ART Zandile Tshabalala, Thinking ‘bout you, 2019, Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the artist 2020SEPTEMBERHOME SOUTH AFRICAN OWNER WELCOME HOME INFORMED • INNOVATIVE • INSPIRED The New, New Normal. Insights. Collecting.
SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 202022 “MY WORK WHICHTHEREFLECTIVEISOFSOCIETYINILIVE.” – TAY DA LL 1 2 3 ART TO EMOTIONALSTIMULATEMAGIC HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER, TAY DALL’S ARTWORKS REFLECT THE SOUTH AFRICAN CULTURE AND PORTRAY VARYING LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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uilding on a reputation established in the United States, Michaelis graduate Tay Dall is one of South Africa’s leading contemporary artists. Her work has been shown in more than 90 exhibitions, is prized by thousands of international collectors and is represented by more than 30 galleries. It can be found in numerous private and corporate collections including De Beers, Lovemore & Co., Swiss Re, Victoria and Alfred Hotel, Decimax Ltd. and pop star Pink among others. Dall often draws from nature, trying to project a feeling of “inner truth, inner rhythm”, which might be inherent in her subject, but not obvious to the naked eye. “It is this very notion of seeing beneath or allowing one’s own inner voice to comment on what one sees that encourages me to manipulate my own vision onto the canvas and allow the viewer more room for individual interpretation,” she says.
Questioned on whether or not she thinks her work is relevant to the South African community, Dall responds: “I believe I am a voice that expresses the way I see the community around me. As an artist, my work is reflective of the society in which I live. I feel and experience South Africa and this consciously and subconsciously penetrates my work. Even though my work is generally abstract, I am still portraying different levels of consciousness that may be obvious in some instances and esoteric in others. All aspects are a direct reflection of projection of the South African culture and community, as they make everyone feel and think about the relevant energies, tensions, moods and realities inherent in South Africa.” Her artistic repertoire includes her substantial and impactful oil paintings, unique window and door works, floor pieces, smashed glassworks, photographic collage and metal bas relief assemblage works and any other unusual material she can find and turn into a masterpiece. “Every surface is unique and this affects the final artwork,” she says. “I tend to disregard conventional surfaces. Castaway items hold a realm of possibilities beneath my brush and elicit an ironic truth about my sense of natural beauty.” Utterly unique, her work is ‘pure genuine soul’. She paints for the purest pleasure of creation, using line and colour to create an illusion of continuous movement, hoping to stimulate excitement, drama and emotional magic in the imagination of the viewer. Experience the art and Tay Dall’s philosophy at www.taydall.com, email tayd@hermanus.co.za, phone + 27 72 116 9029, instagram @tay.dall
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1. Windswept Riverflow (3165), Oil on canvas, 90cm x 245cm.
2. Prescience Wave (3129), Oil pastel, acrylic on canvas, 200cm x 200cm.
3. Tay in Studio. 4. On The Otherside (3334), Acrylic on canvas, 100cm x 100cm 5. Eruption (2997). Acrylic on canvas and board, 180cm x 80cm. “EVERY SURFACE IS UNIQUE AND THIS AFFECTS THE FINAL ARTWORK.” – TAY DALL
UNCHARTED TERRITORY
In this issue of ART we take a tentative look at how the art world has been coping, adapting and reinventing models of working. As with most sectors, the art world has got onboard the rush to embrace technology and online platforms. But what is lost and what is gained by this move into the hitherto uncharted territory of virtual space? upshot of the art world going online is a radical shift in accessibility and the opportunity for previously excluded or marginalised voices to be heard. Leiman Editor Turn a house into home with art Browse. Click.
Contributors Jessica Hunkin, Nicola Kritzinger, Dave Mann, Nkgopoleng Moloi, Robin Scher Copy Editor Nicci Collier Content Co-ordinator Vanessa Payne Digital Editor, Business Media Mags Stacey Visser Onlinevissers@businessmediamags.co.zaEditor,SAHomeOwnerShereen Lurie shereenl@sahomeowner.co.za
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DESIGN Head of Design Jayne Macé-Ferguson Design Team Mfundo Archie Ndzo, Lesley-Ann van Schalkwyk Advert Designer Bulelwa Sotashe
FROM THE EDITOR PUBLISHED BY A proud division of Arena Holdings Hill on Empire, 16 Empire Road (cnr Hillside Road), Parktown, Johannesburg, 2193 PO Box 12500, Mill Street, Cape Town, 8010 Tel: +27 21 469 www.sahomeowner.co.zawww.businessmediamags.co.za2400 EDITORIAL Editor Layla Leiman Content Manager Raina Julies rainaj@picasso.co.za
The global pandemic has had a devastating effect on the art world both locally and around the world. Artists’ livelihoods have been thrown into peril and galleries have been struggling to stay afloat with traditional in-person avenues for viewing and purchasing art closed. While some businesses have sadly shut their doors permanently, others have found new ways of connecting and staying connected with their audiences and collectors.
