The South African Art Times by SA ART TIMES

The South African Art Times: SAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading visual arts publication | November 2011 | Free | Read daily news on www.arttimes.co.za

ART TIMES

Clare Menck

A Hidden Life exposed Photo: Jenny Altschuler

Photo: John Hodgkiss

The Unisa Cape Town Final Year Student Exhibition Opening: Sunday, 20 November 2011 @ 11h00, the exhibition will run until Monday, 5 December 2011. Opening hours 10h00 – 17h00 daily. Preview by appointment | Curator: Carina Bekker Participating artists: Niël Visser | Gina Niederhumer | Elize Oosthuizen | Celeste Coetzee | Salóme van Rooyen | Yolanda Warnich | Elise Wessels | Roline Kotzé | Katie du Toit. The Restaurant at Grande Provence For reservations: T+27 21 876 8600 F +27 21 876 8601

Main Road Franschhoek Western Cape T + 27 21 876 8600 F + 27 21 876 8601 E reservations@grandeprovence.co.za www.grandeprovence.co.za

ART TIMES | NEWS / EDITORIAL

Editorial

NOVEMBER 2011 Daily news at www.arttimes.co.za Editor: Gabriel Clark-Brown

editor@arttimes.co.za

Advertising: Eugene Fisher

sales@arttimes.co.za

Subscriptions: Tracey Muscat

subs@arttimes.co.za

News: Jim Wolf

news@arttimes.co.za

Content: Tracey Muscat

show@arttimes.co.za

Admin: Bastienne Klein

admin@arttimes.co.za

Daily Website: Liesel Botha

web@arttimes.co.za

Distribution: Jakkels Wolf

subs@arttimes.co.za

Send Artwork To: Designer / Proof reader Trixi Woolf art@arttimes.co.za

A month at the Art Times offices flashes by, and one invariably one finds oneself sitting at the keyboard furiously jotting down a report at deadline of what’s happening in a very dynamic artworld, that keeps changing like a cat that refuses to be held by anyone, for any purpose. To this regard The Citadel Art Price index was launched this week, if one likes it or not, something like it had to happen sooner or later. The Art Price index is interesting as at last business people can haul out a Rosetta stone of sorts and chart the work of art in business talk to the graph and agree amongst themselves that some artists are going up in price, and others never quite getting there. This concept of the Mei- Moses has been around, and it makes a huge difference to be able to talk with other art investors using a similar language, than asking a mechanic or IT person to explain just how an appliance works, using plain English, whereas before as a business person talking to an artist in terms of atheistic arts practice and value probably was harder. There are some who love the Index, and others who refuse to even consider that art can be a financial commodity. I think the point about the API concept is that it’s the next step up to everyone tagging “investment art” to the work, without really having the data and bells and whistles to clarify their views. Recently there have been the most amazing shows of artists who have stuck it out for many years and one is starting to see them blossom. I

think of Clare Menck and Peter Clarke, who have always been busy and hard working- despite the odds, I was overwhelmed by both artist’s catalogues and felt that the future of art in this country is looking great. At the Art Times we have all the deadline dates sorted for next year and are focusing on growth of getting the Art Times news spread as far and wide as we can- potentially doubling readership, with keeping focus. The sense that a younger generation is jumping from laptop to smart phones to get their art news is a reality worth working on. We are planning some interesting things for next year especially that we have produced the Art Times magazine format for over a year as well as pushed the website and social media for a year, while making art news even more appealing and addictive. I would like to emphasise that we do enjoy your comments and letters to the editor, I read each one and answer them. I would look forward to your letters and thoughts, they make a huge difference and tell us if and how we can do better. Thank you for your ongoing support, I look forward to hearing your news and thoughts soon. Kind regards Gabriel P Clark-Brown

Contributors: Jenny Altschuler Lloyd Pollak Nushin Elahi Eugene Vorster Basil Brody Toby Orford Wouter van Warmelo Mary Duker Michael Coulson Letters to the Editor: editor@arttimes.co.za PO Box 15881, Vlaeberg, 8018. Tel. 021 424 7733 Fax. 021 424 7732

Deadline for news, articles and advertising is the 18th 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.

Peter Clarke signs a book for Lorna Jakins at the opening of his show entitled: Listening to the distant sound of tunder at The SA National Gallery. Photo: Carina Beyer. courtesy Iziko SA National Gallery

Send your views, news and stories to editor@arttimes.co.za Global Art Information

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

ANDRIES BOTHA TAKES HIS FIGHT TO HIGH COURT / NEWS | ART TIMES

Fearless Botha takes his fight for elephants to High Court Botha wants to complete “The Three Elephants” project in the public interest, and to receive payment for the work he and his employees have done. Notwithstanding Botha’s efforts to find a solution to the stand-off, eThekwini has refused to give an undertaking to safeguard the integrity of “The Three Elephants” – which means that the elephants may be removed at any time.

By Toby Orford, Toby Orford Art Law: www.tobyorford.com In order to protect his “Three Elephants” artwork – a life-size sculpture at the Warwick Triangle Viaduct in Durban – the internationally respected artist Andries Botha has been forced to institute legal proceedings. The case is brought against eThekwini Municipality and other parties, including the Minister of Arts and Culture, Mr Paul Mashatile. Botha will be represented in the Durban High Court proceedings by the prominent constitutional and administrative law Advocates Gilbert Marcus SC and Max du Plessis. The dispute has generated much public interest since February 2010 and the dilemma of Andries Botha and “The Three Elephants” has been reported on extensively in the media, in South Africa and internationally. At the heart of the dispute is the fate of “The Three Elephants”. “If eThekwini has its way, my sculpture, which was approved and commissioned by them, will be torn down”, said Andries Botha. Although eThekwini concluded a contract with Botha to build three elephants emerging from a sea of stones, it changed its mind in June 2010. Having formally ordered Botha to stop working on the public sculpture, eThekwini passed a Resolution which approved the destruction of two of the elephants and the incorporation of the remaining elephant into a new urban design concept consisting of the “Big Five” animals. eThekwini’s about-turn is closely linked to rumours that local ANC politicians are fearful that “The Three Elephants” are too closely related to the official symbol of the Inkatha Freedom Party: “This is ironic because the elephants were specially chosen – by eThekwini - as an apolitical African metaphor for tolerance, co-existence and due consideration for a vulnerable ecosystem”, said Botha. SA ART TIMES. November 2011

Andries Botha says that he has been left with no choice but to seek the court’s protection. His legal representative Toby Orford of Toby Orford Art Law has been instructed to lodge application papers at the Durban High Court. Toby Orford confirmed that the papers have been filed and are being served on the respondents. According to Toby Orford, “The purpose of the application is fully set out in the application papers but it is no secret that it is an application for a declaration to confirm Andries Botha’s rights, a review of eThekwini’s decision and an interdict prohibiting eThekwini (and others) from modifying, altering or destroying “The Three Elephants”. Andries also has separate claims in contract and delict against the contractors involved in the Warwick Triangle project.” Botha’s case is that eThekwini’s decision to remove two of the elephant figures is a decision to destroy, mutilate or change a work of art. eThekwini’s decision amounts to censorship and interference, which violates the artist’s freedom of artistic expression which is guaranteed by the Constitution. Above all, eThekwini’s decision is a breach of the moral rights of an artist. Toby Orford explained further: “Moral rights are known in copyright law as the author’s “moral right” and are closely derived from Article 6 of the Berne Convention, 1886. An artist’s moral rights (as set out in section 20 of the Copyright Act) are infringed when without his approval his right of paternity in the work is not acknowledged or (as in this case) an unjustifiable distortion, mutilation or other modification of the work takes place or is threatened.” It is time that the moral right of the artist is upheld in South Africa, as seen through the wide- angle lens of section 16 of the Constitution: “Art and artists have clear rights. Unfortunately, it appears that the only way to protect those rights and the public’s interest in The Three Elephants is by recourse to the courts. This decision has been taken only after careful deliberation and unsuccessful efforts to broker a compromise solution”, said Toby Orford. 07

ART TIMES | NEWS / Sandra Hanekom new KKNK Visual Arts Curator

Absa KKNK Appoints New Visual Arts Curator established and young upcoming artists and provides a great opportunity for the latter to exhibit.” Hanekom has been working as an artist since 1994 and is very familiar with the Absa KKNK. She has already had two solo exhibitions at the festival with Van verskrikkers en verstommers in 2011 and 1971 in 2005. Her work formed part of group exhibitions in 2001 and 2008, also displayed at the Absa KKNK. Hanekom also played a curating role at both Mused in 2008 and Roem in 2007. “My goals for the visual arts of the Absa KKNK 2012 is to ensure that, through work of outstanding quality from both an academic and collectors perspective, a bridging project is created that will stimulate an interest for the art layman in art of high quality”, she explains. Hanekom wants to present one or two projects that will capture the imagination of Festival goers and that will ensure a not-to-be-missed experience. “It is important to me that the performing and visual arts are brought closer together.” “A festival curator must have a different angle compared to a museum curator”, says Hanekom. According to her every exhibition must have three important elements. “Firstly, there must be an educational element. Secondly, a popular element, you want to have people visiting the exhibition. And finally an exhibition should also have an innovative element.” Hanekom says her biggest goal is to ensure that there is a good balance between these three elements. “You have to compile a visual arts programme that addresses the needs of a very broad audience.” Her latest exhibition, Sublime Purgatory and the Splendour of Menace, was open to the public until 22 September 2011 in the Absa Art Gallery in Johannesburg. Her work is characterised by a strong personal narrative and the symbolic elements in her work. She served on the Boards of the Durbanville Cultural Society, the East London Art Society and the Bellville Arts Board. She studied Visual Arts at the University of Stellenbosch after matriculating at the Afrikaans High School for the Arts, Die Kruin, in Johannesburg. Here, she received recognition as the best Visual Arts learner in 1988.

Sandra Hanekom, visual artist from Piketberg, is appointed as the new Curator of Visual Arts at the Absa KKNK. “I feel very flattered and excited about the possibilities offered to me as curator, by the Absa KKNK. A Festival curator is a curator for both the public and artists, which makes it a very challenging position”, Hanekom explains. Sandra sets about her art in earnest and sees arts as her business. “This is not just another project for me, this is the project where I must maintain and strengthen my reputation. Arts festivals are immensely important for both

Her predecessors as Curator of Visual Arts at the Absa KKNK were Johan Myburg, Theo Kleynhans, Lucia Burger, Teresa Lizamore and Clive van den Berg. The 18th Absa KKNK will be held in Oudtshoorn from 31 March – 7 April 2012 with accommodation bookings opening on 17 October 2011 for the public.

the loop art foundry

t 27(0)13 7582409 f 27(0)11 5075747 theloop@worldonline.co.za www.theloopartfoundry.co.za & www.thelooponline.co.za

striving in our passion towards excellence

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

Three Priceless Bronze sculptures stolen from JAG / NEWS | ART TIMES

Three priceless sculptures stolen from JAG

Stolen items : (Left) Peter Pan by Romano Romanelli. Top right: King of the Universe by Ernest Ullman, Mourning Women by Sydney Kumalo

Public support sought for state of the art security measures The Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) has again been the target of thieves with the theft of three valuable bronze artworks on Sunday 25 September 2011. The stolen works are King of the Universe by Ernest Ullman, Mourning Women by Sydney Kumalo and Peter Pan by Romano Romanelli. Staff at the gallery discovered the break in to the Contemporary Store of the Johannesburg Art Gallery on Sunday and after a quick inventory it became evident that three bronze sculptures had been stolen. Two other bronze sculptures were found on the floor, wrapped and ready to be moved. The police were called and a suspect has been apprehended. Further investigation by the SAPS Department of Endangered Species is currently underway and experts in the field have been consulted and are working together towards the recovery of the sculptures. The Johannesburg Art Gallery appeals to the public to be on the lookout for the artworks which may turn up in scrap yards, pawn shops and even the black market. In January 2011 a rare Jules Dalou sculpture was stolen from the gallery, and has still not been SA ART TIMES. November 2011

recovered. Investigations regarding this sculpture have since been closed due to lack of evidence. To avoid yet another futile search we urge for anyone with information about this recent theft to come forward urgently, before all tracks of these works are erased. Commented Antoinette Murdoch, Chief Curator, Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) “We increased our security post the January theft, but it is clear that not only are we increasingly the target of thieves but it is also likely that their methods will get more sophisticated. To ramp up the security to the level recommended by experts it will cost in the region of R1.5 million and we urgently appeal to the public for any assistance in this regard.” “The works owned by The Johannesburg Art Gallery do not only belong to the gallery, but to the public and are, as such, public treasures. We implore you to assist us in protecting and preserving our invaluable heritage.” Members of the public can contact the gallery with any further information on (011) 7253130.Donations to JAG can be made by electronic transfer: Friends of the Johannesburg Art Gallery FNB Bank City, Account no 50523869269, Branch code 25050500 09

ART TIMES | NEWS / Tretchikoff - Ramblings of a volunteer guide

Guiding Tretchikoff: Ramblings of a Volunteer Guide By Wouter van Warmelo, Cape Town Whether you hate him or like him, Tretchikoff has always been a controversial figure as an artist. The recent (2011) retrospective exhibition of 93 of his works at the Iziko South African National Gallery (ISANG) in Cape Town certainly raised quite a few hackles. Some people were angry, and made their feelings known well enough. But on the other hand there were many others who welcomed it. As a one-day-a-week volunteer guide at ISANG, I had the task of guiding visitors around the exhibition, and making their visit as pleasant as possible. This proved to be easier than I had expected, because a huge majority enjoyed the experience, a few did not, and some couldn’t be bothered either way. Even more interesting was how many couldn’t understand why he was so despised by the art establishment. Vladimir Tretchikoff was born in Petrovlavosk, in present-day Khazakstan, in 1913, but at the age of four the family fled the Russian Revolution (1917), and settled in Harbin, China. However, his parents died when he was eleven, so he put himself through school by earning money doing art. He went to Shanghai as a teenager, and became a well-known artist. He also met his future wife Natalie there. In 1935 they moved to Singapore. His wife and young daughter, Mimi, were evacuated in early 1942 because of the Japanese invasion. He left a few days later, but his ship was sunk by Japanese forces, and then he and sixteen others spent 23 days on a voyage to Java in a lifeboat. The Japanese kept him in solitary confinement for three months, before releasing him on parole. A half-Dutch half-Malay girl, Lenka, became his model and muse for the rest of the war. At the end of the war, he finally found out that his wife and daughter were alive and well in Cape Town, and he was eventually able to rejoin them in 1946.

Dorothy, the great- grandchild of Wilhelmina, the “Herb Seller” still sells herbs Fifteen minutes, that’s all it took! There she was, on the Grand Parade, selling herbs just like her great-grandmother Wilhelmina, the “Herb Seller”, who was over 100-years-old when she died! Dorothy told me quite a bit about their connection with Tretchikoff, the book they have and a few other bits and pieces. Of course she had to come to the opening!

The Cape Town art establishment didn’t like him and actively prevented him from exhibiting in art galleries in SA. So, he made his name through exhibitions in department stores, eventually doing very well indeed, mainly through selling reproductions of his work. The rest, as they say, is history! So, the 2011 exhibition was the first in a South African art gallery.

Tretchikoff’s daughter, Mimi (left) and Natasha, one of his granddaughters I was waiting for her when I met Tretchikoff’s daughter, Mimi, and Natasha, one of his granddaughters at the door. It was a nice start to the evening.

The herb seller, 1948

Apart from meeting him once very briefly in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1973, my first real encounter was with his painting “Herb Seller” (1948), which was surprisingly included in a major exhibition at ISANG during 2010 to coincide with the FIFA World Cup – the first time ever that a Tretchikoff was shown in this gallery. I overheard a father saying something to his daughter about her “auntie” being related to the lady in the picture, and that she too was selling herbs. So, three weeks before the opening of the retrospective, I set out to find her. 10

Then I saw a Chinese lady entering with two younger ladies. She seemed a bit lost, so I asked if I could help them. She asked to see Marianne Fassler, and because I knew where Marianne was, I took them through beyond the still-closed doors. But as I opened the doors, it suddenly dawned on me that she had to be the original model for “Chinese Girl”. As we came face-to-face with the painting, I said, “There, look at yourself!” Monika had never seen the completed painting before, as it was finished in the USA, and had arrived only on the morning of the opening. Her immediate reaction is clear in the photo, and it was quite a moment for her! Obviously I also had to pose her next to herself as it were. She was most gracious in talking to me about it all. They made quite a lot of fuss of her, including interviews and many photographs. It so happened that upon arrival at my gym early one morning, the day after the exhibition was taken down, I saw that the big TV screen was showing CNN. And who should I see there? Monika! She was being interviewed about her and the “Chinese Girl”! It was bizarre! SA ART TIMES. November 2011

Tretchikoff - Ramblings of a volunteer guide / NEWS | ART TIMES

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

ART TIMES | NEWS / Tretchikoff - Ramblings of a volunteer guide Well, I guided well over 400 visitors round the exhibition on 84 occasions. I really enjoyed this, and even more so because of many serendipitous moments and events. For example, many people had stories to tell, personal stories such as visits to exhibitions in Garlicks way back in 1959, and other department stores. I met printers who worked for him at Cape and Transvaal Printers. Another one, now 92-years-old, phoned me out of the blue, and spent 45 minutes telling me about working with the artist. One interesting point was that Tretchikoff seemed not to understand the way light behaved in and through water. And that he could teach him – so, just look at how Tretchikoff’s raindrops came out!

