ATWS OCTOBER 2012

ART TIMES The South African Art Times: SA’s leading visual arts publication | October 2012 | Free | Read daily news on www.arttimes.co.za

Christiaan Diedericks Planetary Platitudes

Photo: Jenny Altschuler

Photo: John Hodgkiss

Johannes Meintjes (1923 - 1980) detail from Self Portrait with Cigarette, 1954 oil on panel Sanlam Art Collection

SPI National Portrait Award 2013 R100 000

Prize awarded for the winning portrait.

Enter by 19 August 2013.

Please visit www.spiportraitaward.co.za for the rules and entry form.

SA PRINT GALLERY The Home of South African Fine Art Printmaking

Proudly presents brand new work by:

CHRISTIAAN DIEDERICKS Planetary Platitudes

Saturday 06 - 27 October 2012. 109 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock, CT. 021 424 7733. www.printgallery.co.za

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TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THERE’S NO SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL EXPERIENCES WE HYPNOTISED YOUNG ARTISTS AND TOLD THEM THAT THEY WERE THE WINNERS OF THE ABSA L’ATELIER ART COMPETITION. WE TOLD THEM THEY WERE IN PARIS, NEW YORK OR THE ISLAND OF SYLT, ONE OF THE RESIDENCIES THE 2013 WINNERS WILL EXPERIENCE. THEY WERE THEN TOLD TO PAINT WHAT THEY SAW.

TO SEE WHAT THEY CREATED AND TO ENTER THE COMPETITION, VISIT ABSALATELIER.CO.ZA AND YOU COULD FIND YOURSELF THERE. ENTRIES CLOSE: 8 MARCH 2013

P A RIS • N E W YORK • S Y LT

Helmut Starcke, Dreams and Nightmares of M. de la Q., #2 (1999) (detail) Estimate R80 000 – 100 000

Erik Laubscher, Still Life with Coffee Pot (detail) Estimate R400 000 – R600 000

JH Pierneef, Kameeldoring, Kalahari (detail) Estimate R800 000 – 1 200 000

Johannes Meintjes, Swazi Landscape (detail) Estimate R300 000 – 450 000

Important South African & International Art, Furniture, Silver, Ceramics, Glass & Jewellery

House Sale: The Contents of Keerweder

including Jewellery from the Vivienne Linder Collection Cape Town, Monday 8 October 2012 The Vineyard Hotel, Newlands Preview: Friday 5 to Sunday 7 October

Franschhoek, Monday 22 October 2012 Preview: Friday 19 to Sunday 21 October

Enquiries & Catalogues: 021 683 6560 / 078 044 8185 / ct@straussart.co.za

www.straussart.co.za

ART TIMES | EDITORIAL

October 2012 Daily news at www.arttimes.co.za Commissioning Editor: Gabriel Clark-Brown editor@arttimes.co.za Advertising: Eugene Fisher

sales@arttimes.co.za

Subscriptions: Julia Shiels

subs@arttimes.co.za

Listings: Julia Shields

show@arttimes.co.za

Accounts: Bastienne Klein

accounts@arttimes.co.za

Send Artwork To: Designer

sales@arttimes.co.za

Letters to the Editor:

editor@arttimes.co.za

PO Box 15881, Vlaeberg, 8018.

Tel. 021 424 7733

Deadline for news, articles and advertising is the 14th of each month. The Art Times is published in the last week of each month.

Newspaper rights: The newspaper reserves the right to reject any material that could be found offensive by its readers. Opinions and views 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.

Global Art Information Group

Gabriel opening The PRINTMAKING 2012 Sandton Civic Gallery. Photo: Rupert de Beer, www.art.co.za The recent opening of can of worms revealing incompetence and corruption in SAHRA is a sad chapter in our cultural history. SAHRA is charged with numerous priceless jobs including looking after our cultural history and safeguarding our nation’s treasures for the future. It’s one thing buying paintings for millions from galleries, but it’s the museum’s jobs to accept many expensive paintings and cultural artifacts to make the work both invaluable and priceless for future generations. Many auction houses see sold works blocked or regulated by SAHRA from leaving the country (like Irma Stern’s Arab Priest that sold on auction for R 26.6M last year) as individuals find it important to preserve the most amazing culture that our forbearers found that encaptured the aesthetical values of their, and perhaps, I hope, our day. Let’s hope that it is not too late and that SAHRA can function again soon.

On the other note Spring in the art community has arrived, as seen at the new buds of sales and activity on the floor at FNB Joburg Art Fair. There were many new galleries as well as a flurry of sales, art market competence was a lot higher than last year, and Ross and Cobi’s firm but competent management style maintained the high, professional level that the JAF is known for. There were some good surprises at the JAF too, where Brett Murray was seen walking around freely after months of hell and death threats, it was good to see him again, and take my hat off to him for standing up against the abuse and intimidation of

current political thuggery of the ANC. Lastly I would like to apologies for the recent spelling mistakes that crept into the magazine last month. I thank our readers and critics that have been on the phone, email and Blackberrys, and yes we are taking on a new proof reader as from this next month.

Murphy’s law is that for 1 week we were without an administrator. We are well into our early 70th edition, and for a small national SA Art magazine, that supplies the SA Art community with a vast amount of quality free art magazine of 8500 printed and distributed copies and 10 000 copies read online per month (with roughly the same amount of advertising as a paid magazine) we are doing pretty well, the formula works, and I would like to thank our advertisers and our readers’ feedback. Please feel welcome to drop us an email and keep in touch with news and comment from your area. Thanks to our advertisers, and most of all, to you for supporting our magazine and enjoying it.

Gabriel Clark-Brown.

Commissioning Editor and Artist ‘Errata’ Column I would like to take the opportunity of correcting a few spelling mistakes in our last month’s SA Art Times SASA Coverage, an institution that I have always wanted to support and cover. I would like to apologies to you the reader, but more so real friends of mine both at SASA a very fine institution, and to the artist friends whose names I miss-spelt in the rough draft converting from MS Power Point to MS Word. Mistakes in publishing can’t be erased away, it’s always a small shame that such a fine magazine as the SA Art Times does run into these mistakes from time to time, but now with a newly employed administrator I hope lessen the frequency of these errata columns. My artist and editors hat off and humble bow to all fine SASA members, and to Derric, Dale, Louis, Richard and Pastels.

The rotten apples: Middle: (Deric) Derric van Rensburg opening speaker for the Merit Exhibition 2012. Louis (Janson) Jansen van (Vurren) Vuuren demonstrating his (patels) pastels to SASA members. Dale (Elliot) Elliott giving his acrylic instruction at his workshop for SASA members.

(Right) Acclaimed artist (Paul) Richard Smith opening SASA’s Members ‘1’ Exhibition.

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ADVERTISE IN THE SA ART TIMES 7 YEARS ON, MONTHLY CIRCULATION OF 8500 PRINTED COPIES, 10 000 READERS ONLINE 22 000 EMAIL NEWSLETTERS AND FACEBOOK TO SPECIFICALLY VISUAL ART FANS. LARGE DIVERSITY OF ART LOVING READERS INCLUDES AA INCOME SCHOOLS WITH ART AS A SUBJECT, UNIVERSITY ART DEPARTMENTS, SELECT HOTELS, GALLERIES, MUSEUMS, SOCIETIES, ARTISTS, COLLECTORS, ART MATERIAL SHOPS, NATIONALLY. CHAT TO EUGENE TO FIND OUT MORE HOW WE CAN PUT YOU IN TOUCH WITH THE PULSE OF THE SA ART COMMUNITY. CALL 021 424 7733 06

SA ART TIMES. October 2012

AROUND THE SA ART MEDIA / NEWS | ART TIMES

Around SA Art Media Daily newscasts at www.arttimes.co.za For the full story go to www.arttimes.co.za, click newslink directly to the source

Silence Incorrigible Corrigall: No matter how heated the debate became during The Spear debacle earlier this year, Cape Town-based artist Brett Murray chose not to enter the fray. Murray resisted mounting pressure to come forward and explain the motivations behind his contentious portrait of President Jacob Zuma, which exposed the leader’s genitals. Even when Zuma took the case to court, to appeal for the artwork to be removed from the Goodman Gallery, various individuals suggested Murray’s work was racist in intent, and when his life was threatened, Murray maintained his silence.

Hugo lays bare society’s scars.

Mail And Guardian: Niren Tolsi: Pieter Hugo’s latest work, the Pirelli-commissioned At Home series of nude portraits of South Africans at home is all imperfect humanity.Cape Town-based photographer Pieter Hugo’s work elicits extreme responses — from criticism for his exoticised representations of Africa to being lauded for reinvigorating photography with the unflinching imagery his large-format camera captures.There are no ANC-prescribed notions of “prettiness” in his photographs, or any middle ground or easy responses to it.Hugo’s latest work, the Pirelli-commissioned At Home series of nude portraits of South Africans at home — which features at the Jo’burg Art Fair — is all imperfect humanity, mottled skin, sock-elastic marks on ankles SA dalk deelname kwyt Beeld: Rudolf Stehle en Johan Myburg: Suid-Afrika loop die gevaar om volgende jaar die 55ste Venesiese biënnale mis te loop. Dié biënnale word van 1 Junie tot 24 November in Italië aangebied.Dié nuus volg op die omstredenheid waarin die 2011-biënnale gehul was. Die deelname aan die 54ste biënnale wat wyd kritiek ontlok het weens ongerymdhede, het die belastingbetaler in die omgewing van R10 miljoen gekos.Volgens Lisa Combrinck, direkteur van kommunikasie en skakeling van die departement van kuns en kultuur, is hooggeplaaste amptenare van dié departement in “moeilike” en “delikate” onderhandelinge met die organiseerders van die Venesiese biënnale gewikkel om ’n uitstalruimte vir Suid-Afrika te beding.

Onverbloemde naaktheid Beeld: Johan Myburg: Ná die debakel oor naaktheid met Brett Murray se The Spear tydens sy uitstalling in die Goodman-galery in Johannesburg vroeër vanjaar is die Joburg Art Fair (JAF) die afgelope naweek gekenmerk deur kunswerke waarin verskillende gedaantes van naaktheid onverbloemd na vore gekom het.

Van die kunstenaars wat veral naakte mansfigure vertoon het, is Pieter Hugo, Ed Young, Gordon Clark en by implikasie ook Deborah Poynton. Dis asof kunstenaars wat by verskillende galerye uitstal, onverwant weerstand bied teen sensuur (naaktheid was nog altyd die eerste windmeul in dié stryd).

Zuma smear case postponed Citizen: The trial of two men accused of vandalising a painting depicting President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed was postponed by the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. Barend la Grange, 58, and Louis Mabokela, 25, are accused of defacing artist Brett Murray’s painting “The Spear” at the Goodman Gallery on May 22, by smearing it with red and black paint.

Iziko Museums of Cape Town Rebrands as Iziko Museums of South Africa Statement by Iziko Museums’ Chairman of Council - Declared Cultural Institution renamed as Iziko Museums of South Africa. Advocate Brenda Madumise, Chairman, Iziko Museums Council, announced today that Paul Mashatile, Minister of Arts and Culture, has approved the renaming of Iziko Museums of Cape Town, to Iziko Museums of South Africa. The notice of this change was published in the Government Gazette on the 14th of September 2012. Advocate Madumise, stated that: “The naming and renaming of our institutions is driven by the principles of inclusivity and collective memory of history and heritage”.

SA ART TIMES. October 2012

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HONOURS IN CURATORSHIP The Centre for Curating the Archive at the Michaelis School of Fine Art in collaboration with Iziko Museums of South Africa The programme will offer courses in the theory and practice of curatorship, developing in students a sophisticated awareness of the practicalities, politics and poetics of working with collections. Students will be encouraged to bring the disciplinary insights of their undergraduate major (whether this be in the creative arts and art history, the humanities or the sciences) to the curating of both material and virtual collections, and will be offered opportunities to work on exhibitions in real spaces and in the digital realm.

A limited number of bursaries (of not less than R20 000 each) are available, awarded on the basis of both merit and need. Deadline for submissions no later than 31 October 2012.

For more information, please visit www.cca.uct.ac.za.

Enquiries to: nina.liebenberg@uct.ac.za Telephone: +27 (0)21 480 7151

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AROUND THE SA & INTERNATIONAL ART MEDIA / NEWS | ART TIMES C M Y CM MY CY Art a critical subject Mail & Guardian: Mpho Moshe Matheolane: Even with all the challenges and failures the education system in SA is subject to, arts education is not just a luxury, writes Mpho Moshe Matheolane.

Murray breaks his silence – with Silence Sunday Independent: Mary Corrigall: No matter how heated the debate became during The Spear debacle earlier this year, Cape Town-based artist Brett Murray chose not to enter the fray.Murray resisted mounting pressure to come forward and explain the motivations behind his contentious portrait of President Jacob Zuma, which exposed the leader’s genitals.Even when Zuma took the case to court, to appeal for the artwork to be removed from the Goodman Gallery, various individuals suggested Murray’s work was racist in intent, and when his life was threatened, Murray maintained his silence.

Documenta’s garden of earthly delights Mail & Guardian: Sean O’Toole:This year’s edition of the Documenta exhibition is a bit like a ‘magic encyclopaedia’,a space that covers the full spectrum of human expression. Every five years since 1955, give or take some hallucinatory mathematics in the 1960s, Kassel, an economically depressed city in central Germany, has hosted a 100-day-long exhibition charting new ideas in art practice.

International News China : Ai Weiwei: ‘China-s art world does not exist’ Guardian (UK) A new London exhibition is putting the spotlight on contemporary art in China. I take issue with the whole notion. Ai Weiwei: Sleeping (2004/2012)

by Ying Duan, which can be seen at Art of Change: New Directions from China.

What are we to make of a show that calls itself Art of Change: New Directions from China? I don’t think it’s worth discussing new directions in the context of Chinese art – there were no old directions, either. Chinese art has never had any clear orientation.

France: Louvre opens Islamic art wing amid religious tensions Times Live: The Louvre Museum is unveiling a new wing and galleries dedicated to the arts of Islam, culminating a nearly $130 million, decade-long project coming to fruition amid tensions between the Muslim world and the West.The new dragonfly-shaped building marks the famed Paris museum’s greatest development since its iconic glass pyramid constructed 20 years ago.

Germany : Documenta ignores Kassel’s bloody history, artists say The Art Newspaper: Weapons are still being produced in the city that hosts one of the largest art exhibitions in the world Clemens Bomsdorf. A poster offering €25,000 reward for information on the owners of the German arms manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann . As Documenta wraps up in Kassel this week, a group of artists have come out criticising the organisers of the quinquennial exhibition, saying they have ignored the city’s history as a German weapons manufacturing centre. “Kassel was heavily bombed during World War Two because of its arms production.

Italy: Skeleton Key? Leonardo Fanatics Dig Up Graves, Harvest DNA to Crack the Mona Lisa Code Artinfo: Archeologists working in Florence reported to AFP the discovery of the final resting place of Lisa Gherardini this week, potentially confirming a crucial fragment in the biography of one of the most recognizable personages in Western culture and art history.

Italy: Mona Lisa’s skeleton belongs to other ‘wealthy woman,’ but researchers insist they’re getting warmer Huffington Post: In July scientists believed they had finally made crucial progress in the controversial quest to find the skeleton of the Mona Lisa, known in her time as Lisa del Giocondo.

Send your news to news@arttimes.co.za

SA ART TIMES. October 2012

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ART TIMES | NEWS / AROUND THE INTERNATIONAL ART MEDIA Italy : Tourists line up to visit beast Jesus Hyperallergic: by Jillian Steinhauer. Not only does the internet love Cecilia Gimenez and her Beast Jesus restoration job — so do real life, fleshand-blood people! Apparently hundreds of tourists have begun making pilgrimages to see the work and take pictures with it, after the apparently well-intentioned octogenarian Eskimo-fied Elías García Martínez’s 19th-century fresco of Jesus. The painting sits on a column between two altars in the Iglesia del Santuario de Misericordia church in Borja, Spain, a small town with a population of around 5,000. According to the AFP, there’s also a petition circulating online to leave the painting in all its new folk-art glory, rather than have professionals attempt to repair and restore to its former state.

Netherlands: Stedelijk reopens after eight years’ of work The Art Newspaper: New building includes large glassed entrance opening onto Museumplein, upper-level galleries for temporary exhibitions in “bathtub” space and basement displays for permanent collection.

Russia: Russian Orthodox activists protest Pussy Riot art show (AFP) Moscow — Backers of the Russian Orthodox Church disrupted the opening night of an art exhibit in Moscow devoted to the punk rock band Pussy Riot. Access to the show “Spiritual Battle” at the Winzavod Centre for Contemporary Art was briefly blocked after a group of roughly 20 protesters threatened to disrupt the event.

United Kingdom: Cecil Beaton’s wartime photos found in IWM archives The Art Newspaper: The cache of 120 images depicting life in Britain during Second World War were transferred to museum in 1948 but remained unattributed until now

United Kingdom : Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde - Review Guardian (UK): Tate Britain’s enormous pre-Raphaelite exhibition has 200 works - paintings, drawings, sculptures, wallpaper designs, embroidered bedspreads - and a single unifying theory. This is announced in the terse subtitle. The curators apparently want us to believe in the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood as Britain’s first modern art movement, radical, difficult, rebellious, dangerously innovative and experimental. Why, even the bedspreads are avant garde.