Layla
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Collect: How to buy art online 23 Disruptions and possibilities: How is the art world adjusting to the new normal? 26 How lockdown has proven the viability of online auctions 32 Price vs. value: What’s the difference? 38 Interview: Stefan Smit 44 One to watch: Zandile Tshabalala contents HOME SOUTH AFRICAN OWNER WELCOME HOME INFORMED INNOVATIVE INSPIRED SALES Project Manager Merryl Klein merrylk@picasso.co.za | +27 82 8957260 PRODUCTION Production Editor Shamiela Brenner Advertising Co-ordinator Monique Sauls SA Home Owner Circulation Philile Mathebula phililem@sahomeowner.co.za MANAGEMENT Management Accountant Deidre Musha Business Manager Lodewyk van der Walt General Manager, Magazines Jocelyne Bayer Copyright: Picasso Headline. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for unsolicited material. SA Home Owner Art is published by Picasso Headline. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Picasso Headline. All advertisements/advertorials have been paid for and therefore do not carry any endorsement by the publisher.
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SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 20206 EACH OF THE ISRAELI ARTISTS REPRESENTED AT THE GALLERY HAS A UNIQUE STORY AND ARTISTIC PATH. MISS D. GALLERY, AN ISRAELI ART GALLERY, ENABLES YOU TO PURCHASE YOUR ARTWORK DIRECT FROM THE GALLERY AND HAVE IT DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME FROM THE GALLERY WALL TO YOUR FRONT DOOR
The gallery’s clients are located across the globe and enjoy door-to-door shipping.
Once you’ve contacted the gallery and received all the information you require and then decided to purchase your favourite artwork, the acquisition process is very easy – either by credit card transaction by phone call (except American Express) or by wire transfer. You will be emailed an invoice to complete with your details. Once the completed form is returned and payment received, your selected artwork will be shipped for delivery to you. Shipping takes around 5–10 days, but sometimes a little longer. Miss D. Gallery will remain in contact with you during this time until the artwork arrives safely at your home.
3. A Women Like That, Aluminum base and wooden frame, 136 x117 cm. Painting by Michael Waizman
1 2 3 1. Love Is Our Lif e, Aluminum base and wooden frame, 146 x116 cm. Painting by Michael Waizman 2. Love, Aluminum base and wooden frame, 146 x116 cm. Painting by Michael Waizman
Contact Miss D. Gallery via email info@miss-d-gallery.com phone +972 549 766 555 or WhatsApp
Shipments are made through DHL and Miss D.Gallery’s highly experienced courier, whose team creates a custom protective crate for every piece shipped. Each shipment includes insurance.
Miss D. Gallery is a high-end Israeli fine art gallery located at the front of the luxurious Dan Tel Aviv Hotel in the heart of Tel Aviv, Israel. Each of the Israeli artists represented at the gallery has a unique story and artistic path, offering artworks combining diamonds to artworks on aluminium with a wood frame.
The gallery believes... that your home is your kingdom. After a long day at work, nothing compares to returning to your private personal place to rest and relax. Miss D. Gallery believes that art adds light, colour, and calmness to our lives. Art is fun to wake up to in the morning and fun to return home to after a long day.
ADVERTORIAL SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 2020 7
DOOR TO DOOR SERVICE
SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 20208 A WELL CURATED ART COLLECTION CAN TURN A HOUSE INTO A HOME, WRITES JESSICA HUNKIN. SHE SPEAKS WITH TWO EXPERTS TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE AESTHETIC VALUE OF ART ART HOMEAT 1
1. Sandile Zulu, Lake SiteRefelection at the Base of the Mountain of the Moon, 2017, Fire, water, air, earth on canvas. Courtesy of Mak’Dct Art Advisory 2. Sandile Zulu, Body & Soul, 2016. Courtesy of Mak’Dct Art Advisory 2
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SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 202010 3 “IF YOU ARE TRUE TO YOUR STYLE AND TASTE, IT WILL MANIFEST ITSELF IN WHATEVER YOU ACQUIRE.”
Yaniv Chen, meanwhile, is a long-time art lover himself and founded the interior-architecture studio Master in 2017 with the purpose of creating spaces that feel warm, personal and sacred.
CURATING A COLLECTION
The volume of art available today from which to choose can easily cause one to leap from feeling sheer excitement to completely overwhelmed. Molebatsi speaks to passion as a guiding influence. “Acquire what you love and resonate with,” she“Ifadvises.youare true to your style and taste, it will manifest itself in whatever you acquire. This will be reflected in the integration of design, decor and art in the home you create, giving it a certain allure and charm that’s consistent with your character.” In this way, cohesion happens naturally. “An art collection should reflect the personality and character of the individual, be it classic or contemporary, vibrant or contemplative, lavish or reserved, bursting with colour or monochromatic, traditional or avant-garde,” says Molebatsi.
– MAKGATI MOLEBATSI
THE PURPOSE OF ART Though it certainly amplifies the aesthetic of a home, it would be reductive to think of art in terms of decoration only. “Art enhances the ambience in a home,” explains Molebatsi. “It should not be acquired as decoration, but to enrich the liveability of a “Aspace.home can boast beautiful interior design and furniture, but devoid of art to lift its spirit, it will feel unenergised and desolate.” According to Chen, it is the emotive properties of art that help a house feel like a home.“Artsimultaneously portrays a sense of who you are and gives you a sense of self,” he says.