The lovely Barbara of the Bath poses again

On another occasion the ever-helpful gallery staff introduced me to a lady, who said, “That ‘Barbara in the Bath” is a close friend of mine, and she’s my neighbour in Tsitsikamma”! Needless to say, I contacted Barbara! And she had a lot to tell. She saw one of his exhibitions when she was a small child in Hollywood, where her father, David Farrar, was a film actor. Much later, in the seventies, she saw an exhibition of his in Durban, and that’s when he said to her, “I want to paint you”. He flew her to Cape Town. There seems to have been three versions of the painting, including the one she’s holding here. He gave it to her. Later, in 1976, SATV wanted to make a film of him, and he asked her to come down to Cape Town again, to re-enact the painting sessions. Barbara managed to come up to Cape Town, and my wife and I had lunch with her, before we took her to see the exhibition. It was such a pleasure chatting about her time modelling for the artist.

The lady who posed for “Hindu Dancer” couldn’t be at the opening, as she now lives in the USA, but her daughter did come to the opening.

And, it was while we were still having lunch with her that a member of the gallery staff excitedly phoned me to say that “The Merry Widow” was in the gallery! There was no way that we could get there in time, but I was very glad that she left her phone number.

Need back copies of the SA Art Times ? Have you got holes in your collection of SA Art Times R 36 per available issue, plus postage The South African Art Times, SA’s most favourite art read Call Tracey at 021 424 7733 or email: subs@arttimes.co.za 12

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

Tretchikoff - Ramblings of a volunteer guide / NEWS | ART TIMES On one of my tours a man said, “Oh, that’s Lisette!”. I asked him if he knew her. He did, and told me her surname and where she lived. I phoned her that evening. The next day she very kindly came in with her husband, and posed for the photo.... 61 years after the painting was done! She told me that he resented doing commissions, which this was, and he didn’t like painting little girls. It was not a happy experience for her! But, I very much enjoyed meeting her in front of her painting. On another occasion two ladies showed me the 1950 folio of Tretchikoff’s work, which he’d given to the family of the model for “South African Farmer”. Unfortunately the picture was one of those slashed in 1952, and seems never to have been reworked. But, the folio contains the picture of the farmer, Leibrandt van Niekerk, as seen in this photo of his daughter and granddaughter. It Christel with Nude in the Mink

It was so nice to have them share their story with me.

The next day she and her husband came in again. Christel explained that the title of the painting should actually be “Nude in the Mink”, because another one called “Merry Widow” was of a dark-haired lady, who now lives in Athens, Greece. She showed me a photo of both of them on the catwalk of a fashion show. It seems that Tretchikoff first painted the mink coat, and then went to a modelling agency to find someone to “fill it” as it were! Now, 35 years later, I reckon that she looks much the same, especially the eyes!

There were so many other incidents and meetings during my duties, like the widow of a man who did some electric or electronic installation for Tretchikoff, and who was given a copy of the 1969 folio as well as two signed prints. There were others who spoke of his generosity in sharing his ideas and knowledge with them, like when meeting him in a local steak house.

Barbara was in the gallery again on the same day, and it was so nice to have both her and Christel meeting for the first time, 35 years after the paintings were done. And then.... I had the great pleasure of giving them their own tour of the show as well.

I also missed at least two opportunities, like when someone had written in the Comments Book a “thank you for painting my portrait in 1950”. I missed this unknown lady by minutes! Then there was someone, just before the exhibition closed, who wrote that her father was the “Prisoner of War” in the painting. I missed her by a day! And there were bound to have been other “misses”. But, to all the curators, the gallery staff, and especially the visitors who shared their experiences, views and anecdotes with me, a warm thankyou. But it was clear that overall, people from all sections of society clearly enjoyed the show, and so did I. I think it was a brave move to hold it in ISANG, but I think it was worth it.

Barbara was in the gallery again on the same day, and it was so nice to have both her and Christel meeting for the first time, 35 years after the paintings were done.

Share your story with us at the art times, no matter how big or small, it would be great to know what is going on in your side of the artlife world. E-mail us at editor@arttimes.co.za Lisette poses next to her painting 61 beautiful years later SA ART TIMES. November 2011

ART TIMES | NEWS / Obituaries

Obituary: Jenny Fabbri

Obituary: Dan Cook Durban artist Deanne Donaldson pens her tribute to art lecturer, Dan Cook. “I remember a lecture two days, or so, after Dan lost his father. It had a profound impact on me (all of 19 or 20 at the time) and, I’m sure, the rest of the class remembers it, too. He ditched the lecture he had prepared and spoke of his dad and his experience and sadness, saying something like: “It’s not possible to talk about expressionism, when my father has just passed away”. It was a beautiful honest tribute and I remember it more than any of his other lectures, immaculately prepared and always impactfully presented, though they were.

By Mary Duker Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University My colleagues and I in the visual arts departments at the university will miss Jenny, with her impish smile, her ability to see the good in people, and her gentle manner. Years ago she joined the Art school as a ‘mature’ student, after, as I recall, many years of wanting to study art. She registered, she settled in, she found her direction, and in a sense she has never left us. She completed her studies and moved on, but she remained connected to the school in innumerable ways. Jenny was a friend of the art school. A loyal and caring friend to many of my colleagues, a supportive and collegial friend to the school itself. Her contribution to the world of art education in the metro is immeasurable. In her obituary from the gallery Jenny’s impact upon generations of artistic children is well highlighted. I only got to know exactly how gifted and generous she was in that regard in very recent years. I would like to mention what I believe is her

greatest gift to the metro and the province, and that is the programme she developed to help art teachers learn how to teach art truly creatively. With absolute generosity, and absolute modesty, she shared the model for that extraordinary, meticulously planned programme with the university, when Alethea de Villiers introduced an in-service qualification for arts and culture teachers. Since then over 50 teachers from the farthest corners of this province have graduated with that qualification. Why am I raising this? Because this means that in at least 50 small towns, at least 50 teachers continue the chain that Jenny started, inspiring 1000’s of children, as they spread the wisdom and enthusiasm and creativity that her syllabus equipped them with. For me that is the most fabulous and positive acknowledgment one could ask for – that your contribution ripples on, that you continue pay it forward, to act as an agent for positive change, long after you have gone, in all the unexpected corners of this province, and beyond. How fabulous is that.

Dan taught me art history, for three years and supervised me in my fourth year of study at (then) Durban Technikon. That final year was filled with painting, writing, walks in Botanical Gardens, crumpets with the works, drafts being brought back for rewrites …(sometimes at 7 am..).. He was exuberant; nurturing; encouraging; enthusiastic; obstinate. I don’t think I have met anyone who equals his passion for books, art, people, and things of beauty …. He drove me forward when I was exhausted, he listened, and cared. By the time I had finished with student life, he had become my friend. He opened my first show. He visited my family. I have not seen Dan for some time. He was part of something intrinsic to me that was not diminished by living in different cities or speaking infrequently of late. His absence is palpable today. I am deeply grateful to him for more than I could possibly express and incredibly sad that he has left so soon. Thank you, Dan. You will be so missed by so many who have known and loved you

Daily South African Art News www.arttimes.co.za Pioneers in bringing you the best of South African Art News, Daily

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

SOUTH AFRICAN

GALLERY GUIDE Hanneke Bernade Reservoir, Pastel

GALLERY GUIDE | What’s on at The Standard Bank Gallery

What’s on at The Standard Bank Gallery Dates: 26 October – 3 December 2011 Pedestrian Paintings by Andries Gouws

Running concurrently in the downstairs exhibition space at the Standard Bank Gallery is Andries Gouws’ travelling exhibition, ‘Pedestrian Paintings’. This exhibition features oil paintings of interiors and still-lifes, similar to those on Gouws’ previous shows, as well as a series of paintings of feet on which he has been working since 2006. Gouws studied at the Michaelis School of Art in Cape Town and also in Italy, Düsseldorf and finally Amsterdam, where he lived for 16 years. During his time in Holland, he missed the South African landscape and climate acutely. On his return, he

resumed painting in oils, having previously concentrated on printmaking. While his intention was to paint the yearned-for landscape, as well as the nude figure, he unexpectedly started painting interiors and still-lifes. These turned out to connect with a Dutch tradition that, while in Holland, he had felt he did not belong to. About his earlier work, Gouws says that it was “often suggested that Vermeer and Piero were the artists I had looked at closely”. The current paintings “suggest other triggers: El Greco; Grünewald,

Caravaggio even”. For his wife, the novelist and artist Ingrid Winterbach, his paintings of feet have a “Baroque religiosity”. The echoes of Baroque religious painting in his rendering of feet shouldn’t be that surprising, given his expressed admiration for Rubens and Rembrandt. Gouws’ exhibition has already been seen in Stellenbosch (Woordfees), Bloemfontein (Oliewenhuis Museum), and Kimberley (William Humphreys Art Gallery). After its leg at the Standard Bank Gallery in Johannesburg, it will travel to the Pretoria Art Museum and the KZNSA in Durban.

End Game by Michael MacGarry

Left: The Healthy World of Primitive Building Methods, 1999. Video (Right) Will to Power, 2010. HD video.

‘END GAME’, an exhibition by Michael MacGarry, runs at the Standard Bank Gallery from 26 October until 3 December 2011. MacGarry is the winner of the 2010 Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Visual Art. His exhibition in Johannesburg is the final leg of a tour that began at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in June 2010. ‘END GAME’ comprises a series of works related to MacGarry’s artist’s statement: “My work investigates the ongoing ramifications of imperialism on the African continent, coupled with the analysis and parody of the socio-political and economic role of political elites within this context as well as the increasingly complicated dynamics attendant on the extraction of natural resources – particularly oil – in African nation-states 18

post-independence.” MacGarry’s statement, deliberately vague, has remained unchanged for several years despite substantial shifts in his work. In the past, MacGarry’s practice has excluded physically realised artworks. His work was focused on publishing: ideas, concepts and projects that are described as if they are finished but which only exist in the form of a series of descriptions. There was no art production in a market-orientated sense and there was no work to hang on walls. ‘END GAME’, however, presents a comprehensive body of new work, which includes sculptures, installations, photography and video art. In ‘END GAME’, MacGarry’s work is focused within the context of Sub-Saharan Africa, and is principally concerned with investigating how

existing and new exploitation of hydrocarbons is, in many ways, an extension of the colonial era legacy of mercantile capitalism. Within this context, MacGarry is particularly concerned with oil as a commodity in Angola, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa. Born in Durban in 1978, MacGarry graduated from Technikon Natal in 2000 with a BFA (Hons), after which he obtained an MFA from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2004. He first made an impact in the art world in the late 1990s as a member of Avant Car Guard, a threemember visual art collective making provocative conceptual and satirical work. An MTN New Contemporaries finalist in 2009, MacGarry now lives and works in Johannesburg and Cape Town. SA ART TIMES. November 2011

Hanneke Bernade’s Reservoir show, Oliewenhuis,Bloemfontein

SEE ALL THESE IMAGES ON OUR SOUTH AFRICAN ART TIMES FACE BOOK PAGE

Judith Mason New lithographs

Mothmask I, hand-printed lithograph, 70 x 50 cm. Edition 25.

The Artists’ Press

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

Art Times Judy Oct 2011 advert.indd 1

E-mail:

Windmill Centre Main Street, Clarens Tel/Fax: 058 256 1620 info@johansmith.co.za

* Glass * Bronze * Ceramics * Old Masters * Contemporary *

Johan Smith

11/10/2011 8:54 AM

UNISA

PERMANENT COLLECTION

Helena Wagenaar

www.johansmith.co.za Helena Hugo, Moving the trucks out at dawn I, (2009)

Windmill Centre Main Street, Clarens Tel/Fax: 058 256 1757 E-mail: manager@bloudonki.co.za

* Contemporary Art * Steel Sculptures * Handmade Glass * * Functional Art * Photography * Ceramics *

Unisa Art Gallery, Kgorong Building (New Entrance Building) Ground Floor, Main Campus, Preller Street, Pretoria, 0003 Email: ukun1@unisa.ac.za, Tel: (012) 441-5683

Ann Gadd

Marguerite Beneke

www.bloudonki.co.za

Free State Bloemfontein Oliewenhuis Art Museum 17 – 30 November, “Planet Pixl Student Exhibition” Planet Pixl Brand Communication School is hosting their annual Student Exhibition at the Oliewenhuis Reservoir. 10 Nov – 15 January 2012, “Short Stories from the City of Roses: a Johannes Voets UBUNTU Photography Project” (Main Building). In this exhibition of documentary photographs the Belgian photographer Jo Voets shows his experience of Bloemfontein through a collection of photographic ‘diary entries’, gathered during several visits to Mangaung between 2005 and 2010. 16 Harry Smith Str, Bloemfontein. T.051 447 9609 karen.marais@nasmus.co.za www.nasmus.co.za

Clarens 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 anton@artandwine.co.za www.artandwine.co.za Blou Donki Art Gallery A vibrant contemporary art gallery, housing a wide variety of contemporary artworks, functional art, steel sculptures, bronzes, handmade glass and specializing in photography. Windmill Centre, Main Str, Clarens T. 058 256 1757 manager@bloudonki.co.za 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

Gauteng Johannesburg Alice Art Upcoming exhibitions: 5&6 November Petro Neal, 12&13 November Susan Coetzer, 19&20 November Portchie, 24 November Alice Art Auction, 26&27 November Giorgio Trobec. 217 Drive Str, Ruimsig. T. 083 331 8466/ 083 377 1470 aliceart@global.co.za www.aliceart.co.za Art One Sixty Until 5 November, “Changing States” an exhibition of new paintings by Lesley Bergere. 160 Jan Smuts, Jhb. Contact Lesley Bergere Cell 083 732 0602 lesleybergere@gmail.com Artspace Jhb Until 5 November, “Surface” by Lionel Smit. Chester Court, 142 Jan Smuts Ave, Parkwood. T.011 880 8802 artspace@wol.co.za www.artspace-jhb.co.za Bag Factory Until 9 November, “Random Access” an exhibition of works by Robert Machiri, Lehlogonolo Mashaba & Molefe Thwala. 10 Mahlatini Street, Fordsburg. T. 011 834 9181 info@bagfactoryart.org.za www.bagfactoryart.org.za

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

FREE STATE, GAUTENG | GALLERY GUIDE Christie’s International Auctioneers. Gillian Scott Berning, Independent Consultant. T 031 207 8247 Gillian.gsb@mweb.co.za www.christies.com CIRCA on Jellicoe 3 November – 4 December, “Redeconstructivist” exhibition by Paula Louw. 2 Jellicoe Ave. T. 011 788 4805 gallery@circaonjellicoe.co.za www.circaonjellicoe.co.za Everard Read Jhb 3 November – 22 December, Kerri Evans exhibition. 6 Jellicoe Ave, Rosebank, Jhb. T. 011 788-4805 gallery@everard.co.za www.everard-read.co.za Gallery 2 10 - 26 November, New work by Karin Daymond, Kate Gottgens, Colbert Mashile & Jenny Stadler. 140 Jan Smuts Ave, Parkwood. T. 011 447 0155 joe@gallery2.co.za www.gallery2.co.za Gallery AOP Until 5 November, “Reading Room” by Jonah Sack. 44 Stanley Ave, Braamfontein Werf (Milpark) T. 011 726 2234 info@artonpaper.co.za www.artonpaper.co.za Gallery MOMO Until 14 November, “A Means to an End” Photography by Patricia Driscoll. 52 7th Avenue, Parktown North, Jhb. T. 011 327 3247 info@gallerymomo.com www.gallerymomo.com The Gerald A Lee Gallery cc For Genuine African Art Contact Jason - 0828514783 By private viewing in Johannesburg. Or at the Waterfront in Cape Town Grahams Fine Art Gallery The gallery houses one of the finest collections of art in South Africa, their focus is on absolute quality and are proud to offer an extensive selection of works for sale. Unit 46, Broadacres Lifestyle Centre, Cnr Cedar & Valley Rds, Broadacres, Fourways, Jhb. T. 011 465 9192 sarah@grahamsgallery.co.za www.grahamsgallery.co.za In Toto Until 15 November, Helen Joseph and Jenny Stadler’s “TWO.” Opening 17 November @ 6pm, “Wolf Mother & Tales of the Impromtu Circus” by Kreh Mellick. 6 Birdhaven Centre, 66 St Andrew Str, Birdhaven. T. 011 447 6543 megan@intotogallery.co.za www.intotogallery.co.za Isis Gallery Featuring Modern African Contemporary Art and Ceramics by leading Artists: Junior Fungai, Derric van Rensburg, Errol Westoll, Brian Rolfe, Ulrich Schwanecke and Hynes Matshoba. Works can be viewed by appointment. Shop 163, The Mall of Rosebank. Contact Daniel Erasmus T. 011 447 2317 info@isisgallery.co.za www.isisgallery.co.za Johannesburg Art Gallery Until 15 January, “maNyauza: Silent Messages to my Mother” by Mbongeni Buthelezi. Until 29 January 2012, “Pinky Promise” by Pierre Croquet de Rosemond and “Works on Paper” by Vasco Futscher. King George Str, Joubert Park, Jhb. T. 011 725 3130 tinym@joburg.org.za www.joburg.org.za Manor Gallery Until 26 November, “Grand Masters” – all media – launch of a new All Media Society called ASA: Art Society Africa. It will be quite a big deal with 7 international artists exhibiting in all media. Manor Gallery, Home of the Watercolour Society of South Africa. Norscot Manor Centre, Penguin Drive, Fourways, Gauteng. T. 011 465 7934 F. 011 465 8951 gallery@wssa.org.za www.wssa.org.za