United States : Signs on the Street as “Occupy” Turns One Huffington Post: Occupy did more than grab some headlines and inconvenience workers on Wall Street last year. It blew a hole open in the consciousness of a confused and battered public afloat in debt, denial, and 700 channels of mind-numbing distraction. As a result of the Occupy Movement and all it’s permutations, in many unexpected ways we woke up. We became enlivened, enraged, enthused, and possibly enlightened.

United States: NYC’S Metropolitan Museum of art explores Warhol’s impact on contemporary artists

By Associated Press. New York - Andy Warhol’s far-reaching impact on contemporary art is the subject of a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years” United States : A Renoir at a flea market? Possible ‘paysage bords de seine’ for $7 Huffington Post: A woman who bought a $7 box lot at a flea market may have unwittingly scored an original painting by Pierre-August Renoir. An auction house believes the landscape to be Renoir’s “Paysage Bords de Seine,” which it values between $75,000 and $100,000. The Shenandoah Valley resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, was drawn to the box for the Paul Bunyan doll and plastic cow included with the painting.

“I’d never seen a Paul Bunyan doll before,” she told The Huffington Post in a phone conversation, identifying herself only as “Renoir Girl.”

Find Daily art news from around South Africa and the world on www.arttimes.co.za

design | books and catalogues | large format graphics | archiving | specialised retouching | exhibition displays | digital scanning

LAUNCH OF THE NEW SPI NATIONAL PORTRAIT AWARD 2013 / NEWS | ART TIMES

Sanlam Private Investments (SPI) announces South Africa’s first SPI National Portrait Award 2013 Sanlam Private Investments, in collaboration with Rust-en-Vrede Art Gallery, Durbanville, has initiated South Africa’s first National Portrait Award. A significant single prize of R100,000 will be awarded for the best portrait. In addition to the prize, the winning portrait along with a selection of approximately 40 entrant works will be exhibited at the Rust-en-Vrede Gallery in Durbanville, after which the exhibition will tour to venues around South Africa in collaboration with the Sanlam Art Collection.

Artists are challenged to enter works which exemplify their ability in the context of past and contemporary art history. Artists are challenged to enter works which exemplify their ability in the medium of their choice (except for lens based work) in the context of past and contemporary art history.

A panel of three judges will identify the winning portrait and select additional works for the national touring exhibition. All works will be judged anonymously as artists are requested not to sign the work. The judges will be announced shortly, and the panel convened by Stefan Hundt, head of the Sanlam Private Investments Art Advisory Service, and Curator of the Sanlam Art Collection.

“We feel particularly connected to this new platform for art in South Africa,” says Daniël Kriel, CEO of Sanlam Private Investments. “Our expertise lies in wealth management, where we nurture and value close personal relationships with our clients. We know art is a passion for many of

our clients, and of increasing investment interest, and few things are more intimate or personal than a portrait. A commissioned portrait can be the height of flattery, or the paragon of vanity, yet remains a defining testament to the person’s individuality.”

Portraiture has been a significant part of Western art tradition dating back to ancient Egypt and classical Greece, and today it features prominently as a specialist practice patronised largely by private corporations, state- and academic institutions.

“South Africa has had a rich, and at times controversial, experience of portraiture through its social and political history,” says Stefan Hundt.

“Accommodating the intentions of the commissioner and expectations of the subject requires the artist to invoke an extensive repertoire of skills and knowledge to fashion a work of substance that exceeds the minimum requirements of likeness and character.”

The Sanlam Private Investments National Portrait Award 2013 is open to anyone resident in South Africa older than 21 years. Entries should be received by 19 August 2013. The award ceremony will take place on 27 August 2013 at the Rust-en-Vrede Art Gallery, Durbanville, where the selected works will be on exhibition and open for public viewing from 28 August 2013 until 8 October 2013.

For more information on the competition, entry forms and competition rules, go to www.spiportraitaward.co.za or call Monica Ross on Tel. 021 976 4691.

Clement Serneels Portrait of a African girl oil on board 610 x 460mm

Leaders in Masters as well as Contemporary Art www.absolutart.co.za

Terence McCaw Simonstown oil on board 495 x 645mm

Shop 43, Willowbridge Lifestyle Centre (Below the Barnyard)

39 Carl Cronje Drive Tygervalley, Bellville

“Portrait of Stefan Hundt” 2011 by Clare Menck, is one of the works on the up-coming “Bellville Collective” show at art.b, which involves 24 artists that have some or other relation with the Bellville suburb of Cape Town. Opens on 3 October at 18:30 for 19:00, in the art.b Gallery, Bellville.

For more information call Elizabeth Miller Vermeulen at 0837009669.

SA ART TIMES. October 2012

Gallery 021 914 2846 Gerrit Dyman Jr 072 699 5918 Email: info@absolutart.co.za 11

GALLERY GUIDE

Opening at Heidi Erdmann Contemporary of Roger Ballen’s show featuring work with Die Antwoord

OCTOBER 2012

Christiaan Diedericks in his studio in Woodstock. Photo: Gabriel Clark-Brown

Christiaan Diedericks Planetary Platitudes

Carl Collison “We’re really so blessed to be surrounded by all these amazing things. Most of the time though we choose to stay blind to them,” says Christiaan Diedericks as he expounds on the advantages of having his studio based in Woodstock: from having the “fruit sellers outside as my security” to “the vibrant mix of cultures.”

Anyone remotely familiar with the work of this acclaimed artist would easily see how this (at times disconcertingly charming) cosmopolitan district is in many ways perfectly suited as the birthplace for Diedericks’ work. His work, does, after all - not unlike the area, with its hodgepodge of influences - employ all manner of media (photography, drawing, mixed media and printmaking) and varied references (pop culture, literature, philosophy etc) to bring to life characters that are at once beautiful and darkly mesmerizing.

Despite a ceaselessly demanding workload, Diedericks is the epitome of affable charm as he lights a cigarette (“I’m as sick as a dog, so I really shouldn’t,” he laughs) and speaks about his motivation for creating art: “I make art to try and understand the world a bit better because I really have no clue. I also want to help others understand the world a bit better.”

It would appear though that, with his new body of work, Planetary Platitudes (which he will be exhibiting together with a previous body of work, The Wisdom of 14

Dragonflies at the South African Print Gallery), Diedericks is looking at more than merely ‘trying to understand the world a bit better’. This time around, the Cape Town-based artist seems more intent instead on sweeping the rug from underneath us and the ‘lies’ we feed each other on a daily basis. Or, in his own words: “the meaningless shit we tell each other”. “I thought that it would be a good idea to create art using everyday platitudes. I called it ‘planetary’ because it’s so huge – we all do it. And really it’s truly fucking meaningless but we still do it.”

One such work, Planetary Platitude No. 3 looks at the ‘beauty is only skin deep’ cliché. “Its rubbish,” says Diedericks. “People fall in love with beauty so it’s definitely not skin deep.” Youth and our obsession with it are Diedericks staples and feature heavily in his works. “Why are we as human beings so afraid of getting old?” he asks. Is he not afraid of this himself, I ask? “Yes, absolutely,” he responds. “My own mortality is very important. I’m very aware of this: the fact that I’m getting older; the fact that I lose my energy; the fact that I can’t work as hard I used to. So, yes, I can feel the changes in my body and that’s quite alarming.”

Pausing slightly, Diedericks adds: “It’s a difficult thing to deal with.”

This seeming contradiction is typical of Diedericks’ ouvre – and something he clearly enjoys playing with: “Within my work there are always two aspects: it calms and it disturbs at the same time,” he offers with a hint a satisfied mischief in his eyes. “There’s always a secondary narrative in my work. It’s not only what you think you see. There’s always a secondary meaning.” Another subject that is never far from Diedericks’s astute gaze is that of dystopia, which, he offers, “is not necessarily the opposite of utopia but more a heterotopia with hope.

SA ART TIMES. October 2012

LAU CHRISTIAAN DIEDERICKS / YOUNG ARTISTS PROFILE | SA ART TIMES

The Wisdom of Dragonflies II Hardground and Aquatint Etching 2012

The world is in turmoil – has always been – but there’s always room for hope.

I deal with this a lot because I think that we are surrounded more than ever by dystopia: in terms of money; in terms of class; in terms of the class difference between rich and poor getting bigger and bigger, while the comfortable middle ground is disappearing; the banking system that’s failed over the last few years.

I’m intrigued by this – it feeds and fuels my work.”

The subject that enjoys the most overwhelming focus in Diedericks’ work, however, is that of masculinity. “I’m very intrigued by masculinity and body politics, especially our standing as men in society. Why,” he asks, “is it so hard for contemporary man to figure out what it really means to be masculine? This is one my biggest ongoing questions.” A possible answer to this niggling question, he says, came in the form of feminist writer Susan Faludi, author of Stiffed: The Betrayal of the Modern Man. “Faludi postulates that our main issue in life as men is to figure out how to be more human. Not how to be ‘men’ or ‘masculine’. Women, seem to have done this a long time ago but men still battle with it. Does being masculine mean we get to fart, burp and beat people up? I don’t think so.”

It is possibly due to his take-no-prisoners look at the ever-more-fragile notion of this once seemingly unshakable concept - and, naturally, his own sexual orientation – that critique of Diedericks’ work has, often unfairly, relied too heavily on boxing it within ‘queer art’. Although his work contains more than just a few of what could easily construed as ‘homosexual references’, such interpretation negates the many nuanced layers present in his work and often leans towards a lazy and ultimately patronizing reading. Planetary Platitude No. 4 is, according to Diedericks “not a gay image at all”. Rather, he offers, “it’s about the compelling

driving force behind me as an artist: the fierce masculine energy that sits over me like an angel – a wicked angel – forcing to me keep creating new work.”

This masculine muse must indeed be very forceful, if Diedericks’s non-stop schedule is anything to go by. “I try and do at least two international residencies a year,” he says. Having, amongst others, completed eight residencies at Paris’ Cite Internationale des Arts, two at the prestigious Frans Masereel Centrum in Belgium and receiving a much-coveted Ampersand Fellowship in 2006, Diedericks will this year be doing a residency at the Venice Print Studio on the island of Murano. “The residencies,” he says, “really feed me in terms of both the culture and the artists I’m exposed to.” The Venice sojourn is one he is particularly excited about: “They have the largest press beds in the world so it is the most amazing opportunity because I’ll be able to print up to 3 x 1½ metres in one go, which is phenomenal.”

Given his workhorse ethic, the “technically brilliant” possibilities this residency holds is something Diedericks is clearly reveling in, particularly as he states with confident ease: “I literally have ideas for the next 20 years.” No periods of creative doubt, I ask? “I’ve been very blessed in that I’ve never experienced creative block. I’ve seen fellow artists and students with creative block and it’s no joke.

One of my personal work mottos is that when you experience creative block, work through it. Even if you make bad work, just do something. It doesn’t have to be a master work, because the moment you stop is when you have a problem. I want to work till I die. I want to make a difference till I die. And, really,” he smiles, “I’m only half way.”

Christiaan Diedericks will be exhibiting at The SA Print Gallery, Woodstock, CT 06 - 27 October. See www.printgallery.co.za for more SA ART TIMES. October 2012

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ART TIMES | YOUNG ARTISTS PROFILE / CHRISTIAAN DIEDERICKS

LAUNC CHRISTIAAN DIEDERICKS / YOUNG ARTISTS PROFILE | SA ART TIMES

(Left Page): Circular Image: The Message (combined process) Bottom Right: The Union of Opposites a Lino print being printed at The Artist Proof Studio.

Johannesburg. (Above) All Print made with Hardground and Aquatint Etchings: Cacoethes, Indian Summer, Minotaur The Wisdom of Dragonflies VII , Planetary Platitudes II, Planetary Platitudes III (Below) Planetary Plattitudes IV, The Wisdom of Dragonflies V

Sam Nhlengethwa Conversations new lithographs

Then take the first solo. Hand printed lithograph, 50 x53 cm. Edition 35.

The Artists’ Press

Box 1236, White River, 1240 7HO 013 751 3225 PDUN#DUWLVWVSUHVV FR ]D ZZZ DUWSULQWVD FRP SSAMP_ArtT_Ad_No4_136x93_PRINT1[cmyk].pdf

Art Times Sam Sept 2012 advert.indd 1

1

2012/09/13

18/09/2012 12:04 PM

SHARON SAMPSON

UNISA Art Gallery

MVA Exhibition

Take a piece of South Africa home™

A group exhibition showcasing contemporary fine art prints and oil paintings 31 October – 3 November 2012

Learn without limits

Unversity of

South Africa Art Gallery

10:06 AM

sharonsampson@ibsa.co.za www.sharonsampson.com www.art.co.za/sharonsampson

FREE STATE, GAUTENG | GALLERY GUIDE

Free State Bloemfontein Oliewenhuis Art Museum Until 4 Nov, “People, Prints and Process - Twenty Five Years at Caversham” (Main Building) Until 24 October, “Fractal Young Artists’ Exhibition – Penumbra” (Annex Gallery) Toni Pretorius, Mandi Bezuidenhout, David Griessel and Louis Kruger take part in this year’s Young Artists’ Exhibition.

Annex Gallery, Oliewenhuis.

4 – 28 Oct, Oranje Quilters Guild Quilt Exhibition (Reservoir) Founded by a group of innovative quilting ladies in 1989 as part of the South African Quilters Guild, is still going strong.

30 Oct– 2 Nov, Loeries Travelling Exhibition (Annex Gallery) The work on show depicts the innovative campaigns for winning brands across an array of disciplines, including architecture, publication design, PR communication, live events, TV, radio, print, digital and more.16 Harry Smith Str, Bloemfontein.

T.051 447 9609 www.nasmus.co.za

Clarens Clarens Centenary Celebrations 19-20 Oct. Clarens Galleries Association Art Route; www.clarensartroute.co.za Art & Wine Gallery on Main The Gallery houses an exquisite collection of art by well-known artists like Gregoire Boonzaier, J.H. Pierneef, Pieter van der Westhuizen, Erik Laubscher, Jan Vermeiren, Marjorie Wallace, Eben van der Merwe, Conrad Theys, Hennie Niemann, Hannetjie de Clercq, ceramics by Laura Du Toit, sculpture by Fana Malherbe & Jean Doyle, glass by David Reade & Shirley Cloete and numerous others.279 Main Str, Clarens T. 058 256 1298 or Anton Grobbelaar. C. 082 341 8161 www.artandwine.co.za Blou Donki Art Gallery In Oct, Exhibition by Elzette Welgemoed.

Windmill Centre, Main Str, Clarens T. 058 256 1757 www.bloudonki.co.za

Johan Smith Art Gallery The gallery permanently exhibits a wide variety of classical and selected contemporary art works featuring Johan Smith, Elbè van Rooyen, Elga Rabe, Graham Carter, Nicole Pletts, Gregoire Boonzaier, Otto Klar, and various others. Specializing in ceramics, the gallery supports artists such as Hennie Meyer, Karen Sinovich, and Heather Mills, among others. Collectable bronzes and handmade glass by David Reade also available.

Windmill Centre, Main Str, Clarens T. 058 256 1620 manager@bhm.dorea.co.za www.johansmith.co.za

Christie’s International Auctioneers.

Gillian Scott Berning, Independent Consultant. T 031 207 8247 Gillian.gsb@mweb.co.za www.christies.com CIRCA on Jellicoe Until 6 Oct, “Love Land” a Solo Exhibition by Wayne Barker.

25 Oct – 3 Dec, “A tendency Toward Complexity”, first solo exhibition by Bronwyn Lace. 2 Jellicoe Ave. T. 011 788 4805 www.circaonjellicoe.co.za Everard Read Jhb 11 Oct-30Nov, “Altered Spaces”, a solo exhibition by Zwelethu Mthethwa. 6 Jellicoe Ave, Rosebank, Jhb. T. 011 788-4805 www.everard-read.co.za

Gauteng Johannesburg

Gallery 2 140 Jan Smuts Ave, Parkwood. T. 011 447 0155 info@gallery2.co.za www.gallery2.co.za

Absa Art Gallery 7-25 Oct, “Transit”,solo exhibition by Kevin Brand Kevin Brand’s work is distinguished by his use of non-traditional sculptural materials to make strong but increasingly nuanced comments on aspects of South African social history and life.

Absa Towers North, 161 Main Str, Jhb. T. 011 350 5139 www.absa.co.za

Gallery AOP Contemporary artworks on paper, and sculpture.

44 Stanley Ave, Braamfontein Werf (Milpark) Jhb. T. 011 726 2234. www.galleryaop.com Gallery MOMO Until 15 Oct, “Nobody can take away the good times we’ve had” by Martin Y Sicilia. Until 12 Nov, Blessing Ngobeni, Solo Exhibition.

52 7th Avenue, Parktown North, Jhb. T. 011 327 3247 info@gallerymomo.com www.gallerymomo.com

Alice Art 4-8 Oct, Alice Art will be at Aardklop Festival in Potchefstroom.

27&28 Oct, Brian Rolfe. 3&4 Nov, Petro Neal.

217 Drive Str, Ruimsig. T. 083 377 1470 www.aliceart.co.za The Art Place Until 3 Nov “Indelible Moments” by Cheryl Curnick & Angela Eidelman. 144 Milner Ave, Roosevelt Park. T. 011 888 9120 Artspace Jhb Until 24 Oct, “I Am Safe Here” by Danelle Janse van Rensburg & Gina Niederhumer. 27 Oct-24 Nov, Portra”, by Kilmany-Jo Liversage Chester Court, 142 Jan Smuts Ave, Parkwood T.011 880 8802 artspace@wol.co.za www.artspace-jhb.co.za

Grahams Fine Art Gallery 18 Oct-16 Dec, “Caballos”, (Horses), by Eduardo Navarro.

