NOSTALGIA

Diane Johnson-Ackerman Solo Exhibition

www.princealbertgallery.co.za Written by Wendy Malan

Garingbome, etching

The Prince Albert Gallery will be celebrating the paintings and prints of Diane Johnson-Ackerman in a solo exhibition from 31 March - 2 May 2021.

Diane studied under Prof Brian Bradshaw at Rhodes University and exhibited with the Grahamstown Group. She has worked consistently and prolifically since graduating in 1973, participating in many shows, including the Stellenbosch Woordfees, the KKNK and South African Society of Artists exhibitions. Diane has completed important commissions including a series of paintings of historical buildings related to the University of Stellenbosch Faculty of AgriSciences Centenary Celebrations during 2018.

Diane Johnson-Ackerman is a painter and printmaker of extraordinary technical ability and draftsmanship. Her etchings (a notoriously difficult medium) are flawlessly executed.

Diane’s work has always attracted me because of its quiet Romanticism, its mysterious and sometimes disquieting atmosphere. Romanticism is a label that has often been abused because it has been associated with the term sentimentality. Diane’s work is all but sentimental and has a quality which is more easily detected in the visual arts than defined. It is not a style but an attitude of the mind.

Tankwa Landscape, acrylic on canvas, 1200mm x 840mm Opposite Page: Karoo Threshold, acrylic on canvas, 350mm x 450mm

Vondeling Station, acrylic on canvas, 450mm x 300mm

Verlatenheid, acrylic on canvas, 80mm x 600mm

“There is an element of nostalgia and yearning, of the passing of time and human frailty”

Romanticism has to do with the choice of subject matter. It reflects a general tenor of feeling and a spiritual engagement. There is an element of nostalgia and yearning, of the passing of time and human frailty, in these beautiful works. The uninhabited houses, buildings and empty chairs in Diane’s work evoke a particular presence, a past, a life. She creates this mood largely by a masterful use of light and shade. “I love the mystery of shadows within Karoo buildings, contrasting with the clarity of the light outside”, she always says. “I love simplicity, cleanliness, detail and definition, mood is an integral part of my message, done through tonal contrast in light and shade”.

Trees are also a favourite theme, once again not merely accurate botanically but reflecting her love of trees. This stems from a lifetime of living and working in close proximity to nature and in particular the forests of the Mpumalanga Escarpment and the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal.

Diane and her husband Pierre live in Somerset West but have a home in Prince Albert where they spend much of their time. Diane has a deep love and understanding of the Karoo and captures its unique atmosphere.

Diane has been exhibiting at the Prince Albert Gallery for many years and this solo exhibition will be a unique opportunity to see her work.

INTRODUCING MOHAMMAD RABIE

www. eclecticacontemporary.co.za

Mohamed Rabie is an artist deeply engaged in and interested with the identity and symbolisms of his hometown, Minya, in Egypt. He was born in Minya in 1986 and went on to study at Cairo’s Faculty of Fine Arts and is now also a member of the Fine Arts Association and the General Federation of Arab Archaeologists. As such, his interest and passion for the arts goes beyond his multi-layered canvases, while also contributing to and informing his creativity as he works.

His painting practice borrows from different eras and cultures present within his rich heritage and grapples with questionings of historical entanglements and contemporary geographic dynamics. Looking at the theme of ‘Egyptian heritage’ his work includes a querying of graphic texts and visual languages, translating them into a contemporary context. Using broad brushstrokes and large swathes of colour across the picture plane, Rabie offers fragmentary clues from history and rearticulates them within the gestures of his work. This results in a strange sense of familiarity and recognition within each painting, as though recalling a forgotten story and familiar narrative.

(Detail) Untitled, 2019, Oil on canvas,120 x 80 cm. Right: Oil on canvas,1350 ×140, 2020

Untitled, 2020, Oil on canvas,180 x 220 cm

“Since the beginning of time, nature has been the primary provider and teacher of man, and a main constituent of his evolution” Rabie muses. He has tries to study it and uncover its secrets, while becoming fascinated with the minute creatures and forces at play. He continues: “These and many more have become part of our heritage. With this collection of work, I poured all visual stock of this nature buried in my memory.”

In 2011, he won an incentive award from the University of Helwan, followed by a grant from the Ministry of Culture. His artworks have been acquired for private collections in Egypt, Dubai and can also be found in the permanent collection at the General Authority for Cultural Palaces. His paintings have been exhibited in over 15 group shows in Egypt, including the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Cairo Opera House and the Museum of Modern Art, among others.

Mohammad Rabie’s work is available in South Africa at Eclectica Contemporary, Cape Town. Visit eclecticacontemporary.co.za