GALLERY GUIDE | GAUTENG Sandton Auctioneers Fine Art, Furniture, Carpets & Collectables. Showroom: No 8 Burnside Ave, Craighall Park, Jhb. T. 011 501 3360 sandtonauctioneers@telkomsa.net www.sandtonauctioneers.com Standard Bank Gallery Until 3 December, “End Game” by Michael MacGarry, Standard Bank Young Artist 2010. Cnr of Simmonds & Frederick Str.’s, Jhb. T. 011 631 1889 sue.isaac@standardbank.co.za www.standardbankarts.co.za Stephan Welz & Company 15, 16 & 17 November, Auction of Decorative & Fine Arts, Ceramics, Silver, Furniture & Jewellery. 13 Biermann Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg. T. 011 880-3125 jhb@stephanwelzandco.co.za www.stephanwelzandco.co.za Strauss & Co. 7 November, Auction of Important South African Art: Paintings, Drawings, Watercolours, Prints and Sculpture. Country Club Johannesburg, Corner Lincoln Rd & Woodlands Drive, Woodmead. T. 079 407 5140 jhb@straussart.co.za www.straussart.co.za UJ Art Gallery 16 Nov – 14 December 2011 and 4 – 25 January 2012, “Ashes to Ashes and Smoke to Dust” Diane Victor solo exhibition. Cnr Kingsway & University Rd, Auckland Park, Jhb. T. 011 559 2099 aedempsey@uj.ac.za www.uj.ac.za/artscentre Upstairs @ Bamboo 15-23 November, 16 Halifax Art presents ”Reflection: People, Places & Spaces” Works by Frans Cronje, Michael Heyns, Marina Louw, Leon Muller, Jennifer Snyman, Mimi van der Merwe, Braam van Wijk & Victoria Verbaan corner 9th Str & Rustenburg Rd Melville Dana MacFarlane 082 784 6695 bdmac@mweb.co.za www.16halifaxart.co.za 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 Road, Illovo,Johannesburg. T. 011 268 2115 alan@whg.co.za 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 alette@ artwessels.co.za www.artwessels.co.za Association of Arts Pretoria 3 - 23 November, The 2011 PPC Cement Young Concrete Sculptor Awards exhibition. Walkabout: Saturday 12 November at 11:00 11 - 30 November, “Scouting” an exhibition of paintings by Willem Truter. Walkabout: Saturday 19 November at 11:00 25 November- 15 December, an exhibition of paintings by Leon Fourie & sculptures by Ruhan Janse van Vuuren. Walkabout: Saturday 3 December at 11:00. 173 Mackie Str, Nieuw Muckleneuk, Pretoria. T. 012 346 3100 artspta@mweb.co.za www.artsassociationpta.co.za Centurion Art Gallery Opening 2 November at 18:30 for 19:00, Da Vinci’s Corner presents Elmarie Jena and students, a variety of artwork. c/o Cantonment and Unie Avenues, Lyttelton T. 012 358 3477 artg@tshwane.gov.za www.pretoriaartmuseum.co.za/centurion

Fried Contemporary Until 12 November, “Connections” Artists are: David Udjborg - mixed media on canvas, Pascual Tarazona - Oil paint on board, Lynette ten Krooden -Sand,charcoal dust and resin on canvas, as well as ink on film and Regi Bardavid - Oil and beeswax on canvas. 26 November - 17 December, “The Christmas Tree Show” with Gordon Froud, Sanna Swart, Katya Venter, Sybrand Wiechers, Roelf Daling, Kay Potts & Thomas Kubayi. 26 November - 21 January, “Dimension” Artists are: Angus Taylor – Sculpture, Wayne Barker - mixed media and Maria van Rooyen. 430 Charles St, Brooklyn, Pretoria. T. 012 346 0158 art@friedcontemporary.com www.friedcontemporary.com Front Room Art & Artists Sat 29 Nov – Sat 17 Dec, ARTSHIFT: R1,000 & below. Studio raid art sale. Real art from a variety of artists at bargain prices. 116 Kate Ave Rietondale. Jennifer Snyman 082 451 5584 Jennifer@frontroomart.co.za www.frontroomart.co.za Gallery Michael Heyns The Gallery has moved to 194 Haley Str, Weavind Park, Pretoria. T. 012 804 0867 michael@michaelheyns.co.za www.michaelheyns.co.za Kunsuniek Until 21 November, Art Exhibition open daily from 10:00 – 18:00 except closed on Mondays. Artists in action on Saturdays and Sundays. 331 Chappies Rd, Lynnwood, Pretoria T. 012 361 6927 marie.kunsuniek@iburst.co.za www.kunsuniek.co.za Pretoria Art Museum “Swift Transitions” UP final year students (North Gallery) ends 10 Nov. Opening on Wednesday, 26 Oct at 18:00, “Play-off” by Gordon Froud & Lance Friedlande, this extensive exhibition of about 150 works featuring sculptures, photographs & etchings by Gordon Froud and paintings by Lance Friedlande. (Albert Werth Hall) Ends on 15 Jan 2012 Until 4 December, “Eric Bolsman – a Retrospective” and launch of his new book ‘Who wants to be a starving artist anyway?’ Paintings and his fourth book dealing specifically with art, is an autobiographical account of his life as an artist. T.012 344 1807/8 art.museum@tshwane.gov.za www.pretoriaartmuseum.co.za Sandton Auctioneers Fine Art, Furniture, Carpets & Collectables. Showroom: 367 Lynnwood Rd, Menlo Park, Pretoria. T. 012 460 6000 sandtonauctioneers@telkomsa.net www.sandtonauctioneers.com St Lorient Fashion and Art Gallery Opening 12 November at 15:00 “Poetry into Imagery” featuring works by Helena Hugo, Lynette Ten Krooden, Anton Smit, Andre Naude & Lefifi Thladi. 492 Fehrsen Street, Brooklyn Circle, Brooklyn, Pretoria. T. 012 4600284 anastasi@iafrica.com www.stlorient.co.za University of Pretoria Until 30 November, an exhibition of the sculptures by Fanie Eloff (1885 - 1947). Mapungubwe museum, Old Arts Building, Hatfield Campus of the University of Pretoria. T. 012 420-2968 marie.breedt@up.ac.za www.up.ac.za

Get your very own copy of

The SA Art Times To your door for just R 280 pa. Subscription Chat to Tracey at 021 424 7733 or e-mail her at subs@arttimes.co.za SA ART TIMES. November 2011

MPUMALANGA | KWA ZULU NATAL GALLERY GUIDE

Mpumalanga

Kwazulu- Natal

Dullstroom

Durban

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

The African Art Centre 16 Nov- 4 December, Sandile Goye solo exhibition of prints. 94 Florida Rd, Durban. T. 031 312 3804/5 africanartcentre@afri-art.co.za www.afriart.org.za

Dimitrov Art Gallery Lifestyle Complex, shop no.4 on Cnr. Teding Van Berkhout & Hugenote/ Naledi Street, Dullstroom, Mpumalanga T. 013 254 0524 C. 082 679 5698 info@dimitrovartgallery.co.za www.dimitrovartgallery.co.za

ArtSPACE Durban Until 5 November, “Juxta Poses” - A Solo Exhibition of Recent Works by Terri Broll. Opening 7 November: “The End (Of The World As We Know It)” a group exhibition, until 26 Nov. 28 November – mid-January 2012, “9th Annual Affordable Art Show” 3 Millar Rd, Stamford Hill, Durban. T.031 312 0793 info@artspace-durban.com www.artspace-durban.com

The New Dimitrov Art Gallery Situated in the Trams Alley shop no.1 , along the R 540 ( Naledi Drive ). Opening exhibition “Expression of Freedom” by renowned artist Dimitrov. info@dimitrovartgallery.co.za www.dimitrovartgallery.co.za

White River

Christie’s International Auctioneers. Gillian Scott Berning, Independent Consultant. T 031 207 8247 Gillian.gsb@mweb.co.za www.christies.com

The Artists’ Press Professional collaboration, printing and publishing of original hand-printed 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 Collective 7 – 26 November, “The End (Of The World As We Know It)” group show. Megan Bonnetard (21 November – 25 November) 28 November 2011 – 21 January 2012, “It’s A Wrap” end of year exhibition of art, design, and much more. 48b Florida Rd, (entrance in 4th Avenue) Greyville, Durban. T. 031 303 4891 thecollectivedurban.blogspot.com

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 Roads White River T. 013 758 2409 theloop@worldonline.co.za www.tlafoundry.co.za

Elizabeth Gordon Gallery The group exhibition entitled “Durban - City for All Seasons” opens on 30th November and runs through till Christmas. 120 Florida Road, Durban T. 031 3038133 joy@elizabethgordon.co.za www.elizabethgordon.co.za Tamasa Gallery A small commercial gallery, Tamasa exhibits a broad variety of contemporary KZN artists. 36 Overport Drive, Berea, Durban. T. 031 207 1223

Pietermaritzburg The Blue Caterpillar Art Galley 1 to 30 November, “Local Talent on Show” Medium - Oils, watercolours, and woodcut prints. Artists participating - Charmaine Eastment, Marion Townsend, Ezequiel Mabote, Shirley Howells & Roy Stokes. Butterflies for Africa, 37 Willowton Rd, Pietermaritzburg. T. 033 387 1356 art@butterflies.co.za www.butterflies.co.za Tatham Art Gallery 20 November at 11h00 Main Exhibition Room: FOTAG’s Fabulous Picture Show opens. This is an exhibition of A5 mixed media works. Cnr of Chief Albert Luthuli (Commercial) Rd & Church Str. (Opposite City Hall) Pietermaritzburg. T. 033 342 1804 www.tatham.org.za

Umdloti The Audrey Rudnick Gallery Surrealist Paintings, Sculptures and Pod People by Audrey Rudnick. 77 North Beach Rd, Shop no.10 Upper Level, Umdloti Centre, Umdloti. T. 031 568 2445 audrey@thehoozoo.com www.audreyrudnick.com

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

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

GALLERY GUIDE | WESTERN CAPE / CAPE TOWN

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 Until 11 November, Idée Fixe: A photography exhibition. 22 November – 12 January 2012, Unisa Senior Students Exhibition. 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 Art in the Forest Gallery Opening 17 November at 6:00 pm, showing until end December: “Passages”; an exhibition of linocuts, etchings, screen prints, mono prints & collages by about 15 hugely talented emerging artists from Johannesburg and the townships of greater Gauteng. These artists have never before shown their work in Cape Town. Curated by Anne Gordon, Vula Amehlo Art Development. Profits made by Art in the Forest will benefit the Light from Africa Foundation and its work to support vulnerable children. Art in the Forest, Cecilia Forest, Constantia Nek, Rhodes Drive, Cape Town. T. 021 794 0291. Biance@lightfromafrica.com. www.lightfromafrica.com. Artvark View Theresa Jo`s latest etchings and monoprints. She was a finalist at Vuleka 2011 with the print ‘Dodo days” and this bird range will be on show. Come and support the new venture of Michael, Bradley and Marvin- a bicycle pulling a single cart can pull you to the Harbour or Muizenburg or somewhere close-by for a small fee. They will be stationed at Artvark on Sundays. Main road Kalkbay Tel 021 7885584 artvark@iafrica.com www.artvark.org AVA Until 11 November, “AVA Gallery 40 Years Anniversary Exhibition Part 1: 1971 -1990” curated by Marilyn Martin. Association for Visual Arts, 35 Church Str, CT. T.021 424 7436 art@ava.co.za www.ava.co.za Barnard Gallery Until 16 November, “The Gallery Collection Exhibition” includes works from the following artists: Lonwabo Kilani; Robert Slingsby; Lyndi Sales; Jaco van Schalkwyk; Willie Bester; Ndikhumbule Ngqinambi; Keith Calder; Tracy Payne and Heike Davies. Opening 24 November, the first African exhibition by Spanish born artist Felix Anaut. 55 Main Str, Newlands. T. 021 671 1666 gallery@barnardgallery.com www.barnardgallery.com Brundyn & Gonsalves (formely iArt) 2 - 30 November, “Legacy” featuring photography by Stephen Inggs. 71 Loop Str, CT. T. 021 424 5150 info@brundyngonsalves.com www.brundyngonsalves.com Cape Gallery Until 12 November, ‘My Mystic Muse’ a solo exhibition by Simon Jones. Opening on Sunday 13 November at 4.30 pm, Recent Ceramic works by Anton Bosch and Hanlie Bosch, until 10th December. 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 Galleria Until 27 November, “Art on paper” a collection of works on paper by a broad selection of South African artists. Casa Labia Cultural Centre, 192 Main Rd, Muizenberg. T. 021 788 6068 info@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 18 Nov – 2 December, Aldo Balding Solo Exhibition. Aldo Balding is a storyteller. He engages the viewer in a dramatic narrative depicted on the canvas through mood, movement, clothing and colour. He believes a gesture or way of standing reveal deeper insights into the person’s emotions and intentions. His modest tonal palette impart nostalgia and romantic timelessness and he considers himself a tonalist painter. 7 Kloofnek Road, Gardens, C T. T. 021 422 1599 Info@christophermollerart.co.za www.christophermollerart.co.za Commune.1 Gallery Until 23 November, Part 1 of a 2 part show: Nina Liebenberg “Point Counter Point” & Katherine Spindler “At sea” 64 Wale Str, CT. T. 021 423 5600 info@commune1.com www.commune1.com Ebony On show until the 29th November, Marinda Combrinck’s “Glamour Girls” and conceptual wooden panels by Lars Fischedick. 67 Loop Str, CT. T. 021 876 4477 info@ebonydesign.co.za www.ebonydesign.co.za Everard Read CT 3 – 16 November, “Om te vervel” new works by Stellenbosch artist Shany van den Berg, peeling off layers of identity through oil paintings, sculptures and antique book collages. 17 – 23 November, “Vessels” ceramic works by Cheryl Malone. 24 November – 24 December, “15th Anniversary Exhibition.” Everard Read, Cape Town, is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, with a spectacular group exhibition showcasing their finest established and emerging artists, from South Africa and overseas. 3 Portswood Rd, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, CT. T. 021 418 4527 ctgallery@everard.co.za www.everard-read-capetown.co.za 34 Fine Art Until 19 November ‘Outside’ Urban Contemporary Group 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 “Season Greetings 17” a group exhibition of original art by a large variety of African Artists consisting of oils, etchings, woodcut prints, watercolours, sculpture, and limited edition art prints until 17 December. The Gallery will be closed between 18 December and 7 January while site seeing and sourcing art in Mozambique. 67g Regent Rd, Seapoint. T. 021 434 5022 / 0781227793 debbiegrewe@gmail.com

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

CAPE TOWN / WESTERN CAPE | GALLERY GUIDE G2 Art New artists and artworks by Nicole Pletts, Samantha Brown, Benjy Furawo, Khayalethu Witbooi, Hendrik Gericke, Gareth Humphreys, Frans Groenewald and Kristen McClarty, together with regular contributors Roelie van Heerden, Vanessa Berlein, Gilbert Pearse, Andrew Sutherland, Mongezi Gum, Anthony Gadd & Jenny Merritt to name a few, as well as beautiful sculpture by Victor Harley, Steven Andrews & Uwe Pfaff amongst others. 61 Shortmarket Str, CT. T.021 424 7169 di@g2art.co.za www.g2art.co.za

