 12h30 | 14h00 - 17h00 Sat – Sun & Public Holidays: 09h00 – 12h00 janrupertcentre@telkomsa.net | +27 (0)49 892 6107 Entrance complimentary
ART@AFRICA MAIN ROAD FRANSCHHOEK IT’S ALWAYS SUMMERTIME SCULPTURE GARDEN SERIES UNTIL 02/01/2023 WWW.ARTATAFRICA.ART
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SOLSTICE GROUP EXHIBITION
on show from June 21st to 23 July
Color Light Mood & Emotion
Artwork : Flowers by Simon Jones
60 Church Street, Cape Town 0214235309 web@capegallery.co.za Saturday 10am - 2pm weekdays 9.30am - 4pm
PRINT GALLERY
Woodstock arts hub at 109 Sir Lowry Road, Cape Town, South Africa. Tel: 021 300 0461 Email: info@printgallery.co.za printgallery.co.za
Joshua Miles, Window with flower, (reduction linocut)
Cecil Skotnes | THE BRIDE | R400 000 – R600 000
Cape Town Auction 20 - 23 June 2022 Public viewing: 17, 18 & 19 June from 10am - 5pm at our Cape Town saleroom, 14 Dreyer Street, Claremont.
View all our auctions and register to bid at
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