The gallery exhibits fine examples of South African art including works by; Maggie Laubser, J.H Pierneef, Irma Stern, Freida Lock, Walter Battiss, Alexis Preller, Gerard Sekoto, Robert Hodgins, Stanley Pinker & Peter Clarke.

Unit 46, Broadacres Lifestyle Centre, Cnr Cedar & Valley Rds, Broadacres, Fourways, Jhb. T. 011 465 9192 www.grahamsgallery.co.za

The Bag Factory.

10 Mahlatini Str, Fordsburg. T. 011 834 9181 www.bagfactoryart.org.za

Hot cross nuns and other visual puns

by Ian Marley

SUBSCRIBE TO THE South African

Art Times R 240 pa North-West University Botanical Gardens Art Gallery 18 October to 16 November

Go to wwww.arttimes.co.za/subs for details

Potchefstroom Campus Monday - Friday 09:30 - 16:00 T: 018 299 2753 Email: 20049830@nwu.ac.za

Image: Ian Marley. Nun Conformist

GALLERY GUIDE | GAUTENG, NORTH WEST, MPUMALANGA, EASTERN CAPE 16 Halifax Works by Michael Heyns, Leon Muller, Braam van Wijk, Marina Louw, Mimi van der Merwe and other artists can be viewed by appointment in Johannesburg at 16 Halifax Str, Bryanston.

Dana MacFarlane 082 784 6695 www.16halifaxart.co.za In Toto Until 9 Oct, “Helen Joseph-New Work” latest series of paintings in oil and watercolour. 12 Oct – 6 Nov, “Trace” by Cathy Abraham & Jane Eppel; 6 Birdhaven Centre, 66 St Andrew Str, Birdhaven.

T. 011 447 6543 www.intotogallery.co.za Isis Gallery Leading Art Gallery in Rosebank showcasing today’s most Modern Contemporary Artists. Shop 163, The Mall of Rosebank.

Contact Daniel Erasmus T. 011 447 2317 www.isisgallery.co.za Johannesburg Art Gallery 15 July – 14 Oct, “MMXII” a solo exhibition by James Webb.

5 Aug – 28 Oct, “Oblique” a solo exhibition by Abrie Fourie.

King George Str, Joubert Park, Jhb. T. 011 725 3130 www.joburg.org.za Manor Gallery Until 3 Nov, 88th National Open Exhibition of the Watercolour Society Africa /2nd Open Exhibition of the Art Society Africa. Stunning artworks in all media by top South African artists to be exhibited.

Norscot Manor Centre, Penguin Drive, Fourways. T. 011 465 7934 www.wssa.org.za Russell Kaplan Auctioneers Auctioneers of Fine Art, Antiques and Collectables.

Ground floor, Bordeaux Court, Corner of Garden & Allan Rds, Bordeaux. T. 011 789 7422 or 083 675 8468 www.rkauctioneers.co.za Sandton Auctioneers Fine Art, Furniture, Carpets & Collectables.

Showroom: No 8 Burnside Ave, Craighall Park, Jhb. T. 011 501 3360 www.sandtonauctioneers.com Standard Bank Gallery Cnr of Simmonds & Frederick Str.’s, Jhb. T. 011 631 1889 www.standardbankarts.co.za Stephan Welz & Company Auctioneers of Decorative and Fine Arts.

13 Biermann Ave, Rosebank, Jhb. T. 011 880-3125 www.stephanwelzandco.co.za Stevenson Johannesburg Until 2 Nov, “A thousand things”, by Wim Botha.

62 Juta Str, Braamfontein, Jhb. T. 011 326 0034 www.stevenson.info Strauss & Co. Fine Art Auctioneers & Consultants.

Country Club Johannesburg, Corner Lincoln Rd & Woodlands Drive, Woodmead.T. 079 407 5140 www.straussart.co.za UJ Art Gallery Until 10 Oct, “Rendezvous Focus Painting” the fourth undertaking by the Rendezvous Art Project, presents a travelling exhibition of works by 60 artists using paint as medium.

Cnr Kingsway & University Rd, Auckland Park, Jhb. T. 011 559 2099 www.uj.ac.za/artscentre The White House Gallery The gallery has a wide ranging portfolio featuring renowned masters such as Chagall, Marini, Miro, Moore, Portway, Pasmore, Stella, Picasso, Dine & Hockney - to name a few. Also the more affordable works of up and coming artists in Britain and France, along with globally acclaimed South African artists.

Shop G11 Thrupps Centre, Oxford Rd, Illovo, Jhb. T. 011 268 2115 www.thewhitehousegallery.co.za

Pretoria Alette Wessels Kunskamer The Alette Wessels Kunskamer operates as an Art Gallery and Art Consultancy, specialising in South African art as an investment, dealing in Old Masters, and selected contemporary art.

Maroelana Centre, 27 Maroelana Str, Maroelana, Pretoria.

T. 012 346 0728 www.artwessels.co.za Association of Arts Pretoria 173 Mackie Str, Nieuw Muckleneuk, Pretoria. T. 012 346 3100 www.artsassociationpta.co.za

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Centurion Art Gallery Is a commercial satellite of the Pretoria Art Museum. c/o Cantonment and Unie Avenues, Lyttelton T. 012 358 3477 artg@tshwane.gov.za www.pretoriaartmuseum.co.za/centurion Fried Contemporary Until 13 Oct, “Me 2” with Erna Bodenstein, St John Fuller, Lucas Thobejane, Aidon Westcott, Marlise Keith, Johan Moolman, Pascual Tarazona. 430 Charles St, Brooklyn, Pretoria.

T. 012 346 0158 www.friedcontemporary.com Front Room Art Two- and three-dimensional art by a variety of contemporary artists available.Viewing by appointment 116 Kate Ave, Rietondale. Jennifer Snyman 082 451 5584 www.frontroomart.co.za Gallery Michael Heyns The Gallery has moved to 194 Haley Str, Weavind Park, Pretoria.

T. 012 804 0869 www.michaelheyns.co.za Pretoria Art Museum 11 Oct – 25 Nov, “Flatlands” Photography by Marc Shoul, (North Gallery) Until December in the North Gallery, “A Story of South African Art” a selection of artworks from the permanent collection of the Museum (South Gallery) Until December in the East Gallery, “Abstract Art” a selection of abstract artworks from the permanent collection of the Museum.

8-27 Oct, in the Ceramic Gallery, “Corobrik Ceramic Collection” a selection of ceramics, representing the development of studio ceramics and the work of traditional rural potters of South Africa over the past 30 years is on display.

Until December, “Study Collection” art media and techniques are illustrated in the Information Centre.Cnr Frances Baard and Wessels Str, Arcadia Park, Arcadia, Pretoria.T.012 344 1807/8 www.pretoriaartmuseum.co.za Sandton Auctioneers Fine Art, Furniture, Carpets & Collectables.

Showroom: 367 Lynnwood Rd, Menlo Park, Pta. T. 012 460 6000 sandtonauctioneers@telkomsa.net www.sandtonauctioneers.com St Lorient Fashion and Art Gallery 492 Fehrsen Str, Brooklyn Circle, Brooklyn, Pta. T. 012 4600284 anastasi@iafrica.com www.stlorient.co.za UNISA Art Gallery 01-12 Oct, MVA exhibition, Final and Work in Progress.

Kgorong Building, Ground Floor, Main Campus, Preller Str, Pretoria.

T. 012 441 5683 www.unisa.ac.za/gallery University of Pretoria Until 15 Nov, “High Tea @UP” fine porcelain and antique teawares from the ceramic collections of the University of Pretoria Museums.

Mapungubwe Gallery, Old Arts Building, UP. T.012 420 2968 www.up.ac.za University of Pretoria Until 30 Nov, “Villa in Bronze” showcasing the life of Edoardo Villa (1915 – 2011).

Hatfield Campus, UP, Lynnwood Rd, Pretoria. T.012 420 2968 www.up.ac.za

North West Potchefstroom Edwards Fine Art, Modern & Contemporary Large selection of top South African Art, Kentridge, Dumas, Skotnes, Villa, Feni, etc. Large selection African Art – paintings, sculptures, ceramics, etc. Hartbeespoort Dam. C. 0764729812 hilton@myconnection.co.za NWU Gallery 2 - 7 Oct, Clover Aardklop, Visual Arts Festival Potchefstroom 2012 The Absa L’Atelier 2012 Top 100 Exhibition; photographer, Daniel Naudé, is the 2012 festival artist. “Long Distance” photographs

by Obie Oberholzer’s. “ INK-Complete: Capturing Music II”, by Photographers Sean Brand and Christelle Duvenage.ATKV “Skilder met woorde III”, curated by the ATKV. Includes: Strijdom van der Merwe, Pauline Gutter, Nathan Trantraal, Sam Nhlengethwa, Elizabeth Gunter, Karin Miller and Diek Grobler and the poets Diana Ferrus, Tom Gouws, Ronelda Kamfer, Johan Myburg, Melt Myburgh, Martjie Bosman and DanieMarais. Theo Kleynhans, will conduct daily art tours. Solo exhibitions by Hanneke Benade, Barbara Wildenboer, Paul Cooper, Clare Menck,Craig Müller en Talita Swarts.

www.cloveraardklop.co.za.

18 Oct - 16 Nov “Song of (a life) time”; A show of paintings by Coral Fourie. 1 Oct – 15 Nov, “Hot cross nuns & other visual puns”

by Ian Marley, Botanical Gardens Gallery, Potchefstroom campus.

North-West University Gallery, Building E7, NWU Potchefstroom Campus, Hoffman Str, Potchefstroom.T. 018 299 4341 20061374@nwu.ac.za

Mpumalanga Dullstroom Art @ sixty seven A selection of fine art, ceramics and blown glass art pieces, by well-known local artists.

Shop no9, 67 Naledi St, Dullstroom, Mpumulanga. T. 013 254 0335 mikek@boardwalkmanor.co.za www.shopat67.com

White River The Artists’ Press Professional collaboration, printing and publishing of original handprinted artists lithographs, by the Artists’ Press. Also artists books, monotypes & letterpress prints, particularly for artists working in SA. Waterfield Farm near White River, Mpumalanga T. 013 751 3225 print@artistspress.co.za www.artists-press.net The Loop Art Foundry & Sculpture Gallery A collaboration and network for the avid art patron and collector as well as a full service facility for the artist. This is the place where you will find a unique and superior item or have something commissioned that you have always envisioned.

Casterbridge Complex Corner R40 & Numbi Rds White River T. 013 758 2409 theloop@worldonline.co.za www.tlafoundry.co.za The White River Gallery Casterbridge Centre, R 40 Cnr. of Hazyview & Numbi Gate Rd, White River. C. 083 675 8833 whiteriverg@gmail.com

Eastern Cape Alexandria Quin Gallery & Sculpture Garden Enjoy refreshments under the jacaranda tree while enjoying the sculptures of international sculptor Maureen Quin.

5 Suid Str, Alexandria, Eastern Cape, following the signs from the main street.T. 046 6530121 C. 082 7708000 www.quin-art.co.za

East London Ann Bryant Gallery Permanent Collection and Gallery of Prints, Paintings, Ceramics, Sculptures and drawings.9 St. Marks Rd, Southernwood, East London. T. 043 722 4044 www.annbryant.co.za Floradale Fine Art Gallery A newly opened gallery at the Floradale complex showcasing a wide variety of works by local artists including paintings, ceramics, sculpture, mixed-media, photography as well as jewellery & decorative arts.Floradale Centre, Old Gonubie Rd, Beacon Bay. T. 043 740 2031 C. 078 294 7252 rwarren@wol.co.za Malcolm Dewey Fine Art Ongoing exhibition of oil paintings by Malcolm Dewey plus works by a selection of local artists.

60 Darlington Rd, Berea, East London. T. 043 7260421 www.originalart.co.za

Port Elizabeth ArtEC Until 6 Oct, “Downtown”, Anonymous Exhibition; 8-19 Oct, “Emergence”, a Solo Exhibition by Kathy Botha 23 Oct-2 Nov, Pine Pienaar’s students photographic Exhibition.

36 Bird Str, P.E. T. 041 585 3641 www.artecpe.co.za

Send your listing to show@arttimes.co.za SA ART TIMES. October 2012

NORTHERN CAPE, WESTERN CAPE | GALLERY GUIDE Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum Until 18 Nov, “Melting Pot” artworks such as Indian miniatures, Chinese textiles, Japanese wood-cuts, Xhosa beadwork, British oil paintings, International prints and everything else in between.

Until 6 Jan 2013, “Fun in the sun”; Until 27 Jan 2013 “Ship & Shore”.1 Park Drive, Port Elizabeth.

T. 041 506 2000 www.artmuseum.co.za Ron Belling Art Gallery Until 16 Oct “Four Rooms” Bretten-Anne Moolman’s solo exhibition of oils, acrylics and mixed media. 30 Park Drive, P.E. T. 041 586 3973 www.ronbelling.co.za

Northern Cape Kimberley William Humphreys Art Gallery A selection of drawings from the contemporary SA WHAG collection. Malcolm Payne – ‘Face Value’, and exhibition of graphic prints on loan from Oliewenhuis, Bloemfontein.

10th Annual David Walters and Friends Ceramic Exhibition in the newly opened Bonnie Ntshalintshali Ceramic Wing.

1 Cullinan Crescent, Civic Centre, Kimberley.

T. 053-8311724/5 www.whag.co.za

Western Cape Cape Town Absolut Art Gallery Permanent exhibition with the best Masters and Contemporary artists. Namely : JH Pierneef, Gerard Sekoto, Hugo Naude, Adriaan Boshoff, Frans Oerder, Maurice Van Essche, Tinus De Jongh, Gerard Bhengu, Ephraim Ngatane, Cecil Skotnes, JEA Volschenk, Conrad Theys, William Kentridge, to name a few.

Shop 43 Willowbridge Lifestyle Centre, Carl Cronje Drive, Tyger Valley, Bellville. T. 021 914 2846 info@absolutart.co.za www.absolutart.co.za.

Art b 3-28 Oct, “Belville Collective” Group show.

The Arts Association of Bellville, The Library Centre, Carel van Aswegan Str, Bellville. T. 021 918 2301 info@artb.co.za www.artb.co.za/gallery.htm Artvark Gallery An innovative collection of recycled rubber tire baskets and mats, woven and crocheted, designed by Mara and beautifully hand crafted by Artisans Nelson and Petronella.

48 Main Rd, Kalk Bay Tel 021 788 5584 artvark@iafrica.com www.artvark.org AVA Until 19 Oct, 3 new solo exhibitions; “Diminished Man” by Unathi Sigenu; “ A country imagined” by Msa Xokelelo; “Embracing the nature” Bangikaya Maqoqa. 29 Oct – 23 Nov, “Life under Democracy” Photographic exhibition by award winner, Dale Yudelman.

Association for Visual Arts, 35 Church Str, CT. T.021 424 7436 art@ava.co.za www.ava.co.za The Avital Lang Gallery Until 3 Oct, “Remember Me” by Nadea Victor.

Art Classes also available. Two Oceans House, Surrey Place, Mouille Point, CT. (Next to Newport Deli) T. 021 439 2124 avital.artistinc@gmail.com www.avitallang.com Barnard Gallery Until 3 Oct, “Cacophony Collection” various collection of artworks by represented artists.24 Oct – 28 Nov, “Money and God in his pocket”, a solo exhibition by Robert Slingsby. 55 Main St, Newlands.

T. 021 671 1666 gallery@barnardgallery.com www.barnardgallery.com Blank Projects.

Oct, “Machine Worries, Machine Hearts”, Group exhibition feat.

South African & Norwegian artists curated by Anthea Buys.

113-115 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock, CT. C.072 507 5951 info@blankprojects.com www.blankprojects.com Brundyn & Gonsalves Until 3 Oct, “Order & Division” by Gina Heyer.

71 Loop Str, CT. T. 021 424 5150 info@brundyngonsalves.com www.brundyngonsalves.com

SA ART TIMES. October 2012

Cape Gallery Until 6 Oct - A solo Exhibition of Paintings by Hilary Iwanski.

7-27 Oct, “A year in Nature” by Noel Ashton.

60 Church Str, CT. T. 021 423 5309 web@capegallery.co.za www.capegallery.co.za Carmel Art Dealers in Fine art, exclusive distributers of Pieter van der Westhuizen etchings.

Cape Quarter Square, 27 Somerset Rd, Green Point.

T. 021 4213333 carmel@global.co.za www.carmelart.co.za Casa Labia Gallery 02 Oct – 25 Nov, Month of Photography exhibition, by Araminta de Clermont: “Transformations”, featuring work from “Life After”, “Before Life” and “A New Beginning”.

Walkabout with Curator on 13 Oct. Casa Labia Cultural Centre, 192 Main Rd, Muizenberg.

T. 021 788 6068 gallery@casalabia.co.za www.casalabia.co.za Cedar Tree Gallery Contemporary Fine Art Gallery at Rodwell House.

Rodwell Rd, St. James, CT. T. 021 797 9880 cedartreegallery@gmail.com www.cedartreegallery.co.za The Cellar Private Gallery The Cellar Private Gallery of Art deals exclusively in original & investment art, offering works by a variety of renowned & upcoming SA artists. 12 Imhoff Str, Welgemoed, Bellville T. 021 913 4189 info@thecellargallery.co.za www.thecellargallery.co.za Christie’s International Auctioneers.