3. Interiors by Yaniv Chen of Master Studio. 4. Makgati Molebatsi, founder of Mak’Dct Art Advisory. Photo by Jodi Bieber
In sharing their insights and advice, Makgati Molebatsi and Yaniv Chen draw on both their personal and professional experience at the intersection of art and interior spaces. An avid art collector, Makgati Molebatsi founded the independent advisory service Mak’Dct in 2016 to work with individuals and corporations on art acquisition and collection management.
ART AT HOME SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 2020 11 “AN ART ANDTHESHOULDCOLLECTIONREFLECTPERSONALITYCHARACTEROFTHEINDIVIDUAL.” – MAKGATI MOLEBATSI4
SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 202012 “I ALWAYS STRONGLY ADVISE CLIENTS AGAINST BUYING ART FOR THE SAKE OF FILLING A SPACE.” – YANIV CHEN
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TAKE YOUR TIME
The more time you take to onehave.collectionrapportpurchases,considerthemoreyourartislikelyto“Ratherbuypiecethanmany.
TIPS FOR PRESENTATION “Various works lend themselves to different framing,” notes Chen. “A good framer will always be able to point you in the right direction.” Molebatsi’s guidance follows suit. “When framing an artwork, always have a conversation with the framer, oftentimes involving the artist if possible. Consult, consult, consult.” She adds, “A frame and an artwork should not compete for visual impact. The star is the artwork, not the elaborate frame.”
I always strongly advise clients against buying art for the sake of filling a space,” shares Chen. “When you see something that you really like, spend ample time looking at the piece. “You’re going to live with it for the rest of your life and it really is something you need to relate to. A collection is something that happens over the course of one’s lifetime. It’s not something to be achieved overnight.”
If budget is an issue, don’t be shy to enquire about payment plans – many art dealers and galleries offer these. “A smaller budget should not be a hindrance from acquiring art,” Molebatsi reassures. “Prints, which come in editions, are more accessible and affordable. Unique artworks, like paintings by early career artists whose pedigree is not yet established, are also affordable. In this regard, buy what appeals to you, an artwork that will still bring you joy years later.” If budget is not an issue, you can move beyond buying art to fill up your home to becoming a patron.
“Think carefully about what motivates you to acquire art,” advises Molebatsi. “While remaining true to your taste, educate yourself about the artwork and the artist; their style, technique, execution and career trajectory. Take a deeper interest with each artwork to become a discriminating buyer.”
CONSIDERING BUDGET
5. Interiors by Yaniv Chen of Master Studio. 6. Yaniv Chen of Master Studio. 6 5
THE INTERNET BRINGS THE ART WORLD TO YOU, OFFERING OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW AND SEASONED COLLECTORS ALIKE, WRITES DAVE MANN The need for social distancing has normalised the process of viewing and purchasing fine art via online platforms. It’s also likely that these methods are here to stay and, in the post-pandemic future, will operate alongside traditional brick-andmortar galleries and art dealerships. Here are a few online platforms worth visiting if you’re hoping to browse or buy South African art.
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ART GAZETTE Art Gazette is a contemporary, curated catalogue of South African artworks that provides art to public and corporate collections and spaces, as well as personal collectors. Art Gazette assists predominantly young artists in creating smallscale works or series to sell. All artworks in their inventory are purchased directly from the artists, meaning no agents, no pre-sale consignments, and less admin. If you’re wanting to decorate a space with a cohesive body of work, or if you’re keeping an eye out for the kind of bespoke artworks you won’t find in a gallery, such as studies or process pieces, you’ll be able to find both on Art Gazette. www.artgazette.com >
COLLECTBrowse,click,
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1. Mia Chaplin, Acid, 2019, Acrylic on munken. Courtesy Art Gazette. 2. Mia Chaplin, Flowers Stolen Back, 2019, Acrylic on munken. Courtesy Art Gazette.
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SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 202016 3 3. Rodan Kane Hart. Courtesy Apartment Bound. 4. Jared Ginsburg. ApartmentCourtesyBound. 5. Marlene Steyn. Courtesy Apartment Bound.
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While Apartment Volumes operates as a salon-style exhibition project exploring the intersection of living space and commercial art practice, Apartment Bound provides a digital commercial platform for artists via Instagram. The account provides art-buyers with quality images and details of artworks, as well as brief bios and insights from the artists themselves. Painters, printmakers, photographers, sculptors and more make up their stable of artists.
“The audience on Instagram is naturally a bit younger than our usual collector groups for Apartment Volumes,” says co-founder Josh Meltz. “The collectors of emerging artists tend to be younger as the works are more approachable in their price points.”
Purchasing an artwork is as simple as sending the account a direct message about the work in question, and taking it from there.
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APARTMENT BOUND
www.instagram.com/apartment.vol/ >
BUYING ART ONLINE SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 202018
While online auctions are nothing new, the format of publicly bidding on and purchasing artwork online has proliferated in recent times. For beginner buyers, Instagram is the place to go. Artworks are available to bid on over a few days, with bidding taking place in the comments section of each post. Many of these auctions also offer up the proceeds of sales to charities, non-profits, or artist funds, a recent example being an Artists 4 Equity fundraiser which auctioned off local works for various charities and NGOs. For those with bigger budgets, local auction houses such as Strauss & Co and Aspire Art Auctions host regular online auctions of important modern and contemporary South African art.