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

Gill Allderman Gallery Until 15 November, “Trees and grasses of the Kalahari” by Gill Cowen as well as a variety of other exhibitions on show. Concord House (Pam Golding Building), Cnr Main & Summerly Rds, Kenilworth. C.083 556 2540 gallery@new.co.za www.alldermangallery.co.za Hout Bay Gallery New artworks by Sarah Danes Jarrett, David Kuijers, Koos De Wet and many more. Open 7 days a week. 71 Victoria Ave, Hout Bay. T. 021 790 3618 F. 021 790 3898 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 The permanent collection on display shows Irma Stern’s development as an artist whose subject matter included exotic figures, portraits, lush landscapes and still lifes conveyed in a variety of media, ranging from oils and water colours to gouache and charcoal. Cecil Rd, Rosebank, CT. T. 021 685 5686 www.irmastern.co.za Iziko SA National Gallery Until 7 November, Standard Bank Young Artist For Visual Art 2011: Nandipha Mntambo. Until 29 January 2012, “Ever Young” photography by James Barnor and “Neither Man Nor Stone” an exhibition of works from the Iziko South African National Gallery’s Permanent Collection, plus a small number of loaned works. 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 Good Hope Gallery (The Castle) Ongoing exhibition of oil paintings, furniture, ceramics, metal & glassware from the William Fehr Collection. Buitenkant Str, opposite the Grand Parade, CT. T. 21 464 1262 kmooney@iziko.org.za www.iziko.org.za Iziko SA Museum Until 30 November, “Made in Translation: Images from and of the Landscape.” 25 Queen Victoria Str, Gardens, CT. T. 021 481 3800 info@iziko.org.za www.iziko.org.za Johans Borman Fine Art Until 26 November, “Persona” In ancient Latin, persona meant ‘mask’. Today it refers to the ‘social masks’ individuals choose to portray versions of themselves. This exhibition investigates the notion of how we see ourselves and others. Please note the new address: 16 Kildare Road, Newlands, CT. T. 021 683 6863. art@johansborman.co.za www.johansborman.co.za Kalk Bay Modern Until 27 November, “Art on Paper” at Casa Labia Galleria and Kalk Bay Modern. Celebrating a wealth of South Africa’s talent in drawings, fine art editions, painting, sculpture and selected photography. 1st Floor, Olympia Buildings, 136 Main Rd, Kalk Bay. T.021 788 6571 kbmodern@iafrica.com www.kalkbaymodern.com

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

Recommended Show: Listening to the distant sound of thunder The Art of Peter Clarke. SA National Gallery. See listings for details (Above) Flute music, 1960. Oil on canvas. Private collection. (Below) Peter Clarke painting with Woman with goats 1961 25

1IJMJQ #BEFOIPSTU i(JSM XJUI B SPTFw

Summer Exhibition: (FPSHF

" 4FMFDUJPO PG 4" "SU 0QFOJOH /PWFNCFS

Gregoire Boonzaier, Malay Quarter - oil on canvas

We have a wide selection of paintings, sculptures and ceramics by established and up-and-coming SA artists Tel/Fax: 028 312 2928 Cell: 082 719 0907 E-mail: francois@walkerbayartgallery.co.za www.walkerbayartgallery.co.za 171 Main Road, Hermanus, 7200

1st ď&#x192;&#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

Tel: 044 874 4027

â&#x20AC;˘ www.artaffair.co.za 79 Market Street, George â&#x20AC;˘ GPS 33Â°57â&#x20AC;&#x2122;42.66â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;S | 22Â°27â&#x20AC;&#x2122;24.54â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;E

WESTERN CAPE | GALLERY GUIDE

The Lovell Gallery Until 19 November, “Avatar” Japanese Manga inspired work by Marinda Swartz as well as “One Day in Woodstock 2011 photography exhibition” selected photographers who took part in the competition exhibit their work. This will become an annual event. Public invited to vote on their favourite photograph with prizes up for grabs. 25 November – 31 December, Kiki Kemp presents new work on her traditional ink on Korean paper. 139 Albert Rd, Woodstock. info@lovellgallery.co.za www.lovellgallery.co.za Martin Osner Fine Art Gallery Archival photographic prints, mixed media & collectable imaging. Shop A14, Cape Quarter Piazza, 72 Waterkant Str, Green Point, CT. T. 021 790 6494 info@martinosner.com www.martinosner.com Nova Constantia Cellars Art Gallery 1 – 10 December, “Art in the Vines” Curated by ArtSideIn: A group exhibition of paintings, etchings, photography, textile art and ceramics by established and emerging artists. Nova Constantia, Nova Constantia Rd. Follow signs from Spaanschematt River Rd near Uitsig Wine Farm. T. 083 6533697 astridmcleod@mweb.co.za www.artsidein.co.za The Project Room Gallery is delighted to present ‘A Series of Solo Summer Exhibitions 2011-2012.’ Currently on show, 2 Nov – 7 Dec , New 3D work & paintings by Bretten-Anne Moolman. 2nd floor, Old Port Captains Building, Pierhead, Dock Road, V& A Waterfront. T. 021 425 7884 theprojectroom@africantradingport.com theprojectroomgallery.blogspot.com Rose Korber Art Extended until 30th November: ‘William Kentridge: Selected Prints from Two Decades’ - an exhibition spanning the period from 1989 - 2010. Several of these works are no longer available on the market and should therefore have considerable appeal for the discerning collector. Included too, is a superb selection of recent linocuts, all produced in 2010. These riveting works in black and white are a welcome return to this powerful

medium by the maestro, after some 20 years. 48 Sedgemoor Rd, Camps Bay, CT. T. 021 438 9152 C.083 261 1173 roskorb@icon.co.za www.rosekorberart.com

Rudd’s Auctioneers Antique, Fine and Decorative Art. Auction 8th November. 87 Bree Street, CT. T.021 426 0384 info@rudds.co.za www.rudds.co.za Rust-en-Vrede Gallery 1 – 17 November, in Salon A: “Elements” oils and prints by Judy Woodborne, Salon B: “Print” an exhibition of prints by the following artists: Shira Hockman, Sheila Petousis, Dominique Espitalier-Noel, Fransisca Louw, Angus Buchanan, Jane Eppel, Mary Fanner, Noeleen Kleve, Erica Elk, Sue Orr, Paul Painting, Sophie Peters and in Salon C: Recent Prints by Eleanora Hofer. In the Clay Museum: In the Office Showcase: Ceramics by Linda Hojem. 10 Wellington Rd, Durbanville. T.021 976 4691 rustenvrede@telkomsa.net www.rust-en-vrede.com Salon 91 Opening 2 November at 19h30, “Fata Morgana: on longing and desire” a solo exhibition Cara van der Westhuizen. Materials used include glass, mirror, mirror film, plaster casts, chrome & paper. Techniques employed include lithography and Chine-collé. Exhibition concludes 29 November. 91 Kloof Str, Gardens, CT. T 021 424 6930 info@salon91art.co.za www.salon91.co.za Sanlam Art Gallery 26 Oct – 9 December, “Clare Menck: Hidden Life” 20 years of painting (1990-2010) Sanlam, 2 Strand Rd, Bellville. T. 021 947 3359 sanlamart@sanlam.co.za www.sanlam.co.za SMAC Art Gallery, Cape Town Until 30 November, “Proximity” by Jake Aikman. In-Fin-Art Building, Cnr of Buitengracht & Buitensingel Str, CT. T. 021 422 5100 info@smacgallery.com www.smacgallery.com

Advertise your art and business in our bumper December- January edition. As leaders in the SA Art Market Publishing Business please feel welcome to chat with Eugene to see how we can use your advertising budget to the best effect through our most extensive and trusted network coverage. Call Eugene : 021 424 7733 or e-mail: sales@arttimes.co.za

Nat straat in die Paarl – oil on canvas, 40 x 24 cm

Ko b u s L o u w An exhibition of paintings 2 to 17 December 2011

S 33° 51’294” – E 18° 51’615” KANONKOP WINE ESTATE R44 KLAPMUTS ROAD TO PAARL MON to FRI 09h00 – 17h00 & Saturday 09h00 – 14h00 art@kanonkop.co.za – www.kanonkopartgallery.co.za Tel: 021-884 4656

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

Be part of the South African Art Community Advertise here - we have a space for your pocket, as well as an amazing national arts reach, like no one else. After 65 editions, a great reach and read, feel most welcome to contact Eugene for a chat about the weather and coverage of the SA art market. Eugene is at 021 424 7733 or simply email: sales@arttimes.co.za

WESTERN CAPE - OVERBERG | GALLERY GUIDE

South African Jewish Museum Until 27 November, “Zapiro: Jiving with Madiba” an exhibition of work by the wellknown cartoonist, Jonathan Shapiro, all of which depict or otherwise involve Nelson Mandela. 88 Hatfield Str, Gardens, CT. T. 021-465-1546 info@sajm.info www.sajm.info South African Print Gallery A wide selection of fine art prints by South African masters and contemporary printmakers. 12 November-08 December, Alice Goldin: Selected work from a colourful lifetime of printmaking by Alice Goldin. 109 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock, CT. T. 021 462 6851 info@printgallery.co.za www.printgallery.co.za StateoftheArt.co.za Online Art Gallery A curated online art gallery bringing you original and affordable artwork created by selected Fine Arts students and graduates emerging from South Africa’s most prestigious art schools. With an extensive selection of styles and genres to reflect your taste, budget and requirements, and a range of services to support your choices, buying art couldn’t be any simpler. T. 0724709272 info@StateoftheArt.co.za www.StateoftheArt.co.za Stephan Welz & Company Auctioneers 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 Strauss & Co. Fine Art Auctioneers & Consultants. The Oval, 1st Floor Colinton House, 1 Oakdale Rd, Newlands. T. 021 683 6560 ct@straussart.co.za www.straussart.co.za

Franschhoek Ebony On show until the 29 November, New sculptures by Christopher Bladen and Carl Roberts. Ceramics by SA masters, Katherine Glenday, Ian Garrett, Clementina van der Walt and Hennie Meyer. 11 Huguenot Street, Franschhoek. T. 021 876 4477 info@ebonydesign.co.za www.ebonydesign.co.za The Gallery at Grande Provence On view until 16 November, “Cultural Contrasts” by Willie van Rensburg. This exhibition also includes a selection of large ceramic vessels by Louise Gelderblom. Opening 20 November until Monday 5 December, “The UNISA Cape Town Final Year Student Exhibition” with participating artists: Niël Visser, Gina Niederhumer, Elize Oosthuizen, Celeste Coetzee, Salóme van Rooyen, Yolanda Warnich, Elise Wessels, Roline Kotzé & Katie du Toit. Main Rd, Franschhoek. T. 021 876 8630. gallery@grandeprovence.co.za www.grandeprovence.co.za Holden Manz Collection The Holden Manz Wine Estate is proud to announce the opening of its Art Gallery in the city centre of Franschhoek Village. The Holden Manz Collection is focused on contemporary local art and showcases works including charcoals, collages, oils, drawings as well as photography & prints. 30 Huguenot Str, Franschhoek T. 021 876 44 02 info@holdenmanz.com www.holdenmanz.com

Elzaby Laubscher. 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. 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 Shelley Adams Studio & Gallery A permanent exhibition of artworks by Shelley Adams in her personal studio space. She also offers ongoing art courses, crit classes and workshops. 19A Royal Centre, Main Rd, Hermanus. C. 072 677 6277 www.shelley-adams.com 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! Festive Season Exhibition of latest oil paintings by Dale & Mel Elliott 2 Galleries: Woodmill Lane Shopping Centre & The Knysna Mall T. 044 382 5646 dale@dalelliott.co.za www.daleelliott.co.za www.elliottartonline.wordpress.com Knysna Fine Art Opening 18 November at 6pm, ‘Loko dyambu rixa, rixa ni swa rona’ (The sun rises with its own fortunes) charcoal drawings, etchings & linocuts by Phillemon Hlungwani and ‘Recent Works’ by Talitha Deetlefs (lead sculptures). Thesen House, 6 Long Str, Knysna. T. 044 382 5107 C. 082 5527262 gallery@finearts.co.za www.finearts.co.za

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

George

Oudtshoorn

Strydom Gallery Opening 25 November, “Summer Exhibition: George 43” a selection of SA Art. 79 Market Str, George. T. 044 874 4027 info@artaffair.co.za www.artaffair.co.za

Artkaroo Gallery A selection of authentic Karoo fine art by various established and emerging artists.107 Baron van Reede, Oudtshoorn. T.044 279 1093 janet@artkaroo.co.za www.artkaroo.co.za

Hermanus Abalone Gallery In the Main Gallery during November: Group exhibition: Gail Catlin, John Clarke, Christo Coetzee, Jackson Hlungwani, Tadeus Jaroszynski, Leonard Matsoso, Judith Mason, Lynette ten Krooden, Anna Vorster. In the Annex 12 November to 31 December: “Street-Soul”, Solo exhibition by

WESTERN CAPE / EASTERN CAPE | GALLERY GUIDE

Paarl Artist’s Studio “Boland Vibes” a joint exhibition by artists: Adele Claudia Fouche, Victor Harley, Selwyn Pekeur, Kervin Cupido amongst others. Held in the artist, Adele Claudia Fouche’s studio. Come and meet the artists and share in the magic of the creating process. 136 Main Rd. Paarl. Adele 082 522 4010 adele@artiststudio.co.za Hout Street Gallery The Hout Street Gallery specialises in South African paintings and fine art and offers an extensive range of ceramics, sculpture, creative jewellery, glass, crafts and functional art. 270 Main Str, Paarl. T. 021 872 5030 zetler@icon.co.za www.houtstreetgallery.co.za

Plettenberg Bay Lookout Art Gallery A fine selection of interesting contemporary paintings, sculptures & blown glass. The Courtyard, Lookout Centre, Main Str, Plettenberg Bay. T. 044 533 2210 mwdawns@mweb.co.za www.lookout-art-gallery.co.za

Stellenbosch

Oude Libertas Art Gallery Opening 23 November at 18:00, “Ikoon vir Kersfees”, an exhibition of works by sculptors Nicolene Swanepoel, Lenie Harley, Evette Weyers, Linda de Wet and ceramics by Laura du Toit. The exhibition will also feature paintings by Strijdom van der Merwer, Wendy Malan, Inge de Wet, Marie Stander, Tertia du Toit, Keiskamma Art Project, Ingrid Brumer, Madeleni Marincowitz and jewellery by Therese De Villiers and Brendan Marx from Hoo-doo Design. Oude Libertas, c/o Adam Tas & Oude Libertas Str, Stellenbosch. T. 021 809 7463 PJ Olivier Art Centre Opening 8 November at 20:00, “nullPointerException” an exhibition of interactive digital installation works by Maia Grotepass, until 25 November. 3 Blom Str, Stellenbosch. Maia Grotepass Cell 084 566 8008 maiatoday@gmail.com www.maiatoday.co.za Rupert Museum Until 28 March 2012, an extensive selection of works by Willem Strydom. Stellentia Avenue, Stellenbosch T. 021 888 3344 saw@remgro.com www.rupertmuseum.org SMAC Art Gallery 26 October 2011 – 1 March 2012 “Review” by Nel Erasmus. De Wet Centre, Church Str, Stellenbosch. T. 021 887 3607 info@smacgallery.com www.smacgallery.com 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 mjg@kingsley.co.za www.stellenboschartgallery.co.za

Villiersdorp Dale Elliott Art Gallery Leaders of the painting course concept in South Africa! Festive Season Exhibition of latest oil paintings by Dale & Mel Elliott. Invite to the opening of our exhibition and festive season demonstration programme available. 80 Main Rd, Villiersdorp. T. 028 840 2927 dale@daleelliott.co.za www.daleelliott.co.za www.elliottartonline.wordpress.com

Wilderness Beatrix Bosch Studio Unique works in leather as well as paintings & photography can be viewed at her studio. 57 Die Duin, Wilderness. T. 044 877 0585 www.beatrixbosch.co.za

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

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 quin@intekom.co.za www.quin-art.co.za

East London Ann Bryant Gallery Opening 2 November at 18h30, Annual Exhibition of the Walter Sisulu University B. Tech: Fine Art Degree Students. The show will run until 10 November. The East London Fine Art Society will be holding their Annual Art Exhibition in the main gallery. The Exhibition will open on Thursday 17th November 2011 at 6:30 pm. 9 St. Marks Rd, Southernwood, East London. T. 043 722 4044 annbryant@intekom.co.za www.annbryant.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 art@dewey.co.za www.originalart.co.za Vincent Art Gallery The gallery houses an exceptional collection of fine arts, sculptures, blown glass, ceramics, exclusive jewellery and decor items. 2 Donald Rd, Vincent, East London. T. 043 726 4356 vinceart@lantic.net www.vincentartgallery.co.za