Juliet Lomberg, Independent Consultant. T. 021 761 2676 jlomberg@iafrica.com www.christies.com Christopher Møller Art New arrivals: Visit our website to view Barry Jackson’s, “Bushman bowhunter ” & “ Cheetah family”. Barry Jackson specializes in Bronze Sculpture which is a medium that lends itself to depicting and capturing the human figure and wildlife. Through his realistic style of sculpture he hopes to capture the essence of The Bushmen and the power and beauty of African wildlife.

7 Kloofnek Rd, Gardens, C T. T. 021 422 1599 Info@christophermollerart.co.za www.christophermollerart.co.za The City Bowl Gallery Hand thrown decorative and functional wares. Pottery Classes.

Ceramic Design. Bespoke Pottery.

2 Norwich Ave, Observatory. T. 021 447 4884 C. 083 412 8098 Garth Meyer garthme@iafrica.com Commune.1 Gallery Until 14 Oct, Birthday group show, with artists Christopher Swift, Nina Liebenberg, Katherine Spindler, Natasha Norman, Dominique Edwards, Gretchen van der Byl, Roelof Petrus van Wyk, Ledelle Moe, Rodan Kane Hart, Michael Elion, Greg Streak, Gordon Clark, Robyn Farah, Stan Wannet and Leila Anderson, and Peter Campbell. 64 Wale Str, CT. T. 021 423 5600 info@commune1.com www.commune1.com

Dante Art & Decor A modern Art Gallery since 1995. Proudly South African Art, Ceramics, Gifts & Decor. Furnishing your home with a modern touch of Beauty. Shop L90- Cavendish Square, Claremont.

C. 084 700 9196, gabby@danteartgallery.co.za www.danteartgallery.co.za David Krut Projects Until 13 Oct, “Ex Nihilo” an exhibition of paintings by Maja Maljević David Krut Projects, Montebello Design Centre, 31 Newlands Ave. T. 021 685 0676 Jacqueline@davidkrut.com www.davidkrut.com Ebony Ebony has added to their Winter exhibition with exciting new work including hand-felted sculptures by Larita Engelbrecht, new ceramics by Kahmilla Abrahams’s and Ayalah Zohar and paper sculpture

by Pieter Henning. Also hanging are several abstract works by John Murray and Hannes Harrs. 67 Loop Str, C.T. T. 021 424 9985. info@ebonydesign.co.za www.ebonydesign.co.za Erdmann Contemporary & the Photographers Gallery za Until 28 Oct, “Beijing - multiple interpretations of an Ancient Modern City”. Artscape Theatre Complex Marble Foyer Gallery, Foreshore, Cape Town. The exhibition forms part of the Cape Town Month of Photography 2012 Festival, Curated by Heidi Erdmann Until 2 Oct, “Die Antwoord”, solo exhibition by Roger Ballen.

63 Shortmarket Str, CT. T. 021 422 2762 galleryinfo@mweb.co.za www.erdmanncontemporary.co.za

Everard Read CT Until 3 Oct, “Berlin” Solo exhibition of paintings by Sasha Hartslief.

3 Portswood Rd, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, CT. T. 021 418 4527 Until 13 Oct, “Exposure Now!” A Speke pop up exhibition at Merchants on Long. In association with the CT Month of Photography; 34 Long Street Cape Town. T. 021 422 2828 ctgallery@everard.co.za www.everard-read-capetown.co.za 34 Fine Art Until 13 Oct, Group exhibition.

2-23 Oct, “Numberrs” by Asha Zero London, Solo exhibition; 1 Oct-12 Nov, “Motel 7” Solo exhibition 2nd Floor, The Hills Building, Buchanan Square, 160 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock. T.021 461 1863 info@34fineart.com www.34fineart.com The Framery Art Gallery Until 15 Oct, “Hypnos’ Mixed media on paper by Francois Mouton.

67g Regent Rd, Seapoint. T. 021 434 5022 C. 0781227793 debbiegrewe@gmail.com G2 Art A gallery of diverse and interesting work by local artists, with exciting new offerings by Nicole Pletts, Ronel Human, Adolf Tega, Vanessa Berlein and sculpture by Armand du Rand and Aleri Odendaal.

61 Shortmarket Str between Loop Str & Bree Str. T. 021 4247169 di@g2art.co.za www.g2art.co.za Gill Allderman Gallery The Gallery is dedicated to promoting some of South Africa’s valuable talent. Having moved into cyber space, but based in Kenilworth, Cape Town, the gallery will be specialising in home and corporate visits. C.083 556 2540 gallery@new.co.za www.alldermangallery.co.za Goodman Gallery Cape Town Until 27 Oct, Mounir Fatmi “Suspect Language”, multimedia solo exhibition.

3rd Floor, Fairweather House, 176 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock.

T. 021 462 7573/4 cpt@goodman-gallery.com www.goodman-gallery.com Hout Bay Gallery New artworks by Sarah Danes Jarrett, David Kuijers, Koos De Wet and many more.

71 Victoria Ave, Hout Bay. T. 021 790 3618 info@houtbaygallery.co.za www.houtbaygallery.co.za Infin Art Gallery A gallery of work by local artists.

Wolfe Str, Chelsea Village, Wynberg. T. 021 761 2816 & Buitengracht Str. CT. T. 021 423 2090 gallery@infinart.co.za www.infinart.co.za Irma Stern Museum 6-20 Oct, A solo exhibition of paintings, and a book launch, by artist Carol Mangiagalli. Cecil Rd, Rosebank, CT. T. 021 685 5686 irmastern@uct.ac.za www.irmastern.co.za Iziko SA National Gallery Until 14 Oct, “Rendez-vous 12” an exhibition of international contemporary art from the Lyon Biennale in France.

25 Queen Victoria Str, CT. T. 021 467 4660 info@iziko.org.za www.iziko.org.za Iziko Michaelis Collection Ongoing, Dutch treat: Dutch works from the 17th–20th centuries in Iziko collections. Iziko Michaelis Collection, Old Town House, Greenmarket Square, CT. T. 021 481 3800 hproud@iziko.org.za www.iziko.org.za Iziko Castle of Good Hope Until 26 Feb 2013, “Fired” an exhibition of South African ceramics.

Buitenkant Str, opposite the Grand Parade, CT. T. 21 464 1262 kmooney@iziko.org.za www.iziko.org.za Johans Borman Fine Art Exhibiting a selection of works by SA Masters and leading contemporary artists at the 48th SAADA Antiques Fair, The Wanderers Club, Illovo, Sandton.

10am – 6pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 26 to 28 October 2012.

16 Kildare Rd, Newlands, CT. T. 021 683 6863. art@johansborman.co.za www.johansborman.co.za

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Derric van Rensburg I always was aware of my artistic tendency but unfortunately it was not a subject my parents knew much about except the old rumours of starving artists etc. Ultimately I gave up efforts in the “real world” and entered the “mysterious world” of the visual arts in 1986. I had no assurance that what I was about to do would be sufficient to support a family but I was that desperate to find out and so I put to rest all the prejudices I had grown up with about the artistic life and starving artists and went for it.

In 1970 I studied Graphic Art in Cape Town and worked closely with the commercial side of the arts but lacked the conviction to this particular form of art and decided to just paint.

My early work sold quite easily as I worked mainly in watercolour. I should add that I also taught art during this time and that is how I earned a living.

In 1990 I moved to a small town called Greyton in the Overberg and it was during the following six and half years that everything changed for me. I changed the medium from watercolour to acrylic and started painting local landscapes of wheat fields and vineyards and it was this change that opened my market to a much larger audience. My style is impressionism and the influence of the Overberg and its patchwork of colours inspired me then as it still does now. My brand of impressionism is influenced by the graphic art training and so I am more interested in shape and colour than any specific subject matter. The brand as I call it turned out to be easily

Tel: 083 331 8466 Alice: 083 377 1470 217 Drive Street, Ruimsig

alice@global.co.za www.aliceart.co.za

noticed by an even greater audience than I had ever imagined.

My art impacts my life daily and inside the cover of my coffee table book is written the following: “To have 40 years of one’s life represented in a beautiful book is probably something that most people would consider an incredible achievement and please don’t misunderstand me, I certainly believe that it is an amazing achievement! Yet I find myself wondering and thinking back on how it all came about. Like every other person I have not lived my life in isolation. The various experiences that are written about in the book have formed me, the way I see life and fundamentally how I paint.

For many of us what we do and who we are is two separate concepts but I have found that, being an artist these two concepts have become inexorably linked. Let me explain – when I am sitting in a restaurant drinking numerous cups of espresso (which I love) my mind searches for ways to remember this scene. I allow, where ever I find myself whether driving, talking to friends or listening to music to become part of my mind in order to put it onto canvas so that ultimately you may also come and live in my world. I do not paint because it is my work I paint because I “can do no other” to quote those famous words used by Martin Luther.

My art then is not only representative of who I am but of all who has been in and out of my life – my parents, siblings, wife, friends, children, grandchildren and even those who challenged me and my art form.”

I have helped many aspiring artists to find their own way some have left school and some still in school. I believe my gift for art is to be used to help others as well as to enrich my own life.

My works are bought by people all over the world and are distributed to all the well known galleries throughout South Africa, most of whom have their own websites. I have also exhibited in London, Portugal, Germany and the United States.

Jaco Sieberhagen - “Let go” Alice Goldin - “Spring fever”

Stormsvlei Country Art Fair 2012 Sunday 28 October 10am- 4 pm www.stormsvlei.co.za 6-6-12 Art Times .pdf

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The Cape Gallery, 60 Church Street, Cape Town seeks to expose fine art that is rooted in the South African tradition, work which carries the unique cultural stamp of our continent. featured artist:Noel Ashton

THE CAPE GALLERY

Open Mon - fri: 9h30 - 17h00 Sat: 10h00 - 14h00 27 21 423 5309 cgallery@mweb.co.za www.capegallery .co.za

Tel: 044 874 4027 www.artaffair.co.za 2:54 79 PM Market Street, George

GPS: 33°57’42.66”S | 22°27’24.54”E

WESTERN CAPE | GALLERY GUIDE Kalk Bay Modern Until 6 Oct Photography by Jurgen Schadeberg and Andrew Barker on show.

11-24 Oct, “Domestic departures”, a group show including Christina Bryer Cheryl Rumbak, Erica Elk, Katherine Glenday, Lyn Smuts, Tracy Megan, Mary Anne Botha, Gwen van Embden, Josie Grindrod, Lorienne Lotz, Kathy Robbins, Cathy Abrahams, Nicola Baily, Michele Kriek, Taryn Millar, Anne Graaf.

1st Floor, Olympia Buildings, 136 Main Rd, Kalk Bay. T.021 788 6571 kbmodern@iafrica.com www.kalkbaymodern.com Lindy van Niekerk Art Gallery A large selection of artworks by new and prominent South African artists and SA old Masters.

31 Kommandeur Rd, Welgemoed, Bellville. T. 021 913 7204/5 lindy@artpro.co.za www.artpro.co.za The Lovell Gallery Until 06 Oct, Group exhibition in partnership with the Month of Photography.

9 – 27 Oct,: Los Angeles artist street artist Augustine Kofie and Paul Senyol from Salon 91 will be creating work live in the gallery. Kofie will be doing his graffiti on a Porche 911 in the gallery as part of the exhibition. The final reveal will be on 25 October from 18h30. We will also have the finalists of our One Day in Woodstock Competition on exhibit and we encourage the public to come in and vote.

139 Albert Rd, Woodstock. T. 021 820 5505 info@lovellgallery.co.za www.lovellgallery.co.za MM Galleries From 2 Nov, “Revelations”, Group show, Shop 3, 31 Palmer Road, Muizenberg, Cape Town.

T. 082 739 7567 www.mmgalleries.co.za Michaelis Galleries Until 13 Oct, “Facing the Climate” 5 Swedish & 5 SA Cartoonists take a sharp & disturbing look at the Climate; “EK . Duo” Simon Max Bannister. University of Cape Town, 31 – 37 Orange St, CT. T. 021 480 7170 cara.vanderwesthuizen@uct.ac.za www.michaelis.uct.ac.za

The Pot Luck Club Gallery Contact curator Las Madurasinghe on 074 180 4895 The Old Biscuit Mill, 375 Albert Rd, Woodstock. gallery@thepotluckclub.co.za www.thepotluckclub.co.za Provenance Auction House Auctioneers of Fine Art, Antiques and Home Luxury.

8 Vrede str, Gardens, CT. T. 021 461 8009 info@provenanceart.co.za www.provenanceart.co.za Red! The Gallery RED! The Gallery is a dynamic art gallery featuring work from South Africa’s best contemporary and emerging artists , including works

by Andrew Cooper, David Kuijers, Wakaba Mutheki and Donna McKellar to name a few.

Steenberg Village shopping centre, Reddam Ave, Tokai.

T. 021 7010886 red@redthegallery.co.za www.redthegallery.co.za Rose Korber Art Until 31 Oct, “Making Faces” a portraiture exhibition featuring work by contemporary South African artists. The selection comprises works made in a variety of media from the 1950s by Jurgen Schadeberg, William Kentridge, Richard Smith, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Sam Nhlengethwa, Robert Slingsby, Anthony Lane, Claudette Schreuders, Pamela Stretton, Diane Victor, Georgia Lane and Hanneke Benade.

48 Sedgemoor Rd, Camps Bay, CT. T. 021 438 9152 C. 082 781 6144 or 083 261 1173 roskorb@icon.co.za www.rosekorberart.com Rossouw Modern Groot Constantia An Extensive collection of Cobus van der Walt’s works are on exhibit at Bertram’s Tasting Room on the Groot Constantia Wine Estate.

Groot Constantia Wine Estate, Constantia Main Rd, Constantia.

T. 021 794 2605 gc@rossouwmodern.co.za www.rossouwmodern.co.za Rudd’s Auctioneers Antique, Fine and Decorative Art. 87 Bree Str, CT. T.021 426 0384 info@rudds.co.za www.rudds.co.za

Rust-en-Vrede Gallery Until 18 Oct: In Salon A: Theo Kleynhans exhibits “Island” in Salon B: Vasti Wilkinson exhibits “The Swan and the Beauty Shop” and in Salon C: Paula van Coller Louw exhibits “Siklus” In the Clay museum: Ceramics by Yvonne Martin and Ineke Nicolle.

23 Oct – 15 Nov, In Salon A: Johan Coetzee; In Salon B: Titia Ballot and Muller Ballot; In Salon C: Aidon Westcott; Clay Museum: Ceramics by David & Sarah Walters 10 Wellington Rd, Durbanville. T.021 976 4691 rustenvrede@telkomsa.net www.rust-en-vrede.com Salon 91 3 - 27 Oct, “The Quiet” a solo exhibition of paintings by Kirsten Lilford. Her technically accomplished paintings echo the work of early nineteenth-century realists but she has already developed a unique style of her own that is at once naturalistic and also informed by contemporary painting practices.

91 Kloof Str, Gardens, CT. T 021 424 6930 info@salon91art.co.za www.salon91.co.za South African Print Gallery 6-25 Oct, “Planetary Platitudes”, new prints by Christiaan Diedericks.

A wide selection of fine art prints available, by South African masters and contemporary printmakers in stock.

109 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock, CT. T. 021 462 6851 info@printgallery.co.za www.printgallery.co.za Sanlam Art Gallery Sanlam, 2 Strand Rd, Bellville. T. 021 947 3359 sanlamart@sanlam.co.za www.sanlam.co.za SMAC Art Gallery, CT SMAC Plus: 11 Oct – 22 Nov, Uwe Wittwer, “New Works”, and Jacques Coetzer, “The Atlas Complex”.

In-Fin-Art Building, Buitengracht Str, CT. T. 021 422 5100 info@smacgallery.com www.smacgallery.com

Revelations Art Exhibition

(Something revealed, especially a dramatic disclosure of something not previously known or realized.)

MM Galleries Shop 3, 31 Palmer Rd Muizenberg Cape Town 7945 Fax: 086 577 2857 Cell: 082 739 7567 082 640 0837 Email: info@mmgalleries.co.za www.mmgalleries.co.za

Artists: Christelle Beauviche-Shoulder, Patrick Cordingley, Omary Magambo, Carol Laws, Eugene Marais, Faith Gaisford, Xolile Williams, Lynne Van Der Meer, Godfrey Chimhanzi, Lynn Whittle, Andre Stead etc...

Exhibition date : Friday, 2nd November - 1st December 2012 18H30 – 22H00 (Opening night) Refreshments provided.

Gallery hours: Tue - Fri 10H00 - 16H00 Sat - Sun 10H00 - 14H00 Mon Closed

Regency Sideboard, c1820 Roland Paris, 1894-1945

Eleanor Esmonde White, 1914-2007

Qing Moonflask (1644-1912)

11A CHELSEA VILLAGE,WYNBERG TEL: 021 - 762 7983 eclectica@telkomsa.net www.eclectica.co.za

JULLE WORD VRIENDELIK GENOOI NA ’N UITSTALLING VAN SE SKILDERYE DATUM | 11-26 Oktober TYD | 18h00 OPENING DEUR LIZELLE KILBORN 18H30 PLEK | Slee Galery, Dorpstraat 101, Stellenbosch Tel: 021 887 3385 | Epos: gallery@slee.co.za

WESTERN CAPE | GALLERY GUIDE StateoftheArt.co.za Online Art Gallery A curated online art gallery showcasing original and affordably priced artwork by Fine Arts graduates and emerging artists. Each artist has been hand-picked by our curatorial panel to ensure the quality of the work that you are purchasing. Shop directly from the website and have your art delivered to your office or home.