ONLINE AUCTIONS AND SALES
STATE OF THE ART
6. Banele Khoza, Between us, 2020. Digital drawing. Courtesy BKhz Gallery 6 BK H Z APP Not letting a global pandemic get in the way, BKhz Gallery in Johannesburg was one of the first local galleries to offer 3D virtual exhibition tours, and have now follow this with the launch of their own BKhz app. Founder and director, Banele Khoza says that “the idea was to make engagement with art more accessible and convenient.” The new app allows buyers immediate access to current artworks on show and streamlines the effort and time required to make enquiries. With one click, potential buyers can connect with the gallery to express interest in an artwork they are potentially interested in purchasing. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=art.bkhz.shop >
Established in 2010, State of the Art is an online gallery offering a range of modern and contemporary local art. Users can browse by medium, price, subject, artist, and even commission an original work by an artist via the platform. www.stateoftheart-gallery.com
TIPS FOR BUYING ART ON INSTAGRAM
7 U NSUNG ART Founded in 2013 with the goal of making affordable, original South African art more accessible to both view and purchase, Unsung Art is a digital platform that deals primarily with paper and canvas works. Artists range from emerging to internationally renowned, and prices can vary from R350 to R3 500, making Unsung Art a great place for novice collectors or art enthusiasts to build up their collections.
Follow, follow, follow Follow local galleries, auction houses, individual artists, and relevant hashtags to get a better idea of the kind of art you’re looking to purchase, and from whom. Pay attention to the details. Make sure you’re familiar with the specs of the artwork (size, medium, date, and price) and the shipping and delivery options before making a purchase. Most accounts choose to list these details in the post’s caption. Read the rules. Different artists and art accounts go about selling art in different ways. Some ask you to reach out via direct message, others prefer you to follow a link to an online shop to make purchases. Make sure you read up on how to go about your buying by reading the info in their bio or Instagram highlights. Know your e-commerce. Some Instagram vendors who sell directly from their accounts (not via an online shop) might make use of online payment systems like PayPal or Venmo to manage their sales, while others are happy with EFTs and e-wallets. Brushing up on local and international e-commerce platforms can’t hurt.
7. Caitlin Mkhasibe, Planet Horizon. Courtesy Unsung Art.
Warren Bradley, who manages the technical elements of Unsung Art, explains that digital platforms often allow for a broader viewing experience for first-time buyers. “Our site is constantly updated with new work, and the home page displaying artworks is randomised so that every visit is a new experience,” he says. Their website also allows for specific browsing by way of subject, medium, price, or size. www.unsungart.co.za
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1. Crucified, Mixed media on paper, 68 x 64 x 4cm by Mandisi Mncela.
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ADVERTORIAL
Contact Thomarts Gallery, Unit U20G Morningside Shopping Center, Outspan Road/Rivonia Road, Morningside Johannesburg 2196, Tel 083 897 7802 GALLERY IS AN ARTISTOWNED VISUAL, CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY OCCUPYING A UNIQUE NICHE WITHIN THE WORLD OF ART ANDFRESH,INNOVATIVE,EXPERIENCEDPROFESSIONAL 1
Thomarts Gallery is distinguished by its functional and technical expertise combined with hands-on experience to ensure that clients receive the most effective and professional service. It also operates as an artist agent and the selection of artworks to be exhibited goes through stringent measures to cater for the gallery’s market.
MANDISI MNCELA ON EXHIBITION Mandisi Mncela, a Cape Town-based full-time artist, specialises in mosaic art and painting with the use of mixed media. Born in 1977 in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, Mncela studied visual arts at Community Arts Projects and thereafter worked at the Nyanga arts development centre facilitating school and afterschool programmes. In 2015, he obtained a three-year certificate in professional mosaic art at Spier Arts Academy in Cape Town. He specialises in portraits and figures with the use of the paintings that he designs for the mosaic outcome, a composition of his personal expression reflecting his inspiration of African history, spirituality, andThereligion.gallery’s current exhibition Imiyalezo Yabadala can be translated as “Messages From The Ancestors”. Mncela introduces the spiritual conversations, which he says come to him in his dreams when the physical form is put to sleep and his spiritual being comes alive, to which he has given facial and symbolic identities. His dynamic human forms are laced with spiritual messages, political, religious and racial connotations that breathe the significance of their ritualistic exuberance with intrigue and captivating admiration. Mncela’s works are best approached with an intent to be confronted by the ideologies of the artist and to engage with the artist’s spirituality through this body of work. The work gives away the subtleness and vulnerability of Mncela’s persona. The power of his Neo-expressionism romanticises the revelations of his bared soul and allows him to be a journalist who does not write but imagines text to form mingled with poetry.
Thomarts Gallery runs art workshops for both rural and urban based artists to enhance their raw techniques and improve their business skills. Its mandate is to bring a fresh, artistic, contemporary, innovative and an art-investment service to its art audience. The gallery’s goal is to exceed the expectations of every client by offering outstanding customer service, a professional image, greater value, strategic development in respect of commission with clients and career management of fine artists.
Mncela’s production and curation for this exhibition can only be summed up as a luminous initiation of our encapsulated personalities, which are intentionally kept tucked away. With an orchestrated guise of fear, Mncela speaks out on his canvasses about those muffled issues in our society that we most often avoid and hide away. Imiyalezo Yabadala is currently showing at Thomarts Gallery until 30 September 2020. Mbncela will also be holding a solo art exhbition during the RMB Turbine Art Fair, which has moved online for 2020.