Port Elizabeth ArtEC (Previously EPSAC) Until 4 Nov, “Take 3 Group Exhibition” Lez Bird, Jenny Maltby and Anne-Mari Burger (Lower Gallery) 8 – 18th Nov Lower Gallery, ECWA Annual (East Cape Watercolour Ass.) 8 – 18th Nov Upper Gallery, Graham Meier Sculpture and photography 22 Nov – 9 Dec Lower Gallery – ArtEC Block, restricted size of 150x 150mm or 200x200mm, All mediums, Priced R800 and less. 36 Bird Str, P.E. T. 041 585 3641 gallery@epsac.co.za www.artecpe.co.za Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum Until 6 November, “Out and About” (Main Hall) a creative celebration of the great outdoors including prints, ceramics, paintings & sculptures. Currently on show until January 2012, “Painting on Paper” (Lorimer Hall) an exhibition exploring works on paper from the Art Museum’s permanent collection and “It Is All in the Mind” (Arts Hall): the use of fantasy, the unconscious, dreams and the spiritual will be explored through works from the Art Museum’s permanent collection. 12 November – 6 February 2012, “Coastal City” (Main Hall) paintings and prints of local and international coastal scenes 1 Park Drive, Port Elizabeth. T. 041 5062000 artmuseum@mandelametro.gov.za www.artmuseum.co.za Ron Belling Art Gallery 1 – 8 November, Frederike Stokhuyzen: recent oils and watercolours. 15 - 30th November, KWV presents “The Epic of Everlasting” by Cecil Skotnes, a national travelling exhibition of artworks by Cecil Skotnes from the KWV art collection. 30 Park Drive, P.E. T. 041 586 3973 ronbelling@mweb.co.za www.ronbelling.co.za The Athenaeum Until 11 November, “Reviewing medium: paint as flesh” an exhibition of oil paintings by Michele Fuller. 7 Belmont Terrace, Central, Port Elizabeth. T. 041 501 8300

Love at fi

The South Afric

Leaders in the selection of SA m

109 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock Art Stri

10 % off for collectors an

first sight

Giselle Ballie: Raft of the Medusa, Reduction woodblock 200 x 100 cm 1990

ca Print Gallery

master investment fine art prints.

ip, Tel 021 4626851. www.printgallery.co.za

nd special occasion registries

Next Show: Alice Goldin Selected work from a colourful life time of printmaking 12 November - 08 December

Alma Vorster: Serenade in Masquarade Etching

The South Africa Print Gallery Leaders in the selection of SA master fine art prints. 109 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock Art Strip, Tel 021 4626851. www.printgallery.co.za

Ever dreamed of owning your own art gallery?

Now you can!

One of South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most respected contemporary art galleries is up for sale. Situated at the top end of Durbanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trendy Florida Road, Artisan Contemporary Gallery is housed in what was once a 1926 dwelling more recently converted in to a purpose-built, light-filled space. An acronym for Arts in South Africa Now, Artisan has established an enviable reputation for show-casing the finest representation of South African art and exquisitely-executed craft. Included in the sale price is the property which also comprises a garden flat. Enquiries to be addressed to sue@artisan.co.za

Michael MacGarry, Standard Bank Young Artist 2010

Standard Bank Gallery. 26 October – 3 December 2011 Monday to Friday: 8am – 4.30pm Saturday: 9am – 1pm Tel: 011 636 9111 www.standardbankarts.co.za

Moving Forward

Michael Mac Garry. The Mosquito Coast from series: The Great Man of History Template. Details: HD video 117 minutes 2007 Edition 5. SBSA 97215-9/11 Moving Forward is a trademark of The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited

ART TIMES | GALLERY BUZZ The Opening of Rubber, Relove, Recycle at Dorp 101 Galery, Stellenbosch

Nina & Chris Zimberlin with Roché van den Berg

Roché van den Berg family Back: Theo van den Berg, Coralie Foucras, Armando Perlotto, Adriaan Blake, Shany van den Berg, Izanne van den Berg & Sarel van den Berg

Paarl’s Kaalkuns Show

Greg Schultz solo titled Water Force at WHAG

Well known artists at the opening of Kaalkuns- Nudes Exhibition in Paarl, from left: Victor Harley, Adele Claudia Fouche, Tertia Du Toit, Selwyn Pekeur and Janet Malherbe

Ann Pretorius, Greg Schultz and Mark Anderson

Franschhoek Art in Clay launch was held in the La Motte Museum

Ingrid Maritz, Esther Emyol, Ms Rooksana Omar

Susan Liegner, David Walters, Rooksana Omar and Esther Esmyol of Iziko Museum.

Self Portrait Show: Rust en Vrede Gallery

Annelie Venter with her work

Guests looking at Robert Plotz’s self-portrait

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

GALLERY BUZZ | ART TIMES Exhibition of Linocuts Under the Freeways by Alan Grobler, at ArtEC

Alan Grobler and Tim Hopwood

Brian Logie, Wesley Swanepoel,Wayne Webb and Jean -Pierre Theron

Jon Riordan

Margaret Harradine, Cathy Binnell

Marion Derbyshire, Alan Grobler, and Lynne van Niekerk

Mary-Rose Dold, Clayton Holliday

Rick Becker and Tim Hopwood

Asanda Mlata, Cathy Wiid and Keith Mark

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

ART TIMES | GALLERY BUZZ Lovell Art Gallery: Marinda Swartz Exhibition: Avatar

Dale Wright, Neil Wright, Tamzin Miller(Director Lovell Gallery)

Joel Singer, Rene Benkenstein, Ivan Amali

Terri Broll shows at The ArtSpace Durban Gallery

Carol Hayward-Fell,Katherine Gantvoort

Coral Spencer,Terri Broll

Floris Van Zyl, Terri Broll, Karen Davis, Annette McMaster, Juliette Armstrong, Kevin Durrheim

John Soderlund, Susan Spencer, Louise Hall

Ann-Strode (UKZN),Dee Viney (UKZN)

Juliette Armstrong, Louise Jennings, Cally-Lotz

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

LAUNCH OF CITADEL’S ART SHARE INDEX / NEWS | ART TIMES The launch of The Citadel Art Share Index, Turbine Hall, Johannesburg

Citadel CEO, Neil Brown, welcomes guests

The Director General of Arts and Culture, Sibusiso Xaba, guest speaker at the launch

Kaitlin Sargent with Auction Vault’s Scott Sargent and guest Nicola Harris

Citadel’s Lauren Stilwell and Romi Heymann with guest Xanthe Bester

Mfundi Vundla with Citadel’s Phala Modise and Palesa Dube

Jazz band Chilli and Lime entertaining guests

OMcI 16529

WE’VE TURNED WEALTHCARE INTO AN ART FORM. AND VICE VERSA. Introducing the Citadel Art Price Index – turning South African art into a real asset class. Your art collection deserves to be as integral to your wealth portfolio as your property and financial investments. With the Citadel Art Price Index, the first of its kind in South Africa, art is finally subjected to more objective measurements of value. For more information visit www.citadelartpriceindex.co.za. Port Elizabeth: 041 394-1300

Johannesburg: 011 722-7600

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

Pretoria: 012 470-2500

Cape Town: 021 670-9100

Durban: 031 560-7200

www.citadel.co.za Citadel is an authorised financial services provider. Member of the

Group.

ARTLife THE SOUTH AFRICAN

Clare Menck with Meandering, immersed 2011 and Upon the riverbed, both self portraits. Photo: Jenny Altschuler

Clare Menck: Hidden Life. Twenty Years of Painting 1990 - 2010

Please enjoy an essay by painter Ingrid Winterbach from Clare Menck’s Hidden Life Catolougue: edited by Stefan Hundt, with essays by Amanda Botha, Michael Godby, Hayden Proud and Ingrid Winterbach. To get your recommended catalogue be sure to e-mail Stefan Hundt at stefan.hundt@sanlam.co.za Clare Menck’s show can be see at The Sanlam Art Gallery, 2 Strand Road, Bellville, Cape Town. Tel: 021 9473359

Make sure that you don’t miss Clare Menck’s Artist in Residence at The Old Town House 31 Oct - 5 November 2011. 14 - 19 November. Inquiries: 021 947 3359

115. Mark (Kannermeyer) by die Troyeville Hotel 2007 110. Johann (Louw) at the Troyville Hotel 2007

Ingrid Winterbach Daar is meer as een manier om die werk van Clare Menck te lees. Haar werk het ‘n onmiddellike visuele trefkrag – sowel formeel as tematies. Werk waarvan mens waarderend wil uitroep: Hoe mooi! Hoe ongewoon! Hoe bevredigend en uitdagend vir die oog! Haar temas is oorwegend selfportrette, gesins- en familieportrette in huislike ruimtes, portrette van ander kunstenaars, en stillewens. Formeel word haar werk gekenmerk deur ‘n besondere gebruik van kleur (van bold tot liries), deur ongewone komposisies, ‘n vry, ekspressiewe verfaanwending, en deur kleinheid van formaat. Ek dink hier aan die twee portrette in die Troyeville Hotel (4 en 15). Albei die skilderye is sowel portret as tafereel van flaminke in water - geskilder in vermengings van skel tot dromerige vermiljoen, in skakerings en tonaliteite van viridiaan en kobaltblou. Verruklik. Verrassend.

Daar is heelwat wat die skildersoog van Clare Menck voed en aanspoor. Niks is ooit te geheim of te nederig of onvanpas nie. Wat is dit wat die skilder opval, waarop val haar oog? Wat sonder sy uit? Die toevallige en die terloopse, die oënskynlik onbenullige, die onopgesmukte, die onverfraaide. Daar is geen verfraaiing ter wille van die verbruikersmark nie. Hiervan getuig die stillewens, en heelwat van die naakstudies. Maar die skilder gaan verder. Wat die oog van die skilder selekteer, is dikwels dit wat nie veronderstél is om gesien te word nie - dit is nie bedoel vir die openbare oog nie: die naakstudies, die selfportrette, die portret van die vader op sy sterfbed, die voyeur (51; middeljarig, manlik). Die skilder word trouens sélf voyeur – ook van haar eie lewe. (Die spieël kan hier as ‘n belangrike motief gesien word.) Menck skuif die gordyn opsy vir die kyker. Sy maak die kyker ‘n deelgenoot aan haar dikwels ontluisterde blik op haarself – op die verborge lewe van die kunstenaar; die lewe wat agter die skerms afspeel. Dit wat gewoonlik verhul bly ter wille van decorum, maak die skilder sonder skaamte of valse skroomval die onderwerp van haar werk.

76. Student hostel, Middleburg Karoo, 2003 Die kleurgebruik so gedurf as kan kom. Teenoor die pragtige, onderbeklemtoonde, liriese ‘Student hostel, Middelburg, Karoo’ (79) – waarin die simmetries geplaasde gebou in dynserige grys-pienke soos ‘n lugspieëling uit die middelgrond verrys. In skildery na skildery is dit die kleurgebruik wat opval – nooit soetig nie, altyd vindingryk, onvoorspelbaar.

123. The voyeur, 2007

74. Father on deathbed 2000. 140 Swimmer (self-portrait) II, 2009. 133. Swimmer (self-portait), Florisbad 1, 2009. 124 Swimmer (self portrait) I, 20072010. 131 Swimmer (self-portrait), Florisbad II, 2009 In vier werke (346, 347, 348, 349) beeld die skilder haarself as swemmer uit. Hier engage Menck heeltemal nie met haarself as portretsubjek nie. In die eerste plek is daar geen klem op haar gesig nie – die konvensionele fokus van die selfportret. Haar liggaam word vanaf ‘n hoë uitkykpunt waargeneem, ‘n klein aksent in die omringende water. Die werke word nogtans aangebied as selfportrette – ‘n verskuiwing van die grens van selfportrettering as genre. Waarop dui dit – ‘n groter afstandelikheid, ‘n de-subjektivering, ‘n uitbreiding van die konsep ‘self’ deur die uitbeelding van die self in ‘n betekenisvolle konteks, of element (in hierdie geval water)? Weer eens ‘n blik op die kunstenaar in ‘n private konteks – een waarin sy haarself nie verskans of beveilig deur verfraaiing, kleding, houding – deur enige van die amptelike konvensies van portrettering nie. Hierdie water-selfportrette dui ook op die subjek in ‘n minder omskrewe, meer amorfe staat – ‘n minder presentabele, fatsoenlike staat.

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

104 Self-portrait in white studio, 2007. 107. Small self-portrait in white studio, 2007. 94. Mirror (nude self-portrait) II, 2006. 2 Self-portrait with exposed breast, 1990 In Menck se werk is niks te geheim of te nederig of onvanpas nie. In aansluiting hierby, vind ek deurlopend in die werk ‘n gevaarliker, donkerder ondertoon. Iets meer fundamenteels dalk: ‘n deurlopende gemoeidheid met die oertemas van geboorte, kopulasie en dood? Ek wil sover gaan om selfs te sê ‘n gemoeidheid met die abject? (Waarvoor daar in Afrikaans nie ‘n goeie vertaling bestaan nie - vernedering, ellende, veragtelikheid.) Sou die klein formaat van haar werk miskien ‘n (onbewuste) poging wees om juis hierdie onheilspellende inhoud in bedwang te hou? Domestisiteit word allerweë geassosieer met knusheid, met geborgenheid. Die huislike ruimte word gesien as ‘n getemde ruimte teenoor die ongetemde, bedreigende buitewêreld. Heelwat van Menck se naaktes word in die intieme ruimte van die slaapkamer, die sitkamer, die ateljee uitgebeeld. In die media en in ‘n groot deel van die skildertradisie word seksualiteit ter wille van die verbruiker ge-estetiseer uitgebeeld, met die klem op hedonisme en ‘n narcistiese genieting. Seksualiteit word geromantiseer, gesoft-focus. Dit geld nie vir Clare Menck nie. Op die oog af is haar ruimtes domestiek, maar die seksualiteit wat haar werk oproep, is nie gedomestiseer nie. In die uitbeelding van haarself en haar man as naaktes, gaan Menck se werk nie oor die aanskoulike naakte nie, maar oor iets rouers, iets meer primitiefs dalk. In die vroulike naakstudies (veral die selfportrette) word die dye, buik en borste beklemtoon (19, 43, 59, 245), in die manlike naakstudies, die fallus. Dit is geen gekuisde uitbeelding van seksualiteit nie – die meer primitiewe aspek daarvan, naamlik vrugbaarheid, word beklemtoon. Deur die klem op hierdie rouer, meer primêre seksualiteit in die tradisioneel veilige huislike ruimte, raak hierdie ruimte deur assosiasie geseksualiseer - ook byvoorbeeld deur die uitbeelding van die naakte ouer met die kind (152), en in die skildery ‘The voyeur’ (51). Seksualiteit en domestisiteit raak hier vervleg.

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

68. Channess by laaikas, 2000. 69 Nude (Johann) Cederberg, 2000. 119. Johann, Cederberg, 2007. 121 Siebe, staande by herd, met hond, 2007. 21 Just another knot in the pine(?) 1991. 24 Silver nude, 1993 By ‘n hele aantal van Menck se naaktes (manlik sowel as vroulik) is die genitalieë die fokuspunt – dit word presies in die middel van die prentvlak geplaas: byvoorbeeld ‘Channess by laaikas’ (180), ‘Small self-portrait in white studio’ (59), ‘Siebe, staande by herd’ (117), ‘Nude (Johann) Cedarberg’ (157), ‘Johann Cederberg’ (350). Daar is min sussends, min gerusstellends aan hierdie naakte portrette van Menck. Sy soek nie na die visuele ekwiwalent van eufemisme – verbloeming en versagting - nie. In ‘Silver nude’ (60) en ‘Just another knot in the pine’ (345) (knot ‘n anagram vir kont?) word die vroulike geslagsorgaan nie fyntjies en rosig uitgebeeld nie, maar gedurf, in your face, uitstulpend, rooi. Grensoorskrydend? Die byna bedreigende teenwoordigheid van ‘n ruwer, minder gekuisde, meer direkte seksualiteit (teenoor erotiek en sensualiteit) loop soos ‘n aar deur haar werk.