Start building your contemporary art collection today! Added value bespoke services include: Corporate Art Solutions; Art Specifier for Interior Designers and Architects, Collectors Resale and Art Commissions. We Ship Worldwide - art delivered to your doorstep. T.072 470 9272 info@StateoftheArt.co.za, www.StateoftheArt.co.za Stephan Welz & Company 2 & 3 October, Auction of Decorative & Fine Arts.

The Great Cellar, The Alphen Hotel, Alphen Drive, Constantia.

T. 021 794 6461 ct@stephanwelzandco.co.za www.stephanwelzandco.co.za Stevenson Cape Town Until 13 Oct, “New Paintings” Zander Blom solo exhibition.

18 Oct-24 Nov, “Event Horizon”, 6 new paintings by Odili Donald Odita.18 Oct-24 Nov, A solo exhibition by Steven Cohen.

Ground Floor, Buchanan Building, 160 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock, CT. T. 021 462 1500 cpt@stevenson.info www.stevenson.info Strauss & Co. 8 Oct, Auction of South African Art, Jewellery and Decorative Arts.

Preview 5-7 Oct. The Oval, 1st Floor Colinton House, 1 Oakdale Rd, Newlands. T. 021 683 6560 ct@straussart.co.za www.straussart.co.za What if the World/Gallery Until 27 Oct, “These waves” by Pierre Fouche, solo exhibition.

N. 1 Argyle Str. Woodstock, CT. T. 021 802 3111 info@whatiftheworld.com www.whatiftheworld.com

Franschhoek

Ebony Continuation of Winter exhibition of classic South African artists including James Thackwray, Matthew Whippman, Diederick During, Gordon Vorster, Alexis Preller and more. Also showing new work by contemporary artists Henk Serfontein, Claudia Ongaro, Shany van den Berg, Olaf Bisschoff and Erik Laubscher.

4 Franschhoek Square, 32 Huguenot Str, Franschhoek.

T. 021 876 4477 info@ebonydesign.co.za www.ebonydesign.co.za The Gallery at Grande Provence 1-25 Oct, “Fine Lines” by Louise Hall in the Gallery ; The Project Room will feature work by the artist Kelly John Gough. A collection of works that comment on fracking will be on show in The Cathedral. Main Rd, Franschhoek. T. 021 876 8630. gallery@grandeprovence.co.za www.grandeprovence.co.za Is Art Until 21 Oct, Franschhoek Artists Group Exhibition.

16 Huguenot Str, Franschhoek. T. 021 876 8443 isart@lqf.co.za www.is-art.co.za

George

Hyatt Regency Oubaai “Transitions” a collection of new sculptures by Anton Smit.

406 Herolds Bay Rd, George. T. 044 851 1234 Milissa.els@hyatt.com www.oubaai.regency.hyatt.com

Strydom Gallery A great selection of South African artworks.

79 Market Str, George. T. 044 874 4027 info@artaffair.co.za www.artaffair.co.za

Knysna Art Gallery 01 -7 Oct, “Knysna Woodworkers exhibition” Old Gaol Complex, cnr of Main and Queen Street, Knysna.

T. 044 382 7124 knysnaartgallery@wispernet.co.za.

Hermanus

Knysna Fine Art An exhibition of paintings by Margaret Vorster and Elise Macdonald.

Featuring bronze sculpture by Lionel Smit.

Thesen House, 6 Long Str, Knysna. T. 044 382 5107 C. 082 552 7262 gallery@finearts.co.za www.finearts.co.za

Abalone Gallery Oct: Main Gallery: SPRING EXHIBITION, Group Show: paintings, works on paper, graphic art, photography and sculpture by artists Titia Ballot, Lien Botha, Christo Coetzee, Hannes Harrs, Cecil Higgs, Tadeus Jaroszynski, ELzaby Laubscher, Judith Mason, Lynette ten Krooden, Louis van Heerden and Andrew Verster Until 18 Oct, in the Annexe: “African Reflections”, Works on paper and on canvas

by Amos Letsoalo, Nyangiso Lindi, Nomthunzi Mashalaba, Leonard Matsoso, sculpture by Jackson Hlungwani and El Loko.

2 Harbour Rd, The Courtyard, Hermanus. T. 028 313 2935 info@abalonegallery.co.za www.abalonegallery.co.za Art Amble Hermanus Village Ten diverse and unique Galleries all within walking distance in the heart of Hermanus Village. Four resident artists’ studios to visit. Collect your Art Amble Guide at any one of the Galleries in Main Road or at the Hermanus Tourism Office. Contact Terry Kobus on 083 259 8869 or email originals@hermanus.co.za for more information.

Bellini Gallery & Cappuccino-Bar Until 8 Oct, “Big Dreams and Little Moments” recent paintings by Tanya Swiegers-Loots and Henrie Koekemoer.

167 Main Rd, Hermanus. T. 028 312 4988 bellini@telkomsa.net www.bellini-gallery.co.za Originals Gallery The art studio and gallery of Terry Kobus. See the artist at work in his studio and view his latest paintings in an intimate gallery space.

Shop 22 Royal Centre, 141 Main Rd, Hermanus. T. 083 259 8869 originals@hermanus.co.za www.OriginalsHermanus.blogspot.com Rossouw Gallery Hermanus 3 Harbour Rd, Hermanus. T. 028 313 2222 info@rossouwmodern. co.za www.rossouwmodern.co.za Walker Bay Art Gallery View the wide selection of paintings, sculpture & ceramics by established as well as up and coming South African artists.

171 Main Rd, Hermanus. contact: Francois Grobbelaar 028 312 2928 francois@walkerbayartgallery.co.za www.walkerbayartgallery.co.za

Klein Karoo

Sheena Ridley Open Studio and Sculpture Garden Sculptures and Paintings N9 Langkloof near Uniondale, Klein Karoo T. 083 5892881 sheena@ridley.co.za www.ridley.co.za

Knysna

Dale Elliott Art Galleries Leaders of the painting course concept in South Africa!

2 Galleries: Woodmill Lane Shopping Centre & The Knysna Mall T. 044 382 5646 www.daleelliott.co.zacom A Different Drummer Featuring new ceramics by Marylou Newdigate and furniture

by Wally Rossini as well as an ongoing exhibition of paintings, sculpture, photographs and object de vertu.

Thesen House, 6 Long Street, Knysna.C.082 552 7262

Sally Bekker Art Studio Ongoing exhibition of recent watercolour and oil paintings.

Upstairs in the Knysna Mall. C.082 342 3943 sally_bekker@hotmail.com

Langebaan

Bay Gallery Bay Gallery supports excellent, local artists, many of whom are members of S.A.S.A. All mediums exhibited.

Marra Square, Bree St, Langebaan. Contact: Daphne 073 304 8744 baygallery@xsinet.co.za www.baygallery.co.za

Oudtshoorn

ArtKaroo Gallery Original works of art by established and emerging artists.

107 Baron van Reede, Oudtshoorn. T.044 279 1093 janet@artkaroo.co.za www.artkaroo.co.za

Paarl

Hout Street Gallery The Gallery specialises in South African paintings and fine art and features an extensive range of paintings, ceramics and sculptures by more than thirty South African artists.

270 Main Str, Paarl. T. 021 872 5030 www.houtstreetgallery.co.za

Piketberg

The Art Business Contemporary Gallery and Art Consultancy Until 29 Oct, a group exhibition entitled “Indulgences”. Participating Artists are: Alex Hamilton; Annelie van der Vyver; Annelie Venter; Arlene Amaler-Raviv, Clare Menk, Diane Heesom-Greene, Christiaan Diedericks; Judy Bumstead; Hermie Voulgarelis; Johan du Plessis; Madelein Marincowitz; Eric Du Plan, Eugenie Marais, Michele Davidson, Kennett Sinclair, Jan du Toit, Grace Kotze, Sandra Hanekom. From 3 Nov, “From genre to manifesto”, exhibition.

17 Main Str, Piketberg. C: 083 739 6196 / 072 659 1973 http://theartbusiness.yolasite.com/

Prince Albert

Prince Albert Gallery Established in 2003, the Prince Albert Gallery always has an eclectic mix of art on display. From George Coutouvidis’s quirky post-modern cartoonism to Guy du Toit’s striking bronzes 57 Church Str, Prince Albert. T. 023 541 1057 C. 082 749 2128 (Brent) karoogallery@intekom.co.za www.princealbertgallery.co.za

Somerset West

Dante Art & Decor A modern Art Gallery since 1995. Proudly South African Art, Ceramics, Gifts & Decor. Furnishing your home with a modern touch of Beauty. Waterstone Village shop 37, Somerset West. C. 084 700 9196, gabby@danteartgallery.co.za www.danteartgallery.co.za

Framing Place 46 Lower Main Road, Observatory, 7925 Tel: 021 447 3988 info@framingplace.co.za www.framingplace.co.za

With unwavering commitment to quality and timeous delivery, our Key Services include: •

Custom colour wood frames

•

Conservation Framing

•

Framing of art, objects, mirrors & prints

•

Stretcher frames

Art Times ad Sept. final 9/6/12 12:38 PM Page 1

Handbuilt pots by the

Nala Family 94 Florida Road, Morningside, Durban 4001 Mon. - Fri. 8.30 am-5 pm. Sat. - 9 am-3 pm T: 031 312 3804/5 F: 031 312 3818 africanartcentre@afri-art.co.za www.afriart.org.za

Section 21 Not for gain company

O P E N I N G:

African Art Centre Presents

TUESDAY 25 SEPTEMBER AT 19H 00 TO 18 OCTOBER 2012

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1st ďƒ&#x;oor Cape Quarter Square 27 Somerset Road, Green Point Ph: 021 421 3333

email: carmel@global.co.za website: www.carmelart.co.za

wide selection of works by leading South African contemporary artists Exclusive distributors of

Pieter van der Westhuizen etchings

full selection on website

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Paula van Coller- Louw

Theo Kleynhans Vasti Wilkinson

WESTERN CAPE, NATAL | GALLERY GUIDE Gallery 91 Showcasing New Exciting Artworks by Kwazulu-Natal Artists. New functional Handmade Ceramics. 91 Andries Pretorius Str, Somerset West. T. 021 852 6700 C. 084 441 7233 www.gallery91.co.za Liebrecht Art Gallery 34 Oudehuis Str, Somerset West. C. 082 682 5710 www.liebrechtgallery.com

Stellenbosch

Sasol Art Museum Until end Oct, “20Stellenbosch”: two decades of South African Sculpture (inside sculptures) David Brown, Jackson Hlungwani, Noria Mbasa, Collen Maswanganyi, Samson Mudzunga, Meshack Raphalalani & Philip Rikhotso.3 Oct – 19 Jan 2013, “Atyd Lig”, Maggie Laubscher (1886 - 1973 ), retrospective exhibition. 52 Ryneveld Str, Stellenbosch T. 021 808 3691 corliah@sun.ac.za

Villiersdorp

Dale Elliott Art Gallery Leaders of the painting course concept in South Africa. 80 Main Rd, Villiersdorp. T. 028 840 2927 www.elliottartonline.wordpress.com

Wilderness

Elizabeth Gordon Gallery A gallery situated in vibrant Florida Road, offering a variety of SA art.

Stockists of Dave Tomlinson bronzes. New paintings by Lindy Acton & Wheildon. 120 Florida Rd, Durban T. 031 303 8133 joy@elizabethgordon.co.za www.elizabethgordon.co.za

Pharoah Art Gallery The gallery features an exquisite collection of Peter Pharoah’s fine art originals & prints including rich colourful portraits, unforgettable African wildlife and bold textured abstracts that are inspired by his travels around Africa. Wilderness Centre, George Road, Wilderness T. 044 877 0265 www.peterpharoah.com

KZNSA Gallery 2-1 October, “Life under democracy”, Inagural Ernest Cole award Exhibition winner, Dale Yudelman.166 Bulwer Rd, Glenwood.

T. 031 277 1705 www.kznsagallery.co.za

Beatrix Bosch Studio Unique works in leather as well as paintings & photography can be viewed 57 Die Duin, Wilderness. www.beatrixbosch.co.za

Slee Gallery 11-26 Oct, An exhibition of paintings by Francé Beyers.

101 Dorp Str, Stellenbosch. T. 021 887 3385 www.slee.co.za

Kwazulu- Natal

SMAC Art Gallery Until 25 Nov, “ARTOMS: Histopathology, Regeneration and Other Cases”, Solo Exhibition by Sandile Zulu. 1st Floor, De Wet Centre, Church Str, Stellenbosch. T. 021 887 3607 www.smacgallery.com

The African Art Centre Until 6 Oct, Contemporary handbuilt Zulu Pottery by Jabu and Thembi Nala.94 Florida Rd, Durban. T. 031 312 3804/5 www.afriart.org.za

Stellenbosch Art Gallery An extensive selection of paintings, sculpture, handmade glass & ceramics by selected Western Cape artists are on offer to the discerning buyer. 34 Ryneveld Str, Stellenbosch. T. 021 887 8343 www.stellenboschartgallery.co.za US Art Gallery 03 – 12 Oct, “Challenging the Hand”, visual art exhibition of masters degree work, by Hanje Whitehead.Cnr. of Dorp & Bird str, Stellenbosch corliah@sun.ac.za

Swellendam

Kunstehuijs Fine Art Gallery Representing a wide variety of established and up-and-coming South African artists. 19 Swellengrebel str, Swellendam.

T. 028 5142905 C. 082 4349291 www.kunstehuijs.com

Durban Art Gallery Visual Art Schools Curriculum Show. This semi-permanent exhibition is aimed at giving students an opportunity to view and reflect on the artworks whilst preparing for final examinations. 2nd Floor City Hall, Anton Lembede (Smith) Str, Durban. www.durban.gov.za

Durban

Pietermaritzburg

ArtSPACE Durban Until 13 Oct, “Body, Vessel, Archetype” Roz Cryer Solo Show in the Main Gallery. “A Life in Common” Rob Mills, Peter McKenzie, Matthew Ovendale and Wayne Reddiar group show producing work that intersects with the public and urban sphere in the Middle Gallery.13 Oct – 13 Nov, “Mail Art Makes the World a Town” curated by Cheryl Penn, Main Gallery. “Re Imagining The Landscape – Sites of Ambiguity”, Anthea Martin – Middle Gallery and Corridor.

Main Gallery.3 Millar Rd, Stamford Hill, Durban. T.031 312 0793 info@artspace-durban.com www.artspace-durban.com The Collective 01-20 Oct, “Kitsch/Cool”, Come and paint a creature; 22 Oct – 3 Nov, Year-end VEGA exhibition 48b Florida Rd, (entrance in 4th Avenue) Greyville, Durban.

T. 031 303 4891 thecollectivedurban.blogspot.com

Tamasa Gallery A small commercial gallery, Tamasa exhibits a broad variety of contemporary KZN artists.36 Overport Drive, Berea, Durban.

T. 031 207 1223

Tatham Art Gallery Until 7 Oct, “Lumo” a solo exhibition of recent works by Dr Valerie Leigh in the Schreiner Gallery.

Until 11 Nov, “Retinal Shift” by Mikhael Subotzky 2012 Standard Bank Young Artist, Photography exhibition. On show until 2013, in the First Floor Galleries, South African Landscapes: “Storm in the Wheatfields” - History of the Tatham Art Gallery 1903 to 1974.12 Oct-2 Dec“Office Politics – scenes from the sinking ship”, Drawing, prints & paintings in a solo exhibition by Faye Spencer. .Cnr of Chief Albert Luthuli (Commercial) Rd & Church Str. (Opposite City Hall) Pietermaritzburg. T. 033 392 2801 www.tatham.org.za

Underberg

The Underberg Studio Set in a delightful garden facing the mountains, the gallery specializes in South African Fine Art landscape photography & Ceramics.

Owned by photographer Lawrance Brennon and his potter wife, Catherine Brennon, the gallery is regularly updated with their latest work. 21 Ridge Rd, Underberg. Signage from R617 T. 033 701 2440 / 072 141 9924 / 082 872 7830 bren@yebo.co.za www.underbergstudio.co.za

The Quiet 3 - 27 October 2012

AN EXHIBITION BY KIRSTEN LILFORD Curated by Andrew Lamprecht & Proudly Presented by Salon91

Salon91 Contemporary Art Collection 91 Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town info@salon91art.co.za www.salon91.co.za +27 21 424 6930 +27 82 679 3906

Joshua Miles “Tanqua huisie” Reduction Woodblock

www.joshuamiles.co.za

ART TIMES | ARTIST FEATURE: IAN DIFFORD

Ian Difford The Apartheid Years in Port Elizabeth: Adventures in Black and White Jeanne Wright Early in September, at the Ron Belling Gallery in Port Elizabeth, acclaimed fine art photographer and commercials film director Ian Difford held a retrospective exhibition of images which he took during the Apartheid era.

Difford was educated at Grey High School and went on to study graphic design at the Port Elizabeth Technikon. In his second year he was introduced to photography and trained under Michael Boutall who started his career as a photo-journalist. He later studied under the rubric of Robert Brooks whom he succeeded as Head of the photographic school in 1981. He was to teach there for 13 years. Between 1973 and 1979, he held three one man shows in Port Elizabeth and then moved to Johannesburg where he ran his own business before joining the Picture Tree Television Company as a freelance executive art director.

One of South Africa’s most stylish and skilled stills photographer, he specialises in food photography. His client list features most of the biggest names in the local food and beverage industry. His television commercials for these major house brands are some of the most iconic in the business. He has a reputation for meticulous perfection in the compilation of his movie commercials and tabletop still images of food and beverages, his main focus being to create a distinctive style and unique look and feel which reinforces the profile of that brand.