THOMARTS
#STAYINGCONNECTED Our new normal has provided all of us the opportunity to think through and against traditional ways of existing and operating. Many institutions appear to have taken on the difficult challenge of sustaining connections with audiences during this time of disorder and instability. Two such examples are the Rupert Museum and the Norval Foundation, both in Cape Town. Through the #RupertMuseumChallenge on Instagram, the museum challenged audiences to post 2 photos recreating artworks by well-known artists such as painters Irma Stern and Maggie Laubser.
1. Owen Martin, chief curator at Norval Foundation. 2. The Rupert Museum in Stellenbosch. 3. Norval Foundation. 3 1
The new, new WHILE THE MOMENT WE’RE LIVING THROUGH IS UNDENIABLY FRAUGHT WITH ANXIETIES, IT ALSO PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY TO RETHINK WAYS OF EXISTING AND OPERATING, WRITES NKGOPOLENG MOLOI Within the landscape of galleries and cultural institutions – which have for a long time functioned as mediators between the artist and the public –we are slowly seeing a shift that is bringing with it a new vocabulary; a shift away from the opening nights in white-walled cubes towards the world of virtual reality exhibitions, online walkthroughs, viewing rooms and webinars.
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Robyn-Leigh Cedras-Tobin, director of the museum, explains the thinking behind such an activation: “The challenge is to contextualise our museum collections within history and simultaneously address our contemporary world. Social media and other online platforms provide the ideal space for engagement whether it be playfully or through critical exchange.”
The Norval Foundation, on the other hand, opted for something more educational with their #60SecondArt Instagram campaign featuring leading voices in the cultural sphere discussing one artwork from either the Foundation’s Homestead Art Collection or a recent exhibition for 60 seconds. With the lockdown “separating us from our audiences,” curatorial coordinator Vicky Lekone and chief curator Owen Martin explain, “we quickly began to think how we might overcome this gap. Museums, after all, exist for the audiences who use them but there’s no reason that this engagement must always happen in person.” For the #60SecondArt campaign, Lekone and Martin say they “encouraged each contributor to use broadly accessible language to give this initiative the widest possible appeal and build upon Instagram’s enormous popularity”.
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UNLIKELY COLLABORATIONS Without the burden of high travel costs and long flight times, it makes sense to see more cultural producers move towards collaboration. This is reflected in the number of webinars organised by various institutions and open to the general public. Art fairs such as the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, galleries such as Jenkins Johnson Gallery and museums such as the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa have all had their share of conversations –digitally bringing together various parties within the visual arts.
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CHANGING REALITIES SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 2020 25 COLLAPSING BORDERS
Thenjiwe Nkosi’s first solo exhibition with Stevenson Gallery; Gymnasium, went live through the app in March. Gallery director Lerato Bereng reflects on this unprecedented experience: “Working with Thenjiwe on her show in a moment when we were all feeling somewhat vulnerable and looking towards an unknown was really rather special. The experience was deeply personal as much as it was shared, Thenjiwe’s body of work held us all in that moment. Her rhythmic discipline whilst producing the work was really what my clock was set to so it made perfect sense that on the eve of the lockdown on 26 March, the opening night of her show, I sat on my balcony and she sat in her garden and we conversed to a setting sun knowing also that we were entering an unparalleled time.”
5 6 4. Thenjiwe Nkosi, Team, 2020, Oil on canvas. Courtesy of Stevenson. 5. Thenjiwe Nkosi. 6. Gladys Mgudlandlu, Xhosa Women Smoking Pipes, 1970, Gouache on paper. Courtesy of Norval Foundation.
The global pandemic has had the effect of breaking borders. Major exhibitions by international galleries were once out of reach and inaccessible for many, but can now be experienced digitally. Major galleries including Hauser & Wirth (which has nodes in Zurich, London, New York, Somerset, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Gstaad), Lisson Gallery (with locations in New York and London) and Goodman Gallery (Johannesburg, Cape Town and London) have either moved exhibitions online or created online programmes alongside traditional exhibitions. All of this is despite the difficulty of exhibiting art digitally, particularly in relation to works that are sculptural, tactile or immersive. Online programmes do not only exist in the formal sense. In the past few months, galleries have validated the effectiveness of Instagram as a tool through which to display art.
What will happen in a post-Covid-19 world remains to be seen. Will the industry return to its days of opening nights, international travel for art fairs, studio visits, symposiums etc., or will we all be content with experiencing our favourite artworks entirely through the screen? My sense is that the answer lies somewhere in between where digital offerings will function as an essential and useful companion alongside engagements IRL (in real life).