125 Rooibos teabags and embroidery basket, 2008 41 Copper drain pipe wih enamel saucepan, Dresden I, 1998 33 Poppe in ‘n doos, 1997 48 Trabant exhaust, Dresden, 1998 138 Rumarco Court, Cape Town, 2010. 136 Old bio and Art Deco garage, Piketberg, 2010. 135 Old bioscope with Boston terrier, Piketberg, 2010. 113 Pieter se woonstelblok, 2007 Dit is ook van toepassing op werk waar dit nié gaan om die uitbeelding van die menslike liggaam nie. Die kyker hoef geen Freudiaan te wees nie om getref te word deur die aantal stillewens met ‘n seksuele lading (en selfs titel): die - fallies gekastreerde - pyp, met ironiese titel: ‘I love pipes’ (170), ‘copper drain pipe’ (126), ‘Trabant exhaust’ (332), die spykers, die falliese nekke van die flaminke, oliekanne. Teenoor die vrouliker simbole soos dose, byvoorbeeld ‘Poppe in ‘n doos’ (271), ‘Rooibos tea bags and embroidery basket’ (330) – die ‘naaidoos’ (Nederlands!) baarmoederagtig getekstureer en dieprooi gekleur.

Laastens wil ek net wys op die interessante manier waarop huise en meubels, en selfs stillewens, dikwels in Menck se werk as liggame, of portrette, uitgebeeld word. Ek dink hier veral aan ‘Pieter se woonstelblok’ (9), ‘Old Bioscope with Boston terrier’ (321), ‘Old Bio and Art Deco garage Piketberg’ (323), en ‘Rumarco Court, Cape Town’ (324) - die geboue gesien vanuit ‘n ongewone hoek, effens van onder af, sterk op die diagonale as gekomponeer, bold lug, bold skadu, bold, verruklike kleur - die geboue sélf hier die teenwoordigheid – portrette, as’t ware. In ‘Kappie on bedside cupboard’ (226), ‘Papierhoedjie, knatertang (!) en geborduurde naelvylstelletjie’ (225), en ‘Glassless mirror and brassiere’ (92), dui die simmetrie van die voorwerpe, asook die hoedjie (= hoofbedekking), kappie (ditto) en spieël (= gesig) byna op ‘n sóórt vermensliking.

82 Papierhoedje, knaterang en geborduurde naelvylstelletjie, 2005. 71 Glassless mirror and brassiere, 2001. 81 Kappie en bedside cupboard, 2005 In ‘Kappie on bedside cupboard’ (226), Papierhoedjie, knatertang (!) en geborduurde naelvylstelletjie’ (225), en ‘Glassless mirror and brassiere’ (92), dui die simmetrie van die voorwerpe,

asook die hoedjie (= hoofbedekking), kappie (ditto) en spieël (= gesig) byna op ‘n sóórt vermensliking. Die kyker moet haar, of hom, nie om die bos laat lei deur die klein formaat van Menck se werk en deur

die onmiddellike visuele aantrekkingskrag daarvan nie. Clare Menck is ‘n kragtige skilder, ‘n onbevreesde skilder, met ‘n sonderling deurforsende blik.

Opening of Clare Menck’s Hidden Life at The Sanlam Art Gallery, Cape Town

Above and below: A well attended opening of Clare’s show at the custom built Sanlam Art Gallery. Right: Clare signing well wishers art catalogues

ARTLife | ART AND PAPER SHOW REVIEW, KALK BAY MODERN

Works by Terry Kurgan, Malcolm Payne, Gabriel Clark-Brown, Jane Eppel, Sam Nhlengethwa, and Rory Bester: For more work see www.arttimes.co.za

By Marilyn Martin Cheryl Rumbak, director of Kalk Bay Modern, is making a difference. For the past three years she has curated group shows of art on paper and this year she has expanded to a second venue, Casa Labia. Works are drawn from individual artists and her working relationship with four print studios: David Krut, Tim Foulds Press, Artists Proof Studio and The Artists’ Press. This survey features 55 South African artists – some well known (Beezy Bailey, Deborah Bell, Conrad Botes, Peter Clarke, David Koloane, Judith Mason, Claudette Schreuders, Penny Siopis, Cecil Skotnes); others emerging (Jane Eppel, Philemon Hlungwani, Paul Molete, Fiona Pole, Michele Tabor). The show affirms the role of paper as a vehicle for experimentation and innovation, as well as the exploration of

longstanding printmaking techniques. William Kentridge’s virtuosity is evident in a monumental linocut, the most basic of approaches, while Malcolm Payne uses an archival pigment print for his conceptually and technically complex Girl. Diane Victor’s Last Supper Enswined is a tour de force in dry point etching. There is a wide range of drawings and paintings, including one by Charles Gassner, which remains fresh and contemporary among the younger generations. Nat Mokgosi is represented by a large and powerful drawing. Some works are ambitious in scale, while others are intimate and require close and careful looking. This is of course one of the joys of viewing art on paper, which is often characterised by subtleties of colour, mark making, line and detail. There is also plenty of boldness, for instance John Murray’s charcoal and ink drawings and Sam Nhlengethwa’s

interiors in which he pays tribute to South African artists. It is interesting to see how sculptors like Wilma Cruise and Willem Boshoff employ paper and how Liz Velz’s exquisite handmade paper becomes three dimensional in her books, bowls and vessels. Judy Woodbourne’s book that she created for the MAFA degree is on display. Lyn Smuts and Keri Muller reinvent the medium by folding and manipulating it, while Barbara Wildenboer’s constructions literally get paper moving. Art on Paper is on show in two venues but the opening took place at Casa Labia. Unfortunately all the artists listed on the invitation were not represented there, leading to disappointments among artists and viewers alike, and distracting from what is otherwise a rich and varied selection in celebration of an ancient surface. Until 26 November 2011

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

GALLERY BUZZ | ARTLife Everard Read Gallery: Opening of Anthony Scullion Exhibition

Peter Clarke’s Listening to Distant Thunder at SANG - Photo’s Courtesy ISANG Photographer: Carina Beyer

Front: Philippa Hobbs & Peter Clark, Back: Elizabeth Rankin and Hayden Proud

Peter Clark with book and portrait of himself in background

Alice Elahi’s latest exhibition : Journeys opens Saturday 29 October at her Studio Gallery in Pretoria

Bushveld trees, Luderitz harbour at evening and Veld at evening, Grunau

Acknowledged as one of South Africa’s top landscape artists, Alice paints her watercolours in the open, often in wild and remote areas. In an age when more and more artists are using photographs and mechanised means for their work, each of hers is a unique creation in direct response to the surrounding landscape.

in the right spot at the perfect moment, but when it happens, “it’s magic”, says Alice. “It’s like a gift.”

A painting trip is usually days or weeks of exploring an area, searching out vantage points that interest her, and capturing the right play of light on the land, or often sea. While her companions may lazily lean out of a car window to snap a photo, Alice seldom finds her subject in an easily accessible spot, as those who travel with her know only too well. Then it is a matter of unpacking all the paraphernalia that goes with an art trip – the mounds of paper, water-colours, pastels, water, fixative and of course, brushes. It’s no easy task getting them

She loves travelling to places where man hasn’t made much, if any, mark, places where one can feel in tune with the power of nature. For decades now she has made one of her chief subjects the wilderness areas of Namibia, climbing up dunes or going on lonely roads, but she is just as at home exploring the nooks and crannies of the Cape’s beaches, and the Bushveld and Waterberg in the north. Show runs until Sunday 6 November For more details, see www.aliceelahi.co.za

So when someone asked her how long it took to paint a certain watercolour, her reply was, “Three weeks of looking, and then an hour or so of painting.”

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

Exciting modern graphic design gives fresh perspective on African heritage Willie van Rensburg +27 82 378 2026 willie.vanrensburg@vodamail.co.za www.willievanrensburg.co.za

Readers can access the www.art.co.za website to see more paintings including the current exhibition.

Cultural Contrasts by Willie van Rensburg, exhibited at The Gallery at Grande Provence, Franschhoek on 16 October, unveils the consummate talent of this graphic designer. The bold yet gracefully harmonious work draws the viewer inexorably into a deeper understanding of the world of African tradition and folklore: a world being decimated by war and commercial exploitation. “My work is inspired by the contrasts between historical African traditions and contemporary African society. I adopted a contemporary approach to the preservation of the symbolic references and heritage of African folklore,” says van Rensburg. One of Africa’s richest cultural assets is the use of masks and symbols to express exhilaration and happiness but also to instil fear and awe.Van Rensburg’s designs are infused with subtle references to archetypal African symbols and express in a fresh modern form an exciting perspective on this remarkable continent’s diverse culture.

‘The Sleeper Awakes’ 1000x1000mm acrylic on canvas

‘Tsikona (Royal Dance)’ 1000x1000mm acrylic on canvas

‘Ancestral Links’ 1400x700mm acrylic on canvas

‘Cultural Offering’ 700x700mm acrylic on canvas

cultural contrasts 16 October – 16 November 2011

This solo exhibition presents the work of well-known Pretoria-based artist, Willie van Rensburg. The title of the show makes references to the contrasts of historical African traditions and contemporary African society. Inspired by these elements, the artist applies masks and symbols in his work with bold design and colour, in order to establish a contemporary approach to the preservation of the symbolic references and heritage of African folklore. Opening: Sunday, 16 October 2011 @ 11h00. Guest speaker: Pieter van Heerden, Director of the Association of Arts Pretoria. Opening hours: 10h00 – 18h00 daily. Preview by appointment | Curator: Carina Bekker The Restaurant at Grande Provence For reservations: T+27 21 867 8600 F +27 21 876 8601

cultural contrasts Willie van rensburg

Main Road Franschhoek PO Box 102 Franschhoek 7690 Western Cape South Africa + T 27 21 876 8600 F +27 21 876 8601 gallery@grandeprovence.co.za www.grandeprovence.co.za

ARTLife | GALLERY SHOW REVIEW / SIMON JONES. CAPE GALLERY

Simon Jones

The discreet charm of an eccentric artist

By Lloyd Pollak Ever since Simon Jones’ debut nearly three decades ago, art lovers have been held spell-bound by his oneiric world of still, silence and enigma, a world poles apart from that of any other South African artist. Simon, who is British by birth, forms part of the glorious tradition of English eccentricity, like Lawrence Lowry and Sir Stanley Spencer. An inveterate odd-man-out and tearaway, Simon is also an impassioned exponent of pittura metafisica, an artist steadfastly committed to man’s perennial search for the timeless, universal principles that determine his relationship with himself, his fellows, the deity and the cosmos. The term ‘metaphysical’ invokes that which transcends the physical and Simon’s painting is otherworldly in the most literal sense. It entirely bypasses the material plane in which we have our being, and evokes an invisible spiritual realm through symbol and metaphor. Simon is a mystic to whom time, space and matter are but an illusion concealing the fundamental, but indescribable, essence that underlies all reality. Only in altered states can man gain purchase on this bedrock of truth. There are modes of consciousness beyond normal experience that tear a rent in the veil of Maya allowing us to peer into the Beyond. At such moments one grasps the purpose and meaning of existence, intuits the nature of the universe, and knows - with a certainty that is absolute - that life extends beyond the grave. Ever since he first started painting as a five year old boy, Simon has always worked on the floor in a kneeling position identical to that in which postulants invoke the Deity. Thereby he seeks to become a channel allowing universal spiritual energies to take charge of his brush. To enlist their participation, he works without any predetermined plan, using music to distract the conscious mind and suspend its control. Reason and logic are lulled into quiescence, the left side of the brain goes into abeyance, and the painting dictates its own course. 50

‘Rhapsody in Melon’ is one such creation. Although the mysterious dark-glassed woman is visually challenged, the absence of vision has heightened the acuity of her remaining senses, and the taste of the melon, the scent of the orchids, the sough of the surf and the coolness of the spoon fill her with quiet rapture. The irony is that only the viewer can drink in the beauty of blossoms, sea and strand in this celebration of the five senses. The ‘blindness of sight’ is a recurring phrase in mystic literature describing our inability to perceive the splendor of God’s creation. The woman has triumphantly overcome this, and she is in the thrall of the ‘rhapsody’ of the title. It sets her mind a-dreaming of floating on the ocean, and her vision of her lilo-borne self reflected in her dark glasses exists only in her imagination, like the dog, towel, hat and umbrella waiting on the beach. Simon’s composition relies on the primary geometric configurations of spheres, ovals and cylinders. His pictorial structure is a cobweb of suave, ductile curves that proclaims no man is an island, and conveys the interconnectedness of phenomena and lives. The circular tabletop is mirrored in the circular seat, the yellow plate, the round vase, the umbrella, the hat and the orb of the melon which, in turn, reflects the shape of the woman’s breasts and her round, cylindrical neck, arms and trunk. Oval variations on the circle occur in the dark glasses, spoon, head and motifs in the vase. The sphere, a perfect geometric configuration, is a symbol of unity, harmony and integrity, and these felicitous associations permeate the painting. Cosmic arcs, redolent of planetary orbits and rainbows, and triangular wedges, reminiscent of sunbursts and rays of light, decorate the vase, and function as symbols of universal energies. They set up a beneficent current which flows upwards through the stalks of the flowers into the blossoms, coursing through the woman’s head, neck, shoulders, right arm and hand holding the spoon. This touches the vase, and thus closes the circuit. Visible brushwork, shadow and dark hues are eliminated in favor of flat planes of bright, unmodulated color which de-materialize the imagery, buoying it up with a strong anti-gravitational impetus. The weightless, floating forms and luminous palette make the scene a parallel to, rather than an imitation of, reality. Dewy and newly minted as the jungles of Douanier Rousseau, ‘Rhapsody’ distils a similar sense of marvel. Shimmering color, rollicking line and lilting rhythms charge strand, surf and sea with a heart-stopping beauty. We are ushered into an a ‘forest of symbols’. Simon’s preferred setting, the shoreline, is the meeting place of ocean, earth and sky; the site where the finite yields to the infinite, and the terrestrial morphs into the celestial. This is the threshold to the beyond, and thus a place of primal mystery.

Shore and sea stake out the psycho-analytical space in which man confronts the unconscious. In the scriptures, waters, springs and rivers signify truth, and in the paintings, the sea approximates to something like the Jungian collective unconscious. It represents a body of knowledge and memory common to all mankind. An upturned green boat rests on the shore. Like Casper David Friedrich’s ships, the vessel embodies the urge to escape earthly trammels and set sail for uncharted realms. It is a metaphor for the journey through life, and an emblem of death, for, like Charon’s barque, it is the means whereby the ferryman conveys the souls of the deceased. Simon’s turns his flowers into forces of nature animated by an irrepressible vitality that impels them to burst, like Jack-in-the-boxes, out of the vases which contain them. The blooms are far more than mere botanical specimens; they are conduits funneling the cosmic élan vitale into the woman’s dwelling which becomes a power-house of positive psychic energies. In ‘Confluence’ Simon reworks the motionless assembly of virgin and saints seen in the Renaissance sacra conversazione, portraying his cast locked in rapt mystic contemplation. Their withdrawal from the everyday invests them with a somnambular air as if they were operating on automatic pilot. In this state, they transcend the ego and surrender all its trappings, and their featureless apparel is the outward sign of this renunciation. Neither the foreground figure with closed eyes and blank expression, nor his companions, react to each other. Communication takes place sans words and sans gestures. Simon battens onto the triangle, a traditional Christian symbol of the Trinity, using it as an emblem of redemption in the broadest sense. It hovers in the sky, and the three figures are united in their aspiration towards it. Multiple trees of life form a sheltering grove. Their fan-vaulted branches reaching for the light recall the nave of a Gothic cathedral, and express man’s yearning for the light of revelation. The tree-lined avenue signifies our progress through this world. The leafless boughs intimate imminent spiritual rebirth, while the snaking roots reach out in sympathy for humanity. Migratory birds embody the certainty of reincarnation and act as tutelary spirits. The benches are the point of transit between this world and the next, and the winged creatures hover over the seated figures whose welfare they oversee. Bravely charting a lone course, Simon has set foot on undiscovered spiritual bourns where none of our other artists have ever yet trod. In this distant new found land Simon has carved out his own coherent personal world, a teeming archipelago of the mind bathed in a visionary radiance that is his, and his alone. SA ART TIMES. November 2011

Top: At the barre, Catnap, The last bather, Hikers Smitswinkel Bay, The Summerland idyll and The persistence of amnesia SA ART TIMES. November 2011

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

BUSINESS ART

BUSINESS ART | CITADEL LAUNCHES SA’S FIRST ART PRICE INDEX

Citadel senior strategist George Herman elaborates on details of the index and art investment