Having shot commercials for the big names of the industry, including KFC, Debonairs and Amstel, Difford is no stranger to the processes and tricks required to capture the perfect burger flip or bubble shot. While quick to praise the talents of food stylists and the SFX guys (special effects), he is also passionate about his responsibility to create an overall mood which rings true for the brand. “What I ultimately want is for people to recognise a distinctive style from one commercial to the next. Whether I shoot a commercial for ten different food or drink brands, each brand is handled in isolation with a unique look or feel which reinforces that particular brand. It’s not just about showing up on the day with a camera in hand. There is an underlying concept which begins with the script and the story board and it’s my job to make sure the brand’s values are carried through to the food styling, the camera angles and post production elements.”

He is an acknowledged master of the genre.

Needing a break from “life” as he puts it, and feeling stultified by the rigors of commercial stills photography, he recently re-visited a body of work which he’d made as a student and lecturer when living in Port Elizabeth.

As a student, he had acquired a Leica M3 Rangefinder camera which allowed him to shoot subjects without the fuss and noise of the then currently fashionable reflex cameras. It was technically the kind of machine which demanded intuitiveness, judgment and experience with light as there was no internal light meter. It was also smaller and less obtrusive than other cameras which allowed him to shoot in places where he could have gotten into trouble. He used this camera to amass a collection of nearly 5000 35mm negatives on Port Elizabeth life which he took over a period of ten years from 1971-1984.

He is also pretty “old-fashioned” (his words) about the skills required for his profession – an approach which he says was developed when he trained at the Technikon. The darkroom experience with its smell of chemicals and the excitement and the suspense of watching a roll of film develop is no longer around much in photography – along with the knowledge that what you had on the spool could not be altered in the way it can today. Being a purist in the most academic sense, he says that the kind of judgment and visual acuity needed to take the right shot is not a priority with digital media these days. So much can be altered or faked with the convenience of the technology.

He talks about ‘photographic integrity’. He’s not much of a fan of digital photography but now uses it routinely as a tool in his profession because it’s cost-effective. Like LP record aficionadas, he says the kind of quality and depth you get from film is still better than anything digitally printed. Up until recently, he still used 35mm film from preference. Visually acute, he is accustomed to using high speed film (2000 frames per second) in the commercial arena. Within the industry he has a reputation for an unerring ability to extract the perfect single frame image from this medium - a facility which he says is a direct result of the kind of experience which the dark room training inculcated into his experience. It’s born of the innate ability to recognize the “rightness” of the image.

Ian was around many of the figures prominent in the Grahamstown Group. They were part of his social set and many were colleagues. The domination of their presence in the teaching field in the Eastern Cape at the time was ubiquitous and aspects of their aesthetic are carried through in his images. This ethic defines itself as knowledge about format as a principal element; a visual understanding of landscape and the composition of structures within it, and above all, the instinctive ability to know when the light is right and how to exploit its qualities. The Eastern Cape landscape has a hard, flat light which tends to polarize light and shadow, making gradations difficult to

32

read when it comes to the technical side of printing photographs or painting images.

The experience gained from dealing with these aesthetic problems he says was invaluable when it came to his work as a professional. He is still acutely aware of the nuance and subtle shifts of tone in his images.

The images on this exhibition were taken when he was in his twenties just before the State of Emergency was declared. On reflection, he says he was completely unaware of any political sub-text in the material he was selecting - a kind of “social naivety”. The Apartheid structure of the city’s society was so entrenched that unless you were an activist, as a white student, it wasn’t an issue. He says that at the time, he was preoccupied with composition, format, subject matter and the creation of perfect images and that what he was photographing was simply material that interested him. Township life and the kind of activities which went on in Main Street in the white areas of the CBD were simply a matter of choosing subjects which could be fitted into a single frame in a single shot. Obsessed then with what he calls the “disconnect”, the foreground subject matter is often anecdotal to what is happening on the fringes of the image or what is happening in the background. It was only recently, while browsing through some of the 5000 negatives that he had stored - many of them never printed - that he realised that he had a unique record of a particular time and place which revealed the dichotomies of Apartheid in his city at that time.

The 67 prints on exhibition, selected from this archive of negatives, have not been seen before. Many of those he has selected to show, he had not considered for printing at the time because they did not conform to the technical specs he was interested in at the time.

He pays homage to that ineluctable sense of choice which guides the eye of a creative photographer and says that the extent and of his vision, when viewed through the contemporary lens of the 21st Century changes in South African society, is a source of amazement for him. He says he just knew, then, that ‘stuff had to be photographed’ and intuitively followed his nose when it came to what had to be photographed. Because the negatives have not been cropped or altered, each print carries the veracity of its time. He has had the negatives developed and hand printed by master printer Dennis Da Silva who has an empathetic understanding of the photographer’s intentions and an understanding of the importance and reproductive quality of silver print.

Monochrome images of well processed silver halide based materials have an established archival permanence. Difford says that he mentally uses, as a benchmark, the work of ϋber documentary photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson all the time. Bresson is known principally as the greatest chronicler of the streets – images of impeccable composition, format and detail.

The debate over whether photography is an art has raged for nearly a century, but as English arts critic John Berger expressed it, (the photograph) “bears witness to a human choice being exercised in a given situation.” Difford does believe that the photograph is a unique vehicle which can isolate and perpetuate a moment of time.

Black and white photography is a demanding genre. It requires that the photographer subsumes the familiar aspects of a world full of colour and represents what he sees in a series of lights and shadows which describe the subject matter. It also needs a master’s eye to recognize and capture particular visual opportunities which encapsulate moments in time. Difford also has that rare ability to differentiate between the pictorial equivalent of investigative reporting and the aesthetic criteria which define dramatic and fine art images.

The images portray things which will be familiar to Port Elizabethans – daily visual incidents from inner city and township life, the beach front, the polyglot mixture of races and the mish-mash of civic architecture and township shacks. They form an important and revealing document in the chronology of the city’s history. The prints are technically sophisticated in that they are unique prints from the uncropped original negatives. More than that, the photographer‘s command of his subjects and mastery of his process made this an exhibition out of the ordinary.

Difford’s approach to his oeuvre is framed in his own story of the origin of the photograph which features the familiar walking figure logo for Telkom’s Yellow Pages…. which goes something like this… He was in North End in Port Elizabeth and he glimpsed a woman through the barriers of a bus shelter structure. She had on a long white dress which was blowing in the wind. He said he “stalked” her for 20 minutes knowing instinctively that there was going to be a fraction of a second in which the image he had in his head and the reality before him were going to synchronize… and when it did, he captured it. Cartier-Bresson famously describes this moment as “the decisive moment, it is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives the event its proper expression”.

He is currently conducting an ongoing project which involves photographing landscapes from the Western Cape hinterland, up the West coast and into Namibia.

SA ART TIMES. October 2012

ART TIMES | GALLERY BUZZ PETER VAN STRATEN’S WALKABOUT AT HIS SHOW AT THE CASA LABIA, MUIZENBURG, CT.

OPENING OF ROGER BALLEN’S SHOW AT THE HEIDI ERDMANN CONTEMPORARY ART, CT

Photos: Michaela Irving

PETER MIDLANE IN COLLABORATION WITH MASTER PRINTMAKER DUMISANI MABASA AT WILLIAM HUMPHRIES ART GALLERY , KIMBERLY

GALLERY BUZZ | ART TIMES RUST EN VREDE GALLERY, DURBANVILLE, CT: OPENING OF ALTER EGO SHOW OF 36 SA ARTISTS.

(L-R) Madelein Marinckowitz , Janna Prinsloo, Robert Plotz, Paul Birchall,(Below) Opening MICHAELIS COLLECTION, OLD TOWN HOUSE MUSEUM, CT

(Left) Boys from St Augustine’s Primary School don paper collars and black plastic draperies in a fun recreation of Old Master portraits.(Right) upils from the Pioneer School for the Blind working with members of the Museums Access Project team. (Right below) Pupils from St Augustine’s Primary School emulate Dirck van Santvoort’s painting of A Dutch Family Group in the Michaelis Collection.

MIRJAM MACLEOD AT HER STUDENTS SHOW, KALK BAY. Photos: Michaela Irving

Mirjam Macleod , Dawn Garisch, Eve Macnamara, Jenne Irving , Jenne Irving with her self portrait

ART TIMES | GALLERY BUZZ KARIN DAYMOND AT GALLERY 2. JOHANNESBURG

BELIA OH FROM BELOW : Photos: Michaela Irving

Belia Oh, Joshua Grierson posing with the portrait of himself, The Beard poses with prtrait of Albert Frost behind, Zolani of Freshly Ground posing with her portrait PRINTMAKING 2012: SANDTON CIVIC GALLERY: BLUE DOOR, SA PRINT GALERY AND ARTIST PROOF STUDIO, CURATED BY DAVID BROWN

Opening the show: Gabriel Clark-Brown, Top Guests, Bottom: Bevan de Wet, Richard Forbes, Gabriel Clark-Brown, Colin Cole / Owen Blumberg. Photos: Rupert de Beer

BUSINESS ART Around South African Business Art Daily newscasts at www.arttimes.co.za For the full story go to www.arttimes.co.za, click newslink directly to the source Joburg Art Fair Press Release The 5th FNB Joburg Art Fair took place from 7-9 September at the Sandton Convention Centre. The Fair saw an increase in international visitors, curators and press. Visitor numbers remained constant at 8500 with art sales up by 25 to 30 % from 2011. This year saw in the region of R16 million worth of art sold during the course of the Fair. The majority of sales took place on the opening night - now one of Joburgs most sought after social events.

Undoing the business of art: Joburg Art Fair Incorrigible Corrigall: It is not often that going unnoticed by your audience is a sign that the performance is a success. But such is the case for the initial phase of Murray Kruger’s Business Day Part 2, which appropriately begins in the swish wanted/Businessday lounge at the FNB Joburg Art Fair (JAF) at the Sandton Convention Centre.

Johannesburg art fair showcases African innovation Times Live: The Johannesburg Art Fair showcased artists, galleries and museum collections from across Africa. The fourth annual fair, held from September 7 through 9, displayed work designed to provoke debate on Africa’s pressing social issues.As well as more traditional mediums for artists, the Johannesburg art fair included modern video and electronic installations. Flashing neon lights and sculpted glass heads attract the attention of the crowd.But it is art inspired by Africa’s socio-economic woes and political upheavals that attracts buzz among visitors.A life-size elephant made from trash draws a steady stream of admirers who pose for pictures.Read Source here 103 Neem deel aan fringe Beeld: Johan Myburg: Die Joburg Fringe word vanjaar weer tot Sondag in verskeie uitstalruimtes in Braamfontein aangebied. Ná verlede jaar se sukses is daar vanjaar 103 kunstenaars wat deelneem aan dié kunsskou. Die Goethe-instituut is vanjaar die Fringe-vennoot. Die oogmerk met dié skou, wat dieselfde naweek as die Joburg Art Fair (JAF) aangebied word, is om kunstenaars die geleentheid te bied om hul werk te vertoon en informeel in gesprek te tree met die publiek.

Buy art, even if it’s not much of an investment Business Day Live: Piet Viljoen : THE art market survived - and thrived - during and after the financial crisis of 2008, leading many investors to consider adding art to their portfolio. Art indices are cropping up with invariably upward sloping lines and financial advisory firms suggest art possesses “wealth preservation qualities”.

International Business Art China: Four tips on how to approach China’s art boom Forbes: China’s art market has become one of the world’s most important in the past decade. Though accounting for only a tenth of the number of global transactions, annual sales of $4.8 billion in 2011 made up 41% of the global total turnover, according to the 2011 Art Market Trends report by Art Price. More than 700 paintings sold above $1 million in China that year, compared with 426 in the U.S. and 377 in the U.K., the second and third largest markets in the world. Three years ago, only one Chinese artist was among the world’s 10 best-selling artists. Last year, six of the 10 spots were taken by Chinese painters.

Germany : Why the art market profits when social inequality is growing Huffington Post: The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. And the art market likes it that way, according to Federal Reserve Bank economist Benjamin Mandel. Mandel recently spoke with German newspaper Die Ziet about the peculiar beast that is the art economy, existing almost fully removed from the reality Read Source United Kingdom: Hirst rakes in how much?! Damien Hirst’s Record-Breaking Exhibit At The Tate Modern Brings In Over $10 M Huffington Post: Art critics around the world might disagree on the worthiness of mega-artist Damien Hirst, but there’s no denying his ability to intrigue the museum-going masses of Britain.

United States: A Picasso online for just $450? Yes, it is a steal New York Times: By Patricia Cohen: Bargain hunting online? How about an original Rembrandt for $900 (“you can clearly tell its age by the paper,” the seller of this etching attests), or a signed piece in ink by Matisse for $1,250. (The artist’s work is, the online seller notes, “radical and unprecedented in the history of Western art.”) A Google image search reveals that multiple galleries are selling a black elephant sculpture online that the Calder Foundation says is not a work by Alexander Calder. The gallery owner David Crespo, who is involved in a case concerning fake Picasso drawings.Yes, Sotheby’s can command more than $100 million for a Picasso at auction.

China: Art salesrooms adapt to changes of aesthetic taste China Daily: Art collectors, both in domestic and overseas markets, are changing their aesthetic taste. Their interests have gradually deviated from political symbols to artworks with cultural elements. Such a dramatic change in demand is apparent from the offerings seen in art showrooms, and perhaps more so at Sotheby’s Hong Kong’s contemporary Asian art sale to be launched on Oct 7.

BUSINESS ART | THE SAHRA REPORT

SAHRA Shock Report “These also included non-remuneration of Council Members, the poor personnel quality, conditions and institutional culture of poor performance, lack of accountability and anarchy, and the illusion of unqualified audit of previous years versus organizational crisis and dysfunction. The presentation also outlined the nature of the crises.”

South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) progress: briefing http://www.pmg.org.za/node/33789 Meeting Report Information Date of Meeting: 5 Sep 2012 : Chairperson: M T Sunduza (ANC) Documents handed out: SAHRA Employment Contract entered into by SAHRA and Ms Phakamani Buthelezi (CEO) [2] SAHRA Status of the assessment of PHRAs [3] SAHRA’s Overall Budget Summary end of July 2012 [4] SAHRA Presentation [5] SAHRA Employment Offer [6] SAHRA Interim New Organogram Phase 1 Approved by Council on 19 March 2011 [7] Audio recording of the meeting: PC Arts: South African Heritage Resources Association on the state of affairs-part1 [8] PC Arts: South African Heritage Resources Association on the state of affairs-part2 [9] Summary: The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) presentation covered the challenges that had become manifest after the various crises. These included a vast South African Heritage Resources Agency obligatory mandate and failure to properly cost the implementation of the mandate, the absence of oversight (council and audit committee) over a long time, an oversight and policy vacuum, the challenge of getting provincial representatives into the SAHRA Council, an opaque nature of CEO recruitment processes and contract and existential crisis, devolution process, closure of provincial offices, and unprecedented retrenchments underway when the new Council was appointed. These also included non-remuneration of Council Members, the poor personnel quality, conditions and institutional culture of poor performance, lack of accountability and anarchy, and the illusion of unqualified audit of previous years versus organizational crisis and dysfunction. The presentation also outlined the nature of the crises.

SAHRA reported that a number of positions had resigned recently including the Head of Corporate Services, Supply Chain Manager and Human Resources (HR) manager. With the Chief Executive Officer there had been the absence of a valid contract; however, she had insisted that there had been oral undertakings to have a five year contract. A legal opinion was being sought on the matter. The presentation also outlined the turnaround strategy and the various interventions suggested by the Auditor-General and those undertaken by the Council. It also covered the successes, despite the challenges, which included the acceleration of assessment and accreditation of Provincial Heritage Resources Authorities (PHRAs). The Centre for Heritage Education, Training and Research had been opened in March 2012.

It was revealed that management had long been aware of the failings and the pending crisis and that at one point PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) had been released as the Agency’s auditors and a one-man firm appointed instead.

Members’ questions focused on the issue of the various resignations and the need to investigate these persons, funding received from entities abroad, matters pertaining to the appointment and contract of the Chief Executive Officer, who was to take responsibility for the problems within SAHRA, the legislative measures for stopping fraud, and the channels for reporting issues. Members also called for an forensic investigation. The Chairperson expressed disappointment with the Department for not handling the ongoing situation as to the CEO. It emerged that the CEO had used her power to exclude the Council and the Department from her activities. There had been much that had been hidden from the Council, the Department and the Committee. This was only coming to light now. The Chairperson gave the Minister and Mr Sibusiso Xaba, DAC DirectorGeneral, two weeks to produce a report on what was happening and what was being done.

Minutes:Introduction The Chairperson said one of the issues was that there had been no contract for the CEO as it had expired. There had also been many dismissals and there needed to be a response. There had also been complaints from provincial bodies and there was still a report pending from the South African Heritage Resources Agency. There was also the issue that funding from external countries needed to be accounted for as SAHRA was a Government body. SAHRA was not to be used for personal reasons such as friendship or as a place to employ family.

Ms L Moss (ANC) said that it had not done the Committee justice to receive the presentation so late, it did not allow the Committee to engage with the presentation properly.

The Chairperson requested that the presentation begin and that all those present remain civil. The Committee did want to engage with the issues faced by SAHRA and be able to report to the media. SAHRA was important and was looking after the nation’s heritage.