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March 2020 changed everything for South African businesses as companies moved from a central office to the homes of their workers and tried to continue to operate as smoothly as possible. South Africa’s modern and contemporary art auction houses were no exception, and luckily, they were no stranger to conducting some of their business online. Mary Corrigall of Corrigall & Co. Art Consultancy points out that although auction houses were reluctant to sell high-end artworks online before lockdown occurred, they are now successfully running all auctions online. Strauss & Co., for instance, recently sold online a 1953 Pierneef oil painting of a bushveld scene with its iconic trees for R10.2-million and a 1946 Stern forest scene for R8.5 million in a live virtual auction. We can also see high quality works coming to auction, for example the rare South African legacy painting, In the beer hall by Gerard Sekoto,
1. Mmakgabo Mmapula Helen Sebidi, Horse Spirit, 2008, oil on canvas. Sold by Strauss for R682 800. 2. Mary Corrigall of Corrigall & Co. Art Consultancy. 2
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FOR SOUTH AFRICAN AUCTION HOUSES, THE RESTRICTIONS ON PHYSICAL GATHERINGS HAVE PROVEN THE VIABILITY OF ONLINE AUCTIONS, WRITES NICOLA KRITZINGER
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ART AUCTIONS SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 202028 which has been deemed too significant to leave the country by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) and will go on sale at Aspire Art Auctions’ September auction. Strauss & Co. and Aspire already had their own successful online platforms in place before lockdown, while Stephan Welz & Co. had been selling art online through various platforms since 2018, making the transition for these firms smoother than it might have been otherwise. For second-tier auction houses like Russell Kaplan who have only recently moved online, Corrigall believes they should always have offered online auctions –“particularly as they sell lower-priced items on monthly sales, so for that auction house, this online shift is fundamental to the development of their business”.
“... FORMATS.”COMPELLINGTECHNOLOGIESDIGITALCANPRESENTARTINVIRTUAL – JACQUI CARNEY 3
Jacqui Carney of Aspire remarks on their online agility, present since the inception of their business and says, “While we may miss the excitement of the live auction environment, digital technologies can present art in compelling virtual formats.” “While we may miss the excitement of the live auction environment, digital technologies can present art in compelling virtual formats”. Luke Crossley of Stephan Welz & Co. says that the online bidding process has increased the appeal for many collectors and broadened their international audience for bidding. Strauss & Co. have had almost 40 successful “online only” auctions since 2013, and have fast-tracked their digital transformation which had already started in 2019. Executive director at Strauss & Co., Susie Goodman praises the fantastic accessibility that online auctions offer by “bringing the auctioneer into your home”.
3. Gerard Sekoto, In the beer hall, Aspire.
4 Corrigall notes that the online auction platforms provide accessibility to a larger audience and possibly new, younger buyers. She notes, however, that the high estimates for artworks are not being achieved, from which one may draw the conclusion that although people are buying, they are being conservative with their spend.
There have also been a number of innovative ventures from auction houses in their attempts to continue their busy education programmes and charity work. Aspire was integral to the Lockdown Collection auction which raised money for artists, and ran four other charity auctions too, for a variety of causes, with successful webinars accompanying the auctions. Carney also highlights Aspire’s new business section through which clients can engage in private sales of artworks.
For any business, one particularly helpful advantage to moving online during this difficult time has been the cost-effective nature of digital. Aspire plans to maintain their digital presence in the future, slowly re-introducing the physical realm as the world opens up, but things will never be the same for the business again.
4. Keith Alexander, The Boulder, 1988, oil on canvas. Sold by Strauss for R967 300
The sale of art can be a bit of a dry process, however, without the possibility of viewing the objects in person. Aspire says that they are working on compelling virtual exhibition spaces that will be available to clients before the end of the year. Strauss & Co., meanwhile, have been very active online, partnering with museums and other collections to broadcast their exhibitions overTheirZoom.4pm weekday lectures are drawing a larger audience than usual with 8 000 participants so far. According to Goodman, “One of the very tangible delights has been learning more about the creative economy we’re part of.”
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SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 202032 WHAT DETERMINES ARTWORK PRICING AND VALUE? ROBIN SCHER CONSULTS THE EXPERTS TO FIND OUT MORE 1 PRICE vs.VALUE
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In these times of uncertainty and economic volatility, deciding where to invest your money is tricky business. Finding the balance between risk and reward is crucial and comes down to being informed. Take art, for instance. As intimidating as it may seem for first-time buyers, investing in art is a great way to diversify your portfolio and if done wisely, can reap good returns. But what even is a “good return” when it comes to buying and selling art? To answer that question, it’s important to first understand what constitutes an art object’s value. >
1. Athi-Patra Ruga, The Sacred Versatile Queen and Autocrat of all Azania, wool and thread on tapestry canvas. Sold by Strauss & Co. for R739 700.
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3 4 “IF YOU MAKE A GOOD BUY, YOUR ART WILL APPRECIATE IN VALUE.”
Matthew Partridge, senior art specialist at Strauss and Co. auction house, adds precedent to that list. By going through the records of works traded on the secondary market, auction houses are able to fairly assess the value of a piece. “We have three objective criteria: an object of a similar size, similar subject matter and medium,” says Partridge. “The fourth subjective criteria is where it’s a good example of the artist’s productions.”Ininstances where an artist hasn’t sold yet on the secondary market, the auction house will determine value based on its current gallery price. “The secondary market estimates are always a bit less than what the gallery charges,” says Partridge. “That’s how we value new artists to market.”
“Artworks are unique, it’s not like, say, jewellery where with demand, you can expand the offer or supply,” says Walker. This particular quality of artwork is another key factor in determining value. At auctions, this dynamic is amplified if dealing with a rare example of an artist’s work, or if it hasn’t been seen on the market for a while. “There’s something about it being fresh in the market,” says Partridge. “People have that hungry desire to own something that’s unique.”