Citadel launches first SA art price index By Michael Coulson In a pioneering move lauded by most but criticised by some, wealth management firm Citadel has launched SA’s first index of SA art prices. The index has been calculated back to 2000 using the hammer prices (that is, the prices at which lots are knocked down, before buyer’s premium, tax or any other charges) provided by Actionvault of sales at what Citadel considered the six most reputable local auction houses – 5th Avenue Auctioneers, Ashbey’s Galleries, Bernardi Auctioneers, Russell Kaplan Auctioneers, Strauss & Co and Stephan Welz & Co – and Bonhams in London. Gallery sales are excluded, as not enough reliable information is available about gallery prices and volumes, but the index does cover not only paintings but also photography, sculpture and graphics. The index has been structured according to the advice of Citadel’s consultant, the economic advisory firm Econex. Because of the thinness of the local market, Econex considered that the methodology of probably the best known index, the Mei Moses index, of comparing prices when the same work is sold more than once, would not be appropriate. So-called naïve indices, which in effect track a basket of representative paintings, are also flawed. Econex thus recommended a so-called hedonic index, which without going into some terrifying mathematical equations uses regression analysis to adjust for all these considerations. On the basis of the number (not value) of works sold, Econex calculated the index for the 20, 50 and 100 top-selling artists over six-month periods (there wasn’t enough data for more frequent calculation, though Citadel hopes this may change) for that decade. It found that the three lines corresponded almost exactly, though obviously the bigger the sample, the better. It also closely tracked the JSE all-share index, though with a lag of about six months, which Citadel fiduciary special54

ist Alfie Bester tells me is only to be expected: unlike share prices, which are forward-looking, activity in the art market tends to lag the general economic cycle. Citadel says that many of its clients buy art, both for pleasure and as an investment class, and while the launch of the index is not meant as a recommendation to invest in art, for those who do, it will help determine the relative performance of art against other asset classes. It may also make timing decisions easier and – though Citadel does not stress the point – also allow art owners to gauge how specific artists have performed against the overall market. It’s undeniable that art is increasingly treated as an investment, especially at times like the present, when interest rates are so low and markets so volatile that some traditional investment vehicles have lost their attraction. But one of the problems of promoting SA art as an investment class has been the lack of any yardstick to measure the progress of the market. So it might be expected that the launch of an index that will help to fill this gap would be universally recommended. But not so: Mark Read, proprietor of the Everard Read Gallery, is particularly vocal, telling Business Day that the index “almost debases art…It can’t be reduced to the level of stocks and shares.” From a purist point of view, of course he’s right. Trouble is that,for many monied people, who are the ones that drive the market, art has already largely been reduced to the level of stocks and shares, albeit still with an (illusory?) aura of culture and superiority. Auction houses have certainly contributed to this, and it would be naïve to suggest that galleries have played no part. For these people, the index, which will be published gratis every six months, will be useful; the rest of the world is free to ignore it SA ART TIMES. November 2011

CITADEL LAUNCHES SA’S FIRST ART PRICE INDEX | BUSINESS ART

19 October 2011

MEDIA STATEMENT Art a serious asset class Investment in art has proved to be an excellent diversification strategy as this asset class can offer great returns over time, as shown by private client wealth manager Citadel’s Citadel Art Price Index (API) launched today. “As with any asset class included in the portfolios of serious investors, investment in art has experienced periods of volatility and at times are outperformed by the more traditional asset classes such as shares and bonds. Yet record prices achieved at auctions for South African art in recent years has shown that astute buyers and collectors can expect solid returns,” Citadel Head of SA Investments, George Herman, said at the launch of the Index in Johannesburg. According to the Index, developed for Citadel by leading independent economics consultancy, Econex, art prices achieved at auction tracks the JSE All Share Index quite closely over the period (since 2000, see graph). Both indices recorded large real returns from 2004 tot 2007, with negative real returns in the next few years. “This shows that both broadly follow the economic cycle,” Herman said. Hedonic API100, CPI and the JSE All Share Index

Source: Econex calculations

Compared to inflation (see graph below), the API100 and the JSE All Share index realised large nominal returns between 2004 and 2007 and negative returns in 2001 and 2009. The API has shown remarkably high real (inflation-adjusted) returns from 2004 to 2007, even compared to the JSE, especially when considering that art is not a pure investment, but a mixture of a consumption and an investment. There is a high correlation between the real returns of the JSE and the of the API. Yet, the returns have also been highly variable, with standard deviations of between 0.23 and 0.25. This implies that art has been a relatively highrisk investment strategy over the sample period, when measuring risk by the variance of returns.

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

BUSINESS ART | SA ART AUCTIONS / STEPHAN WELZ & CO JHB SALE PREVIEW

Stephan Welz & Co Johannesburg sale on the 15th, 16th &17th November 2011 Concluding the year with its sixth auction of Decorative & Fine Arts, Stephan Welz & Co (Pty) Limited will offer over 1000 lots in total for purchase in the Johannesburg salesroom on the 15th, 16th and 17th November 2011. A range of important artworks will come under the hammer in Sessions 4 and 5, where several of South Africa’s most influential artists are represented. Stanley Pinker’s resonant oil painting, THE BATHER (lot 825), displays a preoccupation with the formal language of painting and is infused with a characteristic sensuousness. Similar in tone, style, and reference to traditional African sculpture, this work can be easily likened to the concurrent NUDE ON A MAPOGGA BLANKET, acquired by the South African National Gallery in 1965. Used symbolically and in presentations of the interface between traditional and modern, the Ndebele matriarchal figure is a central and recurring image in Alexis Preller’s oeuvre, exemplified in lot 826, the graciously rendered NDEBELE WOMEN (R400 000 – R600 000). Lot 808, PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN WEARING A HAT; BIRD ON SHOULDER (R800 000 – R1 000 000), is a bold testament to Maggie Laubser’s passionate, sincere and highly individual approach to painting. Also featured are multiple solid offerings by celebrated artists Walter Battiss, Hugo Naude, JH Pierneef and Gerard Sekoto. Driven by Imre Lamprecht and Dr Fred Scott, Stephan Welz & Co (Pty) Limited has initiated an exciting new project that seeks to validate, frame and increase accessibility to contemporary art. Over 30 contemporary lots by established artists will be available. Original works by Deborah Bell, Norman Catherine, William Kentridge and Simon Stone headline a selection that creates opportunity for new buyers to step into the market. South African art is fast becoming a global phenomenon. New auction records and prices recently achieved for artworks by a number of South African artists, including Preller, Stern and Sekoto, have given gravity to the market. This year has also seen the launch of the Citadel Art Price Index, the first local index to officially anchor art as an asset class. Art advisory services to corporate and private clients are available through Stephan Welz & Co (Pty) Limited. Viewing Dates for Joahnnesburg November Auction: 11 November 10h00 – 17h00 12 November 10h00 – 14h00 13 November 10h00 – 17h00 For more information and details on walkabouts go to www.stephanwelzandco.co.za or contact 011 880 3125 or paintings@stephanwelzandco.co.za 56

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

SA ART AUCTIONS 2011 REVIEW | BUSINESS ART

Stephan Welz & Co. Cape Town results By Michael Coulson : Total sales for SA art in Stephan Welz’s auction in Cape Town last week of just under R8.7m were about 54% of the total low estimate of just over R16m, while by lot sales were just under 50%. The first, or afternoon, session of minor work was relatively the more successful, with 121 (51%) of the 236 lots selling, for just under R1.4m, about two-thirds the low estimate of about R2.1m, while in the evening 40 (44%) of 91 lots sold for about R7.3m, against the low estimate of R13.9m. There were no surprises in the first session, the top price (“hammer plus”) being only R33 600, which was shared by an Errol Boyley landscape (estimate R25 000-R35 000) and a view of Rondebosch hospital in the SA school, signed R V Crockett (est R12 000-R16 000). Of the top 12 estimates in the evening sessions, only four sold, but they did include the two most highly rated, both estimated at R1.2m-R1.4m. A Maud Sumner still life fetched R1.344m and a Freida Lock interior scene R1.232m. A Stanley Pinker Spanish landscape went for R896 000 (est R600 000-R800 000) and a Keith Alexander landscape for R448 000 (est R400 000-R600 000). Of the most represented artists, nine of the 12 Pierneefs sold, but the exceptions were the three most highly rated works. Only two of nine Gregoire Boonzaaiers, three of eight May Hillhouses, three of seven Francois Kriges and three of six Frans Claerhouts went, but more successful were Carl Buchner (five of seven), Walter Battiss (four of seven) and William Kentridge (four of six). The sale marked the end of the fine art auction year in Cape Town, so the focus has swung back to Jo’burg, where both major houses – Stephan Welz & Co and Strauss & Co – have sales scheduled within the next SA ADmonth. 2011 93 X 136 TP 21/10/11 13:32 Page 1 C

CY CMY

Glenn Brown’s thickly impastoed Little Death

Bonhams UK contemporary sale receives mixed results First published on www.artinfo.com Bonhams took a crack at the contemporary market Thursday afternoon and wound up with mixed results for its petite sale of 20 lots. Squeezed between two art fairs and a trio of auctions, the house sold a modest £2,042,700 ($3,200,360), with six lots failing to sell for a buy-in rate of 30 percent. The top-lot honors went to Glenn Brown’s thickly impastoed “Little Death” oil-on-panel from 2000 that sold to New York collector Adam Lindemann for £601,250 ($942,000) against an estimate of £700-900,000. The painting was backed by a guarantee. Martial Raysse’s Pop Art-era cover lot, an untitled 1963 painting featuring a powder puff and collage of a woman’s face, sold to a telephone bidder on a single knockout bid for £421,250 ($660,000) on a £350,000-450,000 estimate. Of the select over-achievers, Alice Neel’s commanding 1959 portrait “The Baron” hit £253,250 ($397,000) against an estimate of £150,000-200,000. Unfortunately, Bonhams’s most expensive lot, Alighiero Boetti’s massive “Anno,” a 12-part pencil-on-paper composition of hand-sketched magazine covers laid down on canvas, dating from 1984 (est. £1.2-1.8 million), failed to elicit a single bid. Bonhams took a financial hit, in that the house had partial interest in the work, having advanced the seller a certain cash advance sum. “It’s still a masterpiece,” said Anthony McNerney, Bonhams’s new head of contemporary art, said to sum up the sale moments after the difficult debut. SA ART TIMES. November 2011 Composite

BUSINESS ART | INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Warhol Authentication Board to Dissolve Due to Millions of Dollars in Legal Fees By Julia Halperin : First published in www.artinfo.com The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts announced today that it would “dissolve” the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board, Inc. in early 2012. The 16-year-old board, which has been charged with reviewing and authenticating artworks by the Pop artist, has been subject to criticism — and numerous lawsuits — for its questionable and controversial authentication practices. According to Warhol Foundation president Joel Wachs, the decision to do away with the board was informed by a “strategic review” of the foundation’s core programs and reflects the foundation’s “intent to maximize its grantmaking and other charitable activities in support of the visual arts.” The board will honor all requests for review received prior to October 19, but will no longer accept new submissions. Wachs told ARTINFO that the foundation’s decision was driven by the financial toll the board’s operations have taken on the institution has a whole. Consisting of five scholars and curators who meet three times a year to consider submissions, the board costs approximately $500,000 a year to operate. But it was the legal fees from lawsuits over works rejected by the board that ultimately made it untenable, according to Wachs. “I don’t want to spend $7 million a year on lawyers,” he said, referring to the amount paid by the foundation last year toward defending itself. Authenticating Andy Warhol has always been something of a tricky business, considering the sheer volume of the artist’s production, his appropriationbased methods, and, frequently, his degree of remove from the finished product. In 2007, London-based American Joe Simon filed a complaint challenging the board’s rejection of the authenticity of a 1964 Warhol self-portrait

he owns; collector Susan Shaer filed a parallel lawsuit in 2009. (Other owners who believe their alleged Warhols were unfairly rejected by the board include London dealer Anthony d’Offay, whose portrait was returned to him by the Tate after he included it in a gift of more than 230 other contemporary works to the museum in 2008.) Last year, the foundation made waves when it re-authenticated 100 Brillo boxes that maverick curator Pontus Hulten made in Sweden three years after Warhol’s death. The Shaer and the Simon cases against the foundation were dropped in 2010 due to a lack of financial resources on the part of the plaintiffs. But the foundation is also currently locked in litigation with its D&O insurer, with whom it is seeking coverage of its legal fees. Wachs said the lawsuit will proceed despite the dissolution of the authentication board. When asked who he thought would take charge of authenticating Warhols after the board’s dissolution, Wachs said the same process “used for all artists” — the vast majority of whom go without authentication boards — would be applied to Warhol. The foundation will continue to bear some influence over the Pop artist’s body of work with its catalogue raisonne. (Neil Printz and Sally King-Nero, the authors of the catalogue, were also on the authentication board.) Wachs had no comment when asked how the dissolution might influence the market for Warhols, which, according to an ArtTactic report, comprised 17 percent of the contemporary auction market in 2010. Still, some who disagreed with the practices of the foundation feel vindicated by the news. Seth Redniss, the New York lawyer who represented both Simon and Shaer in court, told ARTINFO, “There’s no need for a comment. The shutdown speaks for itself.”

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

When Dealers Make History:

Looking at the Traits That Make Gallerists Into Art Prophets By Kate Deimling, First published in www.artinfo.com France Richard Polsky’s new book, “The Art Prophets: The Artists, Dealers, and Tastemakers Who Shook the Art World,” which has just come out from Other Press, focuses on people with visionary abilities who, as he puts it, “snatched something out of the wind and conjured up a hurricane that redirected the art scene.” In this entertaining book of essays, Polsky has profiled ten of these “prophets” and the movements they helped launch during the last 60 years or so. An art dealer based in California and the author of “I Bought Andy Warhol” and “I Sold Andy Warhol (Too Soon),” Polsky has met many of those he writes about, and brings a wealth of professional experience to the task. Images of the artworks discussed would have enhanced the book, but Polsky’s inside information and chatty tone make for a stimulating read. Plus, any author who gives equal due to legendary Pop Art dealer Ivan Karp and comic book genius Stan Lee gets ARTINFO’s full attention. Here is our take on some of the essential qualities that can lead to art prophecy, as gleaned from the pages of Polsky’s book. According to Polsky, Jeffrey Fraenkel has a rare ability to communicate his love of photography to collectors, and his efforts helped to establish the photography market in the U.S. He became the first West Coast dealer for Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, and Lee Friedlander. “When Fraenkel started out, it was beyond comprehension that a photograph would someday sell for $100,000, let alone $1 million,” Polsky reminds us. “At the time he opened his gallery, a $5,000 purchase was considered a sale of substance.” Fraenkel got an early intimation of his keen eye in 1979 when he went to New York to bid on a trove of photos by the 19th-century photographer Carlton Watkins. Knowing that the rare find might launch a bidding war, he had acquired the financial support of an established dealer and was able to acquire the works for the then-outrageous price of $98,000. The next day, the New York Times published a story on the sale with the headline, “Spectacular Bidding Defeats the Met.” The 24-year-old had beaten out the most prestigious museum in America. COMMITMENT As a fifteen-year-old in New York, Louis Meisel broke his curfew to spot Ab Ex painters like Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline hanging out at the Cedar Tavern, and, later, scored a thankless job supplying Mark Rothko with art paper. Thankless, that is, until the gruff Rothko ordered him to “take one of those!” as payment for his services — “those” being his own paintings on paper. Meisel ended up gravitating toward a very different kind of painting: painstakingly realistic canvases inspired by photography. When a critic named Gregory Battcock asked him, “What are we going to call these guys?” Meisel coined the term “Photorealists.” Polsky describes Meisel as a maverick, dressing in blue jeans and cowboy boots at a time when dealers favored dark suits, and, most significantly, choosing to show nothing but Photorealist works in his gallery. He wrote three volumes on the movement, and is now working on a fourth, devoted to Photorealism in the digital age. VISION Joshua Baer is “the man most responsible for transforming classic Navajo blankets and Mimbres pictorial pottery from crafts to fine art,” Polsky writes. He realized that Native American objects had to be removed from cluttered bazaar-like shops in order to be taken seriously, so he displayed blankets like paintings and bowls like sculptures. And, in the realm of popular culture, Stan Lee had a vision that enabled comic books to grow beyond simple juvenile entertainment. For the first time, he had the artists develop the stories as they worked, instead of just following the writer’s instructions with no room to improvise. This allowed for more original art, complex plots, and genuine characters who spoke to readers on an entirely different level. SHOWMANSHIP When Tony Shafrazi took a can of spray-paint to Picasso’s “Guernica” at MoMA in 1974, the gesture horrified many in the art world, but he was able to take advantage of the resulting notoriety in his career as an art dealer. He displayed a more understated (as well as legal) kind of showmanship when, together with Swiss dealer Bruno Bischofberger, he put on a show of collaborative paintings by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1985. For the show, Shafrazi designed posters featuring the artists as boxers in the ring. The success of this show — which Polsky sees as inaugurating a new era of dealers playing the SA ART TIMES. November 2011