SAHRA presentation Dr Somadoda Fikeni, SAHARA Chairperson, said that the CEO had booked off sick for the last three weeks and apologised for her absence. Other than SAHRA there was no other entity charged with such a mandate within the country. SAHRA was unable to discharge its mandate because of the challenges it faced. The cumulative of operational and governance crises over the years had finally taken its toll and manifested themselves in various challenges. The observation of the Council and adverse audit opinion confirmed a range of systemic weaknesses.

This in turn meant that incremental conventional intervention methods would not rescue the situation but only bold innovative steps would revitalize SAHRA. Dr Fikeni covered the evolution of SAHRA challenges which were as follows: Vast SAHRA obligatory mandate and failure to properly cost the implementation of the mandate.

Absence of oversight (Council and audit committee) over a long time.

Oversight & policy vacuum.

Challenge of getting provincial representatives into SAHRA Council.

Opaque nature of CEO recruitment processes and contract.

Existential crisis, devolution process, closure of provincial offices and unprecedented retrenchments underway when new Council was appointed.

Non-remuneration of Council Members Poor personnel quality, conditions, and institutional culture of poor performance, lack of accountability and anarchy.

Illusion of unqualified audit of previous years versus organizational crisis and dysfunction.

The nature of the crisis faced by SAHRA included: Retrenchments and resignations without immediate replacement especially in critical positions. Lack of succession planning: CFO, Company Secretary and Legal Advisor, Head of Corporate Services, Supply Chain Manager and now HR Manager.

Poor planning on closure of SAHRA (devolution) operations in provinces.

Non-adherence to policies thus weakening control measures as reflected in the Auditor-General’s report.

Hostile Environment for staff and council Crisis around CEO contract and general uncertainty Dr Fikeni stated that the Head of Corporate Services, Supply Chain Manager and HR manager had all resigned recently (within the last few weeks). On the issue of the CEO appointment, Dr Fikeni said the problem had been not just an absence of a valid contract but the fact that the advert for the position had been for three years only. The CEO insisted there had been oral undertakings for her to occupy the position for five years. One Council member had gone to the Public Protector to ask why there was a legal opinion being sought when it needed to be deciphered if there was a valid contract.

THE SAHRA REPORT | BUSINESS ART Highlights of the 2011/12 Auditor-General’s report included: Disclaimer of audit opinion, in all areas Prior year shortcomings not addressed No Audit Committee, appointment of internal auditor was irregular Weaknesses in: Procurement & Supply Chain management Control over Fixed assets Control over Human Resources & payroll Financial management & control Financial accounting & presentation Inadequate supporting evidence for key transactions/ journal adjustments not explained Performance management & performance reporting poor Organisational culture & behaviour contrary to accepted norms of good corporate governance Dr Fikeni stated that the turn around strategy would include: Tightening of expense management with proper financial control Revision of all procurement & Supply Chain Management procedures Banking structures were to be revised and signatories reviewed Fixed asset verification/reconstruction of Fixed Asset Register Payroll controls – oversight & leave pay Regular financial & performance reporting Internal auditors to be appointed Various interventions had been required by the Auditor-General and included: Forensic enquiry into: Retrenchment & severance “benefits” Expenditure & procurement practices Fixed asset disposals Control & utilisation of special project grant monies Staff debtors & recoverables Disciplinary and other proceedings to follow, should these be warranted Irregular, unauthorised, fruitless & wasteful expenditure to be recovered from any parties responsible Council interventions had included: Unprecedented number of policies, control measures, procedures put in place but challenge of implementation at an operational level.

Establishment of the audit committee Management capacity building on corporate governance.

New Strategic Plan in place.

Approached Department to cost SAHRA Act and Department had embarked on this process already.

Approached Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) for assistance on Council remuneration or honoraria.

Bigger challenges had been exposed and radical intervention that were to be adopted included: Auditor-General’s Report & forensic investigation Investigation of CEO for Misconduct Invitation of DAC for a turnaround Task Team.

An invitation of was to be extended to the Artscape & Iziko CFOs to help with the workload of the current Acting CFO Legal Opinion was to be sought on the CEO’s contract.

Dr Fikeni did explain that there had been some achievement despite the challenges faced and these included the acceleration of the assessment and accreditation of Provincial Heritage Resources Authorities (PHRAs). The Centre for Heritage Education, Training and Research had been opened in March 2012.

The Council had also decided to investigate misconduct of serious nature as on many occasions what Council had been given as information was misleading, and at times information had been suppressed. This was taken in a serious light. The Council had written to the CEO in terms of steps to investigate serious misconduct.

Dr Fikeni stated that the SAHRA Council and staff, working with DAC, were comSA ART TIMES. October 2012

mitted to a turnaround and the avoidance of a meltdown. They planned to always welcome engagement and guidance of the Portfolio Committee. In six months concrete changes were to be visible for the Council to report on the turnaround and have a plan to effect changes proposed by the Auditor-General.

Some changes had already started being implemented.

Adv Dave Mitchell, Chairperson of the SAHRA Audit Committee, said that the work the Auditor-General had done this year had been competent and thorough and he supported his findings. In 2011 a local firm of chartered accountants provided support in producing the Annual Report, more specifically the Annual Financial Statements.

Their findings bore a strong correlation with what the Auditor-General had presented in his findings. Management had been aware of the failings from the year before and chose not to inform the Audit Committee or the Council. The Auditor-General had looked into the way the internal audit had been carried out.

The service had been outsourced; there had also been irregularities within this appointment. What had been found was that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) had discharged audit services to SAHRA and for some reason was eventually terminated and a small one-man firm (which was not properly appointed or equipped) took over the task. This was despite Council’s instructions to the contrary. There was now an Audit Committee in place that was strong and effective.

Discussion Issues of resignations and other matters The Chairperson stated that to lie to the Committee was a criminal offence. SAHRA had been given a ‘long rope’ and allowed to conduct its matters. She suggested that the CEO should be suspended and even those who had resigned needed to be investigated. She was disappointed with the current state of events. The resignations were all of strategic positions and this was evidence of corruption.

Mr S Ntapane (UDM) said that it was clear that the Council was being sabotaged.

There was a need to stress the forensic investigation. There had been a lot that had happened within the institution. He commended the Council on the good work it had done so far.

Ms Sandi Baker, Acting CFO of SAHRA, replied that she had done a great deal of forensic work over the last 20 years. When she arrived she had been interviewed by the CEO and the HR executive who alleged she had been ‘terrorised’. At the interview there had been non-disclosure as to the problems or the irregularities and the Annual Reports were not on the website. Most copies of documents could not be located. She had realised quickly that there were serious underlying problems, at which point she approached Adv Mitchell on the Audit Committee. What she had seen was that there had been, by the CEO and previous HR executive, deliberate concealment. Nothing had been disclosed despite repeated requests. There had been deliberate misrepresentation, omissions and non-disclosure, in particular by those two executives. When she had realised that she could not do the work for which she had been appointed due to the situation she had approached them stating that things did not ‘stack up’ and they proceeded to attempt to remove her from the organisation. She then attended a Council meeting and the disclosure of one irregularity allowed for her to tell the Council everything. She was given the opportunity to speak despite the CEO’s requesting that she be removed from the meeting. This had been overruled and she had been allowed to stay. There had been allegations of incompetence with the previous CFO and there had been a settlement of R100 000. This had not been disclosed and had been orchestrated by the HR executive and the CEO on the 23 May 2012. This had not been disclosed to Council till July. Council had not been aware of what had been going on in SAHRA and when it had been made aware it responded quickly. There had been a culture of not going past the CEO or HR executive.

Foreign Funding The Chairperson wanted clarity over the money that had allegedly come from the Dutch.

Issues concerning the CEO The Chairperson said that if there was no contract for the CEO then the person was not employed. The Board had been corrupt.

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BUSINESS ART | THE SAHRA REPORT Mr Ntapane said a contract that stipulated the CEO was to be appointed for three years could not be extended through an oral agreement but only by another written agreement. The person was thus not appointed. Ms Siyasanga Tetyana, SAHRA Acting HR Executive, replied that the previous CEO did have a contract but the current one did not. There had been an appointment letter which came in the form of offer letter.

Ms F Mushwana (ANC) said she failed to understand how Dr Fikeni had presented so calmly; she agreed with Mr Van Der Berg that maybe Dr Fikeni was the problem. It seemed that he was the person that needed to be replaced or the challenge might remain. Culture was very important in this country. Dr Fikeni was failing this country; he needed to assess himself and be fair as he might be the challenge.

Ms H van Schalkwyk (DA) asked who misled the Council regarding the number of applications. She understood that the previous Council had been in charge of appointing the CEO.

The Chairperson said that Members were missing the point that this was a new Council whichhad identified the challenges and was exposing the corruption.

Mr Vuslthemba Ndlma, DAC Acting Deputy Director-General: Cultural Heritage and Preservation and Chief Director: Heritage, said that the responsibility of the appointment of the CEO rested with the Council. This was a gap that needed to be addressed. If one looked at other legislative frameworks there was a provision that the CEO was appointed by the Council in consultation with the Minister. The National Heritage Resources Act was silent on this matter and this was the gap that needed to be looked at. This had been an oversight. The costing of the Act had also been an oversight but this was being addressed. There had already been bids received to cost the legislation.

Ms Berri Samuels, SAHRA Public Relations Officer, replied that the issue about the contract was not a new one.

There was a need to remember that this particular CEO had used her iron fist to protect herself and used a policy of non-interference in her management style.

She had used her power over the day-to-day running to protect herself.

When she had said that she had a five year contract and that there was to be no discussion, she had used the card that she was in charge operationally as an excuse for not consulting the Department and Council. This meant there was no interference. Employees had been instructed not to speak to Council.

The Chairperson said that she was disappointed in the Director-General and the Deputy Director-General. She saw that the Deputy Director-General did not often act. The Department needed to find a new way to relate to the entities. There was also a need for Council members to relate to staff on issues such as staff bullying as experienced with the CEO. The Director-General needed to intervene in these issues. There was a need for an in-depth forensic investigation. There was also a need to bring unions on board as they often supplied information of these issues.

She said the Council needed to report to the Committee after a decision was made on the CEO. Ms Moss said that the CEO needed to go because there was no contract.

Mr David Nkaiseng, Human resources and Committee Chair of SAHRA, replied that a letter of appointment was a contract by labour standards. This needed to be followed by a performance contract which needed to be entered into annually.

This contract was poorly drafted and did not offer an alternative to the provisions of the advertisement which specified three years and the contract should have also stipulated a time period. The question of whether the CEO had complied with the advertisement was a matter to be handled in the forensic investigation.

There had been more than ten applicants who could have been short listed but only one was short listed. This puzzled the Council.

The Chairperson asked if the CEO had really met the requirements for the job.

Mr Nkaiseng replied that a report by consultants had painted a bleak picture of the short listed candidate and suggested that maybe SAHRA needed to search for other candidates. This was because the candidate had not met corporate skills requirements, financial skills requirements, turnaround skills requirements and so forth. The CEO was still however appointed with a poorly drafted contract. He also wanted to clarify that the Council was not divided despite some members stating the contrary in various forums such as emails. There may be a need to look into a way to constrain members who went astray.

Mr L Khoarai (ANC) asked who had approved the three weeks leave given to the CEO. SAHRA Chairperson’s involvement in issues faced by SAHRA Mr N Van der Berg (DA) asked what was Dr Fikeni’s role in the entire matter. He seemed to have been fighting all the time with every one.

Ms Mushwana said she wanted to thus withdraw her accusations. Mr Van der Berg did the same.

Incompetency within SAHRA Mr Ntapane said there had been a great deal of incompetency that had been discovered. What was to be done?

Responsibility for problems within SAHRA Ms Van Schalkwyk said it was clear that SAHRA was dysfunctional and management had been non-existent. She asked with whom did the ‘buck stop’? Was it with the Director General or Minister or maybe the CEO. Who was to be responsible for implementing the turnaround strategy?

Mr Sibusiso Xaba, DAC Director-General, replied that ‘the buck’ stopped with the Minister as he was the executing authority whilst the Director-General was the accounting authority for SAHRA. The Department shared the responsibility with Council even though they had different roles. But there was also a need to respect the integrity of the processes of Council. The Department had a number of institutions and tried to engage with them in a way that did not interfere with their roles. When the Department felt there was a need to intervene it did so in manner that respected their integrity.

Mr P Ntshiqela (COPE) said he felt that the Council was on track but needed to take the blame for what had gone wrong. He wondered if the Department had captured what had gone wrong and what would have happened if they had. He asked for the Department to respond.

Mr Xaba replied that a great deal of the information presented today was new information that had been concealed from the Department and the Council. This information had been concealed via omission. Now that the information had come to light it would be dealt with. One plan of action was to use the capacity in the Department and in some of the institutions in order to assist and support SAHRA in its turnaround whilst the investigations were on going.

Ms Moss said that the Council was no longer new as its members had come into their positions in November 2011.

They needed to correct the problems they had encountered when taking office to allow the entity to move forward.

The Chairperson had asked last year what the Department had done to help with the challenges. It was now 10 months later and the Committee needed to be told what had been done as there could not be a repeat.

The Chairperson blameed the Department as well because it had known about these things and had not done anything.

She requested that SAHRA return in two weeks with the acting CEO. The Council also needed to be paid.

Legislative measures against fraud Ms Moss said that if there was no proper procurement system then fraud would remain. There was complete fraud in terms of the finances. The Government had put measure in place and one of these measures was the Public Finance Management Act (No.1 of 1999) (PFMA). There was labour legislation that could fulfil that gap even in terms of the appointment of the CEO. There was no space for fraud.

Reporting lines Mr D Mavunda (ANC) said that Dr Fikeni would have to check the reporting lines of his institution. There was a need to find out what the pieces of legislation were in terms of the establishment of SAHRA. Dr Fikeni needed to know whom to contact if there were irregularities and whom to contact if issues arose.

THE SAHRA REPORT | BUSINESS ART Mr Van der Berg said that the previous HR manager had been terrorised by the Council who had made it impossible to stay. These had been the allegations - were they true?

Ms Baker replied that the HR executive had been the one who had terrorised people not the other way around.

Progress Report Ms Moss proposed that the Council met and produced a progress report. There was also a need for a total forensic investigation, from the previous council to now. The Department and the Minister needed to look at the CEO. She was disappointed by the Department. She called for a progress report from it as well.

Intervention by the Department The Chairperson said that, much as the Department tried to distance itself, the role of the Department was to oversee as the money was given from the Department. There were issues that were happening right under the Department’s nose and the Committee had to intervene as it was the last port of call.

Dr Fikeni replied that, in terms of the forensic report, he asked for patience. He said that the current Council had dedicated men and women who had taken a stand after years of irregularity. Some of the information had only come to light two weeks ago. The Council’s conscience was clear on the matter as it had not been involved in misgivings and was attempting to solve the crisis.

Closing Remarks The Chairperson said that the Minister and Department must act on the matter and produce a progress report. She gave the Minister and Mr Xaba two weeks. She worried as this was a very important institution. She thanked Council members for the work they were doing. She advised SAHRA Council members to engage with lower level employeesin order to garner information. She also recommended that there was a meeting with the unions.

The meeting was adjourned.

Copyright © Parliamentary Monitoring Group, South Africa

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Art installation makes city street beautiful The build-up to Creative Week Cape Town has begun with a surprising and delightful public art installation by artist Michael Elion.

If you walk down Wale Street this week between 14h45 and 15h45 you are likely to discover a man-made rainbow spanning the road. That’s right. A rainbow appears right here in the Central City like a bit of magic. The artwork is part of a group exhibition celebrating Commune.1’s first anniversary.

“My fascination with rainbows started with trying to create one in a frame, but I soon realised that, when it comes to rainbows, perspective and direct light are vital,” says Michael. “All of these elements come together in the street directly in front of the Commune.1 gallery.” According to the artist, this is a benevolent and generous gesture: “It is just a little bit of water but it transforms the mundane city streets into something unexpected. This isn’t something you can create in a gallery.” Having worked in Paris, Berlin and Rome, Michael admits that “having home advantage and understanding the lay of the land in Cape Town” makes realising projects like this much easier.

Weather permitting, you can look for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow every afternoon until the exhibition launch on 14 October.

BUSINESS ART | ART INVESTMENT

Buy art, even if it’s not much of an investment

By Piet Viljoen: First Published in Business Day Live.

THE art market survived — and thrived — during and after the financial crisis of 2008, leading many investors to consider adding art to their portfolio. With bankrupt governments implementing financial repression, competing assets yield little or nothing. Art indices are cropping up with invariably upward sloping lines and financial advisory firms suggest art possesses “wealth preservation qualities”.

To judge whether art can qualify as a legitimate asset class in an investor’s portfolio, we need to understand how investments are priced and what returns we can expect. Stock markets are efficient price-discovery mechanisms but dealers’ rooms — where most art sales take place — are not. The dealer sets the price; there is no aggregation mechanism, where buyers and sellers can get together to determine a price.

In the art market, price creates value and buyer satisfaction rather than reflecting it. The incentives are inverted. There is a strong Veblen effect — the higher the perceived price, the more valuable the object is and the greater the buyer satisfaction, the opposite of how investing works.

Real investments are priced after carefully calculating the present value of all the future cash flows that will accrue to the owner of the asset. Many investors with different assumptions and methods do this; their views are expressed via bids and offers on a liquid stock market and they try very hard to do a good job of it through the rewards of owning a growing stream of dividends.