SECONDARY MARKET VALUE: TIERS OF CAREER
– MATTHEW PARTRIDGE
ECONOMICS OF VALUE: DEMAND VS. SUPPLY
ADVICE FROM THE EXPERTS Alexia Walker: “View as much art as you can. Train your eye, see what’s available out there in terms of genre and mediums.” “Don’t buy artwork with the intention to ‘flip it’ a few years later and make a bundle of cash. It can take a few years to sell a piece. It’s not a quick investment. If you’re going to spend a lot of money on art, like anything, make sure you spend it well.”
Unlike a vehicle, however, artwork does not necessarily devalue over time. It all comes down to the trajectory of an artist’s career.
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The appreciation of an artwork is determined either by the artist’s gallery, or what it sells for at an auction, which we call the secondary market. It takes time, however, before an artwork’s primary market value catches up to the secondary market.
3. Matthew Partridge, senior art specialist at Strauss & Co. 4. Alexia Walker, founder of independent artWalkeradvisoryArt.
“For me, once the price catches up, you move from being an emerging artist to an established artist,” says Walker. “Then it becomes about which institutions have bought that artist, where internationally they’ve exhibited, as well as acquisitions and high-profile prizes too.”
PRIMARY MARKET VALUE: GALLERY TAX When an artwork is first sold to a buyer, either from the artist or through a gallery, this is known as the primary market. Buying from a gallery may be more expensive than purchasing directly from an artist, but as art consultant Alexia Walker explains, you’re getting more than just the piece itself. “When you buy an artwork from a gallery, you pay for research and development, manufacturing, marketing and distribution. So all of these costs have to be taken into consideration,” says Walker. To further illustrate her point, Walker compares this process to buying a new car. “When I buy an artwork from a gallery, the moment I leave the floor it’s already devalued. I know there’s no way the next day I’d get the same price for it.”
Matthew Partridge: “If you make a good buy, your art will appreciate in value. The value of your artwork will increase if it’s a good example [of their work], and if the artist has done something with their career: had a museum show, sold at art fairs, held solo exhibitions.”
2. Irma Stern, Congo Forest Scene, 1946, oil on canvas. Sold by Strauss & Co. for R8.5-million.
The artists he has selected are markedly different in their practice. Rossouw van der Walt is a sculptor, Johannes Wewetzer a photographer and Talut Kareem-Black a graphite artist. However, while the mediums differ, what connects them is the naked human body – its classical perfection and imperfection. Anthony Gormley sums up the focus at Deepest Darkest, “what it feels like to be alive, dealing with the body … from the inside, exploring it as a place rather than an object”.
One of the most astute curators I have encountered, Redman never loses sight of human complexity and the role of art in the examination and expression of that complexity. If Close is cannily astute, it is because it allows for the uncertainties that afflict us, the break and suture without which closeness cannot be realised. To be close, bound to and with another, is not to attain oneness. This ideal is a fantasy. Human life only ever allows for tenderness because it is fragile. It is this realisation of our fragility that Redman asks us to embrace.
Closeness is only possible when we challenge what Gormley calls “the contemporary obsession with bodily appearance and … idealisation”, or better, when we allow for the breakdown and redefinition of thisThisobsession.istheproject-instinct-feeling that informs Wewetzer’s “near-classic recreations” of a Greek and Renaissance ideal, Kareem-Black’s nanosecond shivers of bodily clarity and Van der Walt’s achingly elegant and shattered sculpture of a foot. In each artist we find a clouded detail, nothing is quite what it seems to Chiaroscuro,be.
The meticulous detail which Rossouw applies to his sculpture of a foot reminds us that nothing is ever grasped in its entirety. We bind ourselves to the particular because, always, we fail to grasp the whole. This is not a failing, it is the way in which we learn what it means to be close.
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Deon Redman reopens Deepest Darkest in September. The title of the show, Close, is a fitfully precise wager and exploration of what we feel and think we’ve lost –intimacy. For Redman, however, the three artists on show are not preoccupied with “solace, isolation, introspection”, but with a “physical and psychological disconnect”. The realisation that we are not as connected as we imagined ourselves to be is not the result of a globally enforced isolation, but was always the gnawing crux of our unease. We long for intimacy, for closeness, and yet we have always sensed our exile from it. This disconnect, which we scrupulously conceal from ourselves and others, has now glaringly resurfaced.
W e lo NG f o r i N ti M aCY, f o r C lo s e N e ss, a N d Y et W e h av e alWaY s s e N s e d o ur e X ile fr o M it.
Cape Town’s DeepesT DarkesT arT gallery reopens wiTh a new exhibiTion, ashraf JaMal explores whaT ’s
DEEP EST DARK EST
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behinD The TiTle
the Renaissance technique used to graphically sharpen contrasting light and dark, now seeps and disturbs the entangled bodies in Wewetzer’s photographs. The frantic judder of twisting heads in Kareem-Black’s drawings reveals the body not as an object, but an agonised maw.