INTERNATIONAL NEWS | BUSINESS ART role of curators — means that Shafrazi’s name continues to be closely associated with that of Basquiat, even though he only put on one solo Basquiat show during the artist’s short life. According to art-world rumors, Shafrazi courted Basquiat but the Brooklyn-born artist was too repelled by his defacement of Picasso to sign on. MONEY The way to acquire recognition for a new kind of art usually comes down to getting people to buy it, so money validates and drives a lot of what art prophets do. Virginia Dwan — who is today largely forgotten — was an exception: both prophet and patron for the Land Art movement, she used her personal wealth as an heiress to the 3M company fortune to buy land for Robert Smithson’s “Spiral Jetty” and Michael Heizer’s “Double Negative,” and she also bankrolled Walter De Maria’s “Lightning Field.” Since it can’t be sold in a gallery, it’s hard to imagine that Land Art could have become a movement without the support of someone like Dwan to fund it. She believed in the artists’ visions and helped them to develop their projects. She also gave them a tremendous amount of freedom, only visiting the sites of “Spiral Jetty” and “Double Negative” once they were finished. AMBITION You’re not going to make a name for yourself — and perhaps change the art world in the process — without a healthy dose of ambition. Some art prophets seem to have an unhealthy dose, such as Tod Volpe, who, like Joshua Baer, used lighting and presentation to establish ceramics as an art form. Lured by a lavish Hollywood lifestyle, he later scammed other dealers and embezzled from actor Jack Nicholson, who had set up an art investment fund with Volpe as his partner and manager — making him a “prophet,” we suppose, of some of the more spectacular contemporary art fraudsters as well, like Lawrence Salander. Image: Pop Art dealer Ivan Karp is showcased in Richard Polsky’s book “The Art Prophets.” Photo by Melanie Eve Barocas / Courtesy of OK Harris Gallery

Vincent Van Gogh expert doubts accidental death theory A leading Dutch expert on Vincent Van Gogh has poured cold water on the theory put forward in a new biography that the Dutch painter did not kill himself but was accidentally shot. “Van Gogh: The Life”, by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, was published on Monday, and media coverage has centred on its claim that Van Gogh may have been accidentally shot by two boys whom he then tried to protect. The painter, who suffered from depression, cut off part of an ear, committed himself to an asylum and is widely believed to have ended his own life at age 37. He died in 1890, two days after suffering a gunshot wound to his chest. Leo Jansen, curator at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, said there were still unresolved issues surrounding Van Gogh’s apparent suicide, including why the artist decided to kill himself and what happened to the gun which was never found. “Naifeh and Smith re-evaluate the known facts and present the hypothesis that two boys were involved in a mysterious incident that led to the fatal shot,” he said in a statement issued by the museum. Jansen called the theory “intriguing” but inconclusive. “The Van Gogh Museum ... believes that, all things considered, it would be premature to rule out suicide as the cause of death.” He added that the hardback, nearly 1,000 pages long, “represents a major contribution to our understanding of Vincent van Gogh’s life and work, with intriguing new perspectives.” 59

BUSINESS ART | INTERNATIONAL NEWS / OCCUPY WALL STREET

Read all about it: Chelsea Potter distributed the first issue of The Occupied Wall Street Journal near Zuccotti Park Saturday morning.

Occupying, and Now Publishing, Too By Colin Moynihan October 1, 2011, 1:52 pm Robert Stolarik for The New York Times Just before noon, Chelsea Potter stood on the corner of Broadway and Liberty Street holding a sheaf of newspapers and offering them to passers-by. “Excuse me,” she said to a man in a tan raincoat. “Would you like a copy of The Occupied Wall Street Journal?” The man accepted the paper without breaking stride then looked at it as he continued walking. Over the last two weeks, as people participating in a protest called Occupy Wall Street have called attention to what they say are inequities in the economic system, the ways in which news organizations have covered the protests have been a subject of hot debate. Some protesters have wished aloud for reporting more in line with their own conception of themselves. Now, they have their own newspaper. It debuted on Saturday with a print run of 50,000, after two independent journalists in New York started a campaign using the online fund-raising platform Kickstarter. “This movement has sometimes been misrepresented,” said Arun Gupta, 46, one of the two primary organizers of the project. “This paper is for the general public to let them know what is going on here.” The four-page broadsheet includes a story by Mr. Gupta headlined “The Revolution Begins at Home,” an essay by the former New York Times war correspondent Chris Hedges urging people to participate in the protests, and a “Declaration of the Occupation” approved at a meeting of protesters on Sept. 29. “There are no excuses left,” Mr. Hedges writes in a piece reprinted from the site Truthdig, where has a regular column. Either you obstruct, in the only form left to us, which is civil disobedience, the plundering by the criminal class on Wall Street and accelerated destruction of the ecosystem that sustains the human species, or become the passive enabler of a monstrous evil. Either you taste, feel and smell the intoxication of freedom and revolt or sink into the miasma of despair and apathy. Either you are a rebel or a slave. Mr. Gupta, and the other main organizer, Jed Brandt, 38, both have experience working on the Indypendent, a left-leaning paper that publishes about 16 issues a year and that Mr. Gupta co-founded 11 years ago. The two men opened an account on Kickstarter on Thursday, Mr. Brandt said, describing the paper as a public art project. Within eight hours, he said, they had raised more than $12,000. The papers were printed Friday night in Long Island City, Queens, and delivered to Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan, where protesters have been camping, on Saturday morning. There, the papers made their way to people like Ms. Potter, 20, from Augusta, Ga., who said that she had come to New York to join to protests because she believes that corporations have all but taken over government.“We need a different world,” she said. Papers were distributed to protesters and nonprotesters. Somebody tucked a copy into the arm of J. Seward Johnson’s “Double Check,” a life sized bronze statue of a businessman looking into a briefcase that sits on a granite bench in the park. One of the nonprotesters who accepted a paper was Veronica Cook, 19, from Groton, Conn., who was visiting New York with her husband, Steven Cook, who is in the Navy. Ms. Cook said that she did not know much about the protesters or their objectives, but said she would take a look at the paper she had been handed. “At least they are not just shouting in a corner,” she said. “Making a newspaper is a good way to try to get a message out.”

Occupy Wall Street (OWS), the Manhattan sector of a growing international protest movement-in-the-making, has already seen a few famous musicians drop by including Lupe Fiasco and Kanye West. It’s also being used by some musicians to promote their music, including an artist called Penguin Prison that took a previously released song and repurposed it for OWS. But is it really a good idea to use social movements for music marketing? High profile visitors to Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, where the New York contingent of the Occupy movement is based, have included Lupe Fiasco, who has been very supportive and even donated tents, and Talib Kweli, who performed and encouraged park occupiers to keep it going. These appearances fit both artists’ identities as politically minded performers who stand with their fellow citizens rather than with representatives of political parties. Kanye West also made a brief, well-publicized walkthrough with Russell Simmons, apparently keeping his gold chains on and saying little to nothing with, for the most part, a somewhat clueless and defensive facial expression. In a bizarre misreading, many in the media called this an endorsement of the movement on Kanye’s part, not recognizing that it was simply another example of Russell Simmons playing consciousness educator with a clueless superstar. All these guys are playing their expected roles and don’t seem especially likely to be making money off their manuevers but what can you say about a musician who takes a previously released song about a personal relationship, claims it’s related to OWS and uses that to publicize himself as he heads to Zuccotti Park to use the protest as a background for his music video? The claim was even made that this lightweight track by Penguin Prison, “Don’t Fuck With My Money”, is “already becoming the anthem for this movement!” Music journalist and Occupy participant Justin Hampton blogged in response, “fuck Penguin Prison and fuck them using this as a means to market their hipster bubblegum.” Stars do what they do but the question of whether or not up and coming artists should align themselves with social movements while also marketing music is one well worth considering. I’m very interested in what Hypebot readers have to say about this, but here’s my quick take: 1) If you have a history of creating political art and expressing your take on social issues then participating in emerging movements with high media visibility is simply part of that process. Truly political artists tend to be embraced by protestors and, even if they’re not well known, provide inspiration for the difficult task of social change. 2) If you have no history of such involvement but you find yourself wanting to learn more about a movement that seems to be expressing something you believe, then becoming involved and even publicly endorsing a political perspective can be a positive move. It may inspire new work and it will let people know that you may have more depth than previously recognized. Of course, it may also polarize fans who have embraced you because they dig your sound without having to hear lyrics that conflict with their politics. 3) If you have no history of such involvement and think taking a stance would be a great way to build your profile and sell some music, then you should seriously reconsider what it means to attempt to manipulate the dreams and desires of human beings struggling to create change. That said, if you’re cool with manipulating people, go right ahead because it’s most likely to make you look like a fool and deservedly so. I’d say that’s what’s happening with Penguin Prison and it’s well deserved. Bottom line, if you want to give your support to a social movement in which you believe, go for it. If you see it as an opportunity to get some cheap publicity, as a wise man once said, “you better check yo self before you wreck yo self.” What do you think? Is Occupy Wall Street fair game for music marketing? This story appears courtesy of HypeBot. Copyright © 2011. All rights reserved.

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

OCCUPY WALL STREET / INTERNATIONAL NEWS | BUSINESS ART

Russia Drops Charges Against Voina for Flipping Cop Cars — Prompting a Lawsuit From the Anarchist Collective Courtesy of pregero via Flickr Voina founders Oleg Vorotnikov and Natalia Sokol By Andrew M. Goldstein Published: October 21, 2011 Courtesy of VICE Voina’s Oleg Vorotnikov and Leonid Nikolayev were arrested last November for flipping a cop car. The Russian anarchistic art collective Voina earned worldwide notoriety last November when, for a public performance piece called “Palace Revolution,” members of the group overturned police cars that were parked on the street in St. Petersburg — at least in one case with an officer reportedly inside. Two artists, Leonid Nikolaev and Oleg Vorotnikov, were arrested and held for months in brutal conditions, prompting Banksy to help bail them out. Now, suddenly, Russian police have dropped charges against Voina for the policecar-overturning action. And Nikolaev is suing them for damages, according to the Moscow Times. SA ART TIMES. November 2011

The Voina member is accusing the government of “unjustified prosecution,” seeking a currently unspecified amount in damages, announced Agora, the organization which is representing Nikolaev. This isn’t the first time Nikolaev has made a legal push-back against Russia — after his original release from custody in 2011, he filed a complaint of wrongful arrest with the European Court of Human Rights. The current suit is accompanied by a statement from the group published in Russian on their Web site. In an essay, published on the English version of Voina’s Web site, that explores Russia’s 2011 “protest scene,” Nikolaev explains that the real dissidents don’t act openly anymore in the way that Voina so visibly did earlier in the group’s career. “All the activists have gone deep under the surface,” he writes “Perhaps this is what’s giving you an impression of peace and calm, but the impression is false.” 61

Nushin Elahi’s London Letter

Gerhard Richter is an artist probably best known for his photo realism with

Unifying them is Richter’s fascination with chance and clarity, which has led to an interplay between the figurative and abstract all his life. Born in East Germany, Richter came to the West in the early Sixties and began painting hyper realistic portraits of Western consumerism, which would then be smudged. His works asked provocative questions about Germany’s Nazi history, from paintings of air raids, bombed cities and proud uncles in SS uniforms to the series in the late Eighties of the Baader Meinhof gang lying dead. The early black and white work became a bleak monochrome grey in the late Seventies and then exploded into a riot of colour. Although much of the colour is often covered over with white in his late works, it still is revealed below. His method of dragging a squeegee across these huge canvases with multiple layers of paint creates fascinating patterns of texture and colour. The retrospective includes some of his colour charts, as well as a huge realistic blow-up detail of a line on a painting that all who saw it assumed was a print.

His use of photography to explore painting was also on view at the Frieze Art Fair in Regent’s Park, where the most expensive work on the fair was from a series called Strip by Richter, a photographic blow-up of stripes of colour from an original abstract. Berlin-based artist Tacita Dean’s beautifully simple gravure prints hung alongside this, while her installation in the Tate

Modern’s Turbine Hall, called Film (until 11 March 2012) is an ode to a dying art form. Film, as she says, is something you can cut and splice, not the digital that has almost entirely replaced it. Rather too delicate for that cavernous space, it isn’t as exciting as many previous exhibits there.

its “trademark blur”, but as this powerful retrospective at the Tate Modern (until 8 January) demonstrates, he is an enormously varied artist who doesn’t allow for easy tags. There are realistic, often small images, tender, beautiful and very detailed, and then there are huge abstract canvasses which are incredibly tactile, revelling in the texture and colour of the paint, leaving to chance what is revealed and what obscured. That blur may also not be so trademark after all. A candle similar to the one that sold for £10 million at Christie’s last month has a distinctive soft focus, but in an early work such as Desk, it is a swirl of grey that disfigures the centre of the painting. In his homage to Duchamp, Nude Descending the Staircase, the lines of the stairs bleed into the upright figure of Richter’s wife. In the multiple glass panes of recent work, the blur is the distortion of the viewer’s own image reflected back to him. The sweep of this stunning retrospective, which is subtitled Panorama, points out how these seemingly disparate strands come from a single whole.

Images: Top: Viewers at Gerhard Richter’s Strip at Frieze art fair, Below: Gerhard Richter Betty 1977, Gerhard Richter Reader 1994, Top Right: Landy’s magical credit card destroyer, (Below) A stall at Frieze Art Fair 2011, Our Mother by Grayson Perry, Degas: Dancer: Fourth Position Front on the Left Leg and Edgar Degas: The Rehearsal 62

SA ART TIMES. November 2011

The Frieze Art Fair was a depressing reminder of how the art market is dominated by money and hype, rather than the sizzle of creativity. Some artists took a cheerful swipe at that though, with wild and wacky exhibits. For sheer entertainment value there wasn’t much to beat Michael Landy’s credit card destroyer. A huge magical contraption, it drew enormous crowds with its noisy clanging as another card shattered into silvery pieces on the floor. An Austrian stall was laid out as an entire Sims-computer game design, the whole

thing for sale, while a goat in the style of Rodin’s Thinker, a tatty door ajar in the middle of the park, a deer trussed up in a tree and a bright pink knotted phallic-looking work all vied for attention. It’s hard to make an impact on a show like this, but if there was a theme it was the use of ephemeral, whimsical materials that may otherwise have landed in a bin – bits of typewritten paper, old posters, chiffon with safety pins, badges, dressing up clothes, book covers, a collection of red computer mice from Russia and even a till receipt, reproduced as a huge tapestry.

‘Don’t look too hard for meaning here’, warns Grayson Perry at the start of his British Museum exhibition, Tomb for the Unknown Craftsman. And when faced with a 50-year-old teddy bear named Alan Measles, his patron saint and guide, one is inclined to dismiss this as hype and walk on. Perry caught the public eye as much with his cross-dressing as winning the Tuner Prize some years ago, and is often seen in blonde wig and frilly skirts. But this is an intriguing show if only for what he hauls out of the museum’s store cupboard. More than once one goes up to a piece thinking this is a modern Perry work, only to find it dates back a century or two. He has chosen artefacts with a humorous theme, and his take on what becomes enshrined as culture is intriguing. Sometimes the teddy bear theme is tiresome, but much of the work he has created using the treasure-trove of the British Museum stores takes its place with validity alongside other originals.

The name Edgar Degas conjures up images of horses and ballerinas. The Royal Academy’s Degas and the Ballet – Picturing Movement (until 11 Dec) gets rid of any saccharine by exploring the avant garde nature of Degas’s fascination with an art form that was almost impossible to capture before the moving picture. One has a sense of being a voyeur, as he depicts the rehearsal room, capturing dancers as they huddle in corners, or practise at the bar. The sense of a true life snapshot is heightened by his truncating bodies and limbs, and in the early work, the large expanse of floor area. In the later oils the focus is more directly on the dancers themselves, bursting with colour and energy as they prepare to leap onstage or collapse exhausted backstage. Drawing parallels with the progress of photography and Muybridge’s work, amongst the most interesting displays are the drawings collected to show how Degas drew every angle of his iconic 14-year-old dancer, and a series of bronzes that have been collected from around the globe which together become the liquid movement of a dancer’s arabesque. SA ART TIMES. November 2011

Whirlwind | 1980s | Mixed Media on Paper | 60 x 80 cm

Stellenbosch

Nel Erasmus Review

26 October 2011 - 1 March 2012

Cape Town

Jake Aikman Proximity

13 October 2011 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 30 November 2011

s t e l l e n b o s c h m o d e r n a n d c o n t e m p o r a r y a r t g a l l e r y 1st Floor, De Wet Centre, Church Street, Stellenbosch | Tel: 021 887 3607 | www.smacgallery.com | info@smacgallery.com