A serious investor would be crazy to trust the art market to price his “investments” correctly. For a real investment, value determines price, while, for art, price determines value. To earn good returns from art is hard. You might end up with the right pieces at the right time, but to get into that position requires an interest bordering on obsession and deep pockets.

But the main headwind to good returns comes from the mundane. Stocks and bonds don’t need to be insured against damage, don’t need to be transported by trained handlers, and don’t need to be kept in a climate-controlled environment.

In the stock market, you don’t pay your stockbroker 20% of value to sell nor do

you pay 10% of its value as a “buyer’s premium”. As a result, most art will never show any return at all, except possibly a negative one.

Looking at a real life example: the Whitney Museum of American Art sold Picasso’s Garcon a la Pipe for $104m in 2004 after acquiring it for $30,000 in 1950. This seems to be a staggering gain but, as Bill Clinton said recently, do the maths. It is an annual rate of growth of only 16% — before costs. The whole Whitney collection has shown annual gains of less than 7% a year over past 50 years.

And art indices? They have many flaws: they measure only paintings that have sold at least twice at auction, and they do not include work that failed to sell. So they measure only successful artists. That is like setting up a stock market index that includes only stocks that have gone up in price. They also exclude private sales, dealer sales and sales at art fairs — all significant sources of turnover in the art market, where prices can differ substantially from those achieved at auction.

The art market is highly psychological and social. But buying art doesn’t just offer a sense of community, it engenders feelings of victory, cultural superiority and social distinction. A common term used by collectors, however, is that buying art gives them a “high”. As an investor, it just doesn’t make sense to compete for assets in a market that is primarily driven by emotion.

Having said all this, I strongly recommend that we all go out and buy as much art as we can afford. Buying art has tremendous positive social benefits. Collectors facilitate the examination of societies’ values and norms by people who have generally not been co-opted into the power structures of politics and business.

As such, collectors play an important role in developing our ability to look at ourselves critically.

Importantly, in addition to its function as a mirror to society, art can also simply be beautiful to experience, thus providing even more social benefit. And this should be the primary driver of our decisions about what art we buy and why.

• Viljoen is executive chairman of asset manager RE:CM. This is an excerpt from a lecture he will give at the Prince Albert Art Festival next weekend.

REFLECTIONS Cape Town docks and other works Alice Elahi Studio Gallery Pretoria October 27 to November 4 2012 www.aliceelahi.co.za

Alice Elahi Simonstown Docks at Night

STRAUSS & CO’s 8 OCTOBER FINE ART AUCTION | BUSINESS ART

Lot 455: Irma Stern, South African 1894-1966. Still Life with Pomegranates, Oil on canvas 58 by 58cm R5 000 000 - 7 000 000

Surprisingly good value at Strauss & Co’s Cape Town auction A wide range of fine and decorative arts, furniture and jewellery will have punters spoilt for choice at Strauss & Co’s upcoming auction to be held at the Vineyard Hotel, Newlands, on 8 October 2012.

Seductive still life paintings include Irma Stern’s Still Life with Pomegranates (R5 000 000 – 7 000 000) and Erik Laubscher’s stunning evocation of his 1950s Parisian years (R400 000 – 600 000). Destination paintings feature Spanish Tomato Pickers (R3 000 000 – 5 000 000), a Madeira harbour (R2 000 000 – 3 000 000) and a Zanzibar Market (R300 000 – 400 000) all by Irma Stern as well as Greek Islands in paintings by Terence McCaw (R30 000 – 50 000) and Marjorie Wallace (R25 000 – 35 000).

Lovely local landscapes by Maggie Laubser range in price from R300 000 – 700 000. Buyers looking for paintings of favourite holiday and coastal destinations can select from a rare painting of Baviaanskloof by Stanley Pinker (R400 000 – 500 000), Hermanus seascapes by Hugo Naudé (R350 000 – 500 000 and R70 000 – 90 000), a 1943 view of Hout Bay (R250 000 – 350 000) by Maurice van Essche as well as paintings of Arniston, Saldanha and Blouberg. Historic Bo-Kaap scenes by New Group painters Gregoire Boonzaier (R250 000 – 300 000) and Freida Lock (R120 000 – 160 000) will delight collectors. While Naudé’s Spring Landscape (R60 000 – 80 000) erupts with sparkling flowers, two paintings from Andrew Verster’s Fragile Paradise series (R30 000 – 40 000 each) evoke the subtropical abundance of Durban.

In other major works Walter Battiss delves into San culture in his pioneering Five People in a Cave (R500 000 – 700 000) while Johannes Meintjes explores the Swazi landscape and its people in two paintings (R300 000 – 450 000 and R200 000 – 250 000). Sculptures include Sebatiaan (R300 SA ART TIMES. October 2012

000 – 450 000) a carved yellowwood figure by Meintjes as well as animal and figurative bronzes by Dylan Lewis.

Key contemporary artworks include William Kentridge’s major drawing and mixed media work Untitled (Head) (R400 000 – 600 000) and a portrait of famed international art critic, Clement Greenberg (R90 000 – 120 000), by Robert Hodgins. A pair of art deco armchairs (R40 000 – 60 000) upholstered in hand-printed fabric by Steven Cohen will no doubt turn heads.

Works on offer from the Estate of the Late Phil du Plessis, medical doctor, poet, intellectual, musician and friend of local art cognoscenti and artists, include paintings by Walter Battiss, Christo Coetzee, Judith Mason and ceramics by Hylton Nel. AUCTION: Monday 8 October 2012 Jewellery at 12pm I Furniture, Silver, Ceramics & Glass at 3pm South African & International Art at 7pm The Vineyard Hotel, Conference Centre, Newlands PREVIEW : From Friday 5 to Sunday 7 October from 10am to 5pm WALKABOUTS : Conducted by Stephan Welz and Emma Bedford Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 October at 11am ENQUIRIES: +27 (0) 21 683 6560 CONTACT NUMBERS DURING VIEWING AND AUCTION Mobile +27 (0) 78 044 8185. Catalogues are available and can be purchased at R120 online or from our offices.www.straussart.co.za

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BUSINESS ART | STEPHAN WELZ & CO. OCTOBER’S FINE ART SALE

Pierneef, : Approaching Clouds in an Extensive Landscape Preller : Figure Astride a Horse, Peter Clarke: Ruined Houses at Simons Town. C. P.’

Stephan Welz and Company’s October sale heralds the start of the Spring Auction Season With a long and wet winter endured by many Capetonians, Stephan Welz and Company’s Decorative and Fine Art Auction is sure to finally add a spring to one’s step. Due to take place on 2nd and 3rd October, some exciting and unique works will be on offer – several circuiting the podium for the first time in South Africa.

The sale will showcase 1088 lots made up of a variety of South African and international paintings – historical and contemporary, antique and modern furniture, ceramics, silverware, jewellery, books, clocks and carpets.

“With our final sale for this year in Cape Town we have certainly saved the best for last” says Gary Shean, senior paintings specialist of the Cape Town office. “We are very pleased to be offering not one but three quality Irma Stern works on canvas along with excellent examples by South African masters such as Pierneef, Preller, Wenning, Naude, Pemba, Battiss, Hodgins, Laubser and Krige as well as works by contemporary masters such as Stone and Kentridge.” he concludes.

In addition to this, the company are thrilled to be offering three wonderful works by the Cape Town-based artist, Peter Clarke, whose work has captured the keen interest of clients over their last few auctions. Works titled, ‘Ruined Houses at Simons Town. C. P.’ (estimate R180 000 – 200 000), ‘Boy with Buck Teeth’ (lot 579 R150 000 – R180 000) and ‘Netball Players’ (lot 584 estimate R100 000 – 120 000), are sure to attract keen interest.

Irma Stern, South Africa’s ‘first lady ‘of Modernism, features strongly with three works titled, ’Fishing Boats, Funchal, Madeira’ (estimate R3 500 000 – 5 000 000), ‘Mother and Child’ (estimate R4 000 000 – 6 000 000) and ’Still Life of Fish and Flowers’ (estimate R2 200 000 – 2 600 000).

Such a trio of works by one of South Africa’s leading masters has not appeared since the

company’s 2008 October sale.

Other highlights include a very early Maggie Laubser, ‘Seated Figure’ (lot 568 estimate R250 000 – 300 000) and two works by Vladimir Tretchikoff, ‘Woman with Dahlias’ (lot 580) and ‘Woman with Crayfish’ (lot 581 estimate R300 000 – 400 000 each).

For the first time in South Africa a work by the celebrated British contemporary artist and member of the ‘Young British Artists’ group, Rachel Whiteread, will be auctioned entitled ‘Switch’ (lot 508 estimate R 50 000 – 60 000). At times controversial in subject matter, this work is sure to create a stir and draw interest at a local and international level. Alongside this will be an Anton van Wouw bronze Nisini casting of ‘The Skapu-player’ (estimate R 700 000 – 900 000).

Whether English, South African or Oriental, ceramics has something to entice every collector.

The highlight for the department on this sale is a magnificent ‘Chinese grey-pottery tomb figure of an ox’ (lot 495 estimate R400 000 – 600 000), which dates from the Han Dynasty (206BC220AD).

The work is accompanied by an Oxford Thermoluminescence Authentication certificate.

“Such large and impressive tomb figures are rarely found on the South African market and this quality piece would certainly be a prized addition to any collection” says Shona Robie, director and head of the ceramics department.

In addition to this lot, there is a wonderful array of Chinese porcelain and stoneware items on offer.

Another collector’s item up for grabs is a Wedgwood ‘Fairyland Lustre’ bowl designed by Daisy Makeig-Jones which is dated 1915-1931 (estimate R15 000 – 20 000). Of a more local origin is a large Esias Bosch panel depicting starlings perched in a tree before an extensive landscape

(estimate R180 000 – 200 000).

Glass highlights include four lots of VOC glass wares dating from the 18th century - all of which were previously on loan as part of the Vergelegen collection on the Vergelegen Wine Estate since the early 1990s.

Books offer over one hundred lots on this sale, predominantly composed of art books. There is a collection of rare and out of print books regarding travels in South Africa and to the interior of Africa such as a signed and limited edition copy of Irma Stern’s ‘Congo’ (estimate R20 000 – 25 000).

Having consigned works over a broad spectrum, this sale is sure to encompass South African art at its best, providing a platform for buyers at any level to start a collection.

The auction is set to take place at our Saleroom in The Great Cellar, Alphen Estate, Alphen Drive, Constantia. Pre-auction viewing is open to the public daily from 28th – 30th September.

Catalogues are available from both the Cape Town and Johannesburg offices as well as on our website www.stephanwelzandco.co.za.

For more information, contact 021-794-6461 or e-mail ct@stephanwelzandco.co.za.

Stephan Welz & Company (Pty) Limited Cape Town Auction: 2 & 3 October 2012 Johannesburg Auction: 19, 20 & 21 November 2012 www.stephanwelzandco.co.za 13 Biermann Avenue, Rosebank, 2196, Johannesburg, South Africa Telephone: Local 011 880-3125 International +27 11 880-3125 Private Fax: Local 086 607 7629

The South African Sale 16 & 17 October 2012 Knightsbridge & New Bond Street London

+44 (0) 20 7468 8213 sapictures@bonhams.com Catalogue +44 1666 502 200 subscriptions@bonhams.com

William Joseph Kentridge (born 1955) Drawing for ‘Felix in Exile’ (Death of Nandi), 1994 charcoal £50,000 - 80,000 ZAR 670,000 - 1,100,000

International Auctioneers and Valuers - bonhams.com/southafricanart

Nushin Elahi’s London Letter Read more at http://london-letter.com The last strains of the Olympics had hardly faded when new exhibitions in London’s great galleries heralded the end of a heady summer. Celebrations were over, whether royal or sporting, and it was back to business as usual. Fortunately in London that still means a compelling mix of old and new, local and foreign.

The Hayward Gallery is fast becoming the edgy place that the Tate’s Tanks aspire to, with well curated shows offering a window on the world. Their latest, Art of Change: New Directions from China (until 9 Dec), presents nine artists from different generations and their response to the government’s clampdown on any form of artistic expression. We all know that China is changing and there is more to Chinese art than Ai WeiWei and his protests.

From the Eighties onwards installation and performance art emerged as a defiant new art form. Artists had to establish their own platforms, finding a different way of approaching reality, making works that would disappear after a few days. With typical Eastern philosophy, they have found ways to express themselves by creating art that is less about the final product and more about the artistic process. The performance installations on show here all have transition at their core – either they change while the viewer watches them, or during the run of the exhibition.

The result is an intriguing collection which naturally will give each viewer a unique experience. So you are invited to play a single ball on Wang Jianwei’s modified ping pong table, where the surface is slashed, or you may be given a wish by Yingmei Duan who sings when you step into a tiny space inspired

by Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince. The MadeIn Company - a play on the words Made In China, and a phonetic translation of the character meaning ‘without a roof’ – present a shifting stage of people in a room, perched perhaps on a high ledge, or seemingly dissected by a shelf. The duo Sun Yuan and Peng Yu, less violent in their work than they used to be, present a four-metre tall pillar of human fat, siphoned off during liposuction. Chen Zen used his own illness to comment on the human condition with a room 46

An installation shot from Laing Shaoji’s Nature Series at the Hayward Gallery’s Art of Change: New Directions from China. (Left) Xu Zhen’s piece In Just a Blink of an Eye/ Top - Bottom) Chen Zen’s Purification Room / An installation shot from MadeIn Company’s work Liang Shaoji’s Nature Series - Alternative Silkroom Room

coated in dried mud, while the Cultural Revolution he lived through is commemorated with a pile of burnt books. Liang Shaoji has taken the delicacy of silkworms and placed them on the hard metal chains, rocks and wood, while Xu Zhen’s In Just a Blink of an Eye has someone floating backwards in the gallery space. But perhaps the most disconcerting of all is the experience of being trailed by a zombie-like shadow that won’t interact with you.

SA ART TIMES. October

NUSHIN ELAHI’S LONDON LETTER | BUSINESS ART The icy air of the Arctic clings to Edvard Munch’s work. His Scream may have hit record highs for an artwork on auction, and he and Picasso may have been feted in Europe at the same time, but his work has none of the Mediterranean warmth that the Spaniard’s does. There is an unsettling cold hue that is apparent throughout his life, as the exhibition at the Tate Modern, Edvard Munch: The Modern Eye (until 14 Oct) reveals.

One of the most interesting rooms shows how he kept reworking familiar images, at times simply because the original had sold, and at others because he was using an old image in a new context. So the Tate’s The Sick Child looks much like the one from Oslo, where Munch is haunted by the death of his sister. What starts as a lover’s kiss, however, turns into a vampire’s in another series of images. Even the young girls on the bridge, the same bridge that features in the Scream, have a gloom about them.

Munch uses a foreshortened foreground to plunge the viewer into the scene – nowhere more apparent than the belligerent group in Workers on their Way Home. His self-obsession resulted in the frenetic series around his loss of eyesight, dramatic scenes such as the replaying of a fight he had and the final room of self-portraits, an old man groping in the moonlight corridor of his house, or standing forlornly between a clock and a bed.

The Tate insists that one will find a modern man in this show, and while you do see Munch’s interest in photography, it simply reinforces the idea of an obsessive, angst-ridden artist of the north. Many of the works come from his museum in Oslo, and for that reason alone are worth visiting the show, but this is not an artist that one learns to love the more you see.

An installation shot from the Royal Acamdemy’s show, Bronze / Anish Kapoor and Jeff Koons on display./ Cellini’s model for Perseus holding the slain Medusa’s head from Florence (Hindu god Shiva; Benin bronze relief plaques from Lagos in Bronze

Bronze. It’s the third place consolation prize in sport perhaps, but take a look around any city park, and you will see it’s the metal of choice for anyone wishing to leave a monument to their success. Unfortunately, it is also easy to melt down into cannon-balls, for those who conquer next, which is why so much has been lost or destroyed. This makes the Royal Academy’s huge autumn show, simply called Bronze (until 9 Dec), such a unique event. It brings together a breath-taking selection of works from around the globe, from minute African gold weights to an enormous Perseus holding the head of a slain Medusa aloft, a statue that dwarfs the entire central room. Each piece, big and small, religious and secular, holds its own in this grand presentation of a material we often overlook.

The scope of items is something of a diplomatic coup for the Academy, and one that reaches so far beyond Europe it is easy to understand why the organisers say such a collection may never again be seen here. The work is also grouped together thematically, allowing a Roman saint to stand opposite a Renaissance one, or an Etruscan monster to snarl at a Persian lion, a pair of Benin leopards and the ragdoll face of a Chinese elephant dating from 1200BC. There is the twirling form of a Dancing Satyr reclaimed recently from the Greek seabed and the head of Hellenistic king found only a few years ago in Sophia. The work spans 5000 years, from ancient Greek, Roman and Etruscan bronzes, through the Medieval period and the great names of the Renaissance, right up to recent works by Anish Kapoor, Jeff Koons and Louise Bourgeois. Most thrilling though are the works from across Asia and Africa, which are seen more seldom. Africa is represented by a magnificent display of Benin bronzes from Lagos: a queen’s head from Ife with her elegant knotted headgear, the cocky stance of a chieftain no more than a hand high and relief panels of a leopard hunt and groups of warriors.

SA ART TIMES. October 2012

Edvard Munch: The Modern Eye Tate Modern, 28 June - 14 October 2012 Self-Portrait: Between the Clock and the Bed 1940-1943 The Sick Child 1907; The Girls on the Bridge 1927 Munch Museum

ROBERT SLINGSBY 24 OCTOBER – 28 NOVEMBER 2012

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