1. Untitled (Talut Kareem-Black)
CLOSE, PHYSICALA DISCONNECTPSYCHOLOGICALAND 1
Contact Deepest Darkest, 20 Dixon Street, De Waterkant, ViewingTown,info@deepestdarkestart.com.CapeHours:Tues–Sat:12pm–4pm
It is unsurprising, therefore, that we now find ourselves seeking answers for the wanton deceits we have coolly practised, and why throughout the world we find a need for introspection. Redman is not wholly convinced by the resurgence of contrition, regret, or the reawakening of a need for moral, social, and political redress. It is not human betterment that moves him – though this reckoning is vital – but the crisis that underpins it – “the breakdown and redefinition of our sorry selves”.
SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 202038 A DESIRE TO EXPERIMENT AND TRY NEW THINGS UNDERPINS STEFAN SMIT’S ART AND LED TO HIS INTEREST IN MURAL PAINTING &CHAOSBETWEENORDER YOU GENERALLY WORK IN OILS ON CANVAS AND LARGE-SCALE MURALS. WHAT APPEALS TO YOU ABOUT THESE TWO DIFFERENT MEDIUMS AND FORMATS, AND WHAT UNIQUE CHALLENGES DOES EACH PRESENT? There’s unbridled freedom that comes from mural work and the vast expanse of a four-story building that I’ve been told I can create whatever I want on! However, the challenge can also be the size and trying to plan out a painting that takes foreshortening into account or working in dangerous areas, like the time I had to paint with two armed guards in the heart of Johannesburg CBD for a few nights to make the deadline for a commercial with India’s cricket captain, Virat Kohli. Oil paint also has its list of loves and frustrations for me, as I’ve noticed I enjoy painting smaller works less and less, often leaning towards the larger canvasses to add that element of expression and unique mark-making that is characteristic of my work. 2 1
INTERVIEW: STEFAN SMIT SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 2020 39 1. Stefan Smit. Courtesy the artist. 2. Stefan Smit, Index, Fil e, Catalog, oil on panel. Courtesy the artist. “I’M STILL FASCINATED BY THE LINE BETWEEN CHAOS AND ORDER IN MY WORK AND WHERE THAT BOUNDARY DRAWS ITSELF BETWEEN ABSTRACT NONSENSE AND A REALLY WELL-PAINTED PORTRAIT.” – STEFAN SMIT
SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 202040 3 3. Stefan Smit, Exit (detail), oil on canvas. Courtesy the artist. 4. Stefan Smit, Lifework (detail),oil on panel. Courtesy the artist.
My most recent solo, Bound at Abend Gallery in the USA, dealt with a fascination I have with an irony that develops in urban areas around increased feelings of disconnection within densely populated cities and how the opposite is true for people staying out in the country who will often know most of their neighbours and have more of an intimate connection with those around them, despite physical distances being so much greater. This also led me to enjoy the process of slightly abstracting the figures in my work, sort of acknowledging just how ghostly existence can be for some at times. I have observed how with so many 4
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WHAT THEMES OR IDEAS ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXPLORING IN YOUR WORK?
“I HAVE OBSERVED HOW WITH SO MANY PEOPLE AROUND ALL THE TIME WE OFTEN DISAPPEAR INTO EACH OTHER’S PERIPHERAL VISION.” – STEFAN SMIT people around all the time we often disappear into each other’s peripheral vision.
HAVE YOU ALWAYS WORKED FIGURATIVELY? WHAT KEEPS YOU INTERESTED IN PEOPLE IN YOUR WORK?
I love this question! I was just thinking yesterday about how wonderful the human brain is to be able to piece together information to form faces, and how I can get away with abstracting so much of the features I paint but still have my portrait be discernible. I guess to answer your question, I’m still fascinated by the line between chaos and order in my work and where that boundary draws itself between abstract nonsense and a really wellpainted portrait.
5. Stefan Smit, Blinking lights pass us by, oil on panel. Courtesy the artist.
IN ADDITION TO YOUR ART YOU COLLABORATE WITH BRANDS ON COMMISSIONS. HOW DOES THIS INFLUENCE YOUR PRACTICE? I really enjoy it! I always rebelled at school when being told what to do but in my artistic career I’ve enjoyed having the balance between choosing exactly what I want to create and being able to let go of the creative reigns from time to time. Through this process I’ve had my mind opened up to styles, techniques and ideas that I otherwise wouldn’t have been aware of - like painting threedimensional boots for Nike’s Sandton store or pushing my creative limits to design and paint Sony’s entire head office. As an independent artist, these experiences also offer some entrepreneurial lessons that have proven to be valuable in my career growth.
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AS AN INDEPENDENT ARTIST, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS YOU MARKET YOUR WORK AND REACH NEW AUDIENCES? Instagram has always been a powerful platform for me, leading to most of my international opportunities in fact. Something new I’ve been doing is Live Instagram streams every Thursday evening at 20:00 where I paint something from scratch and chat with the audience while doing it. I’ve really enjoyed the interaction and I think people like seeing something take form that they’d usually only otherwise see as a finished artwork. I make a lot of video content as well to advertise on my digital platforms. It is a lot of work to be the artist, marketer and business manager - I have to wear many hats! The long-term goal is to eventually build a team to support me, it’s just about finding the right people who share the vision.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE WILL TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR ART? Art is such a deeply personal experience and I’ve had people tell me SO many different perspectives about just one of my works, which is both amazing and sometimes strange to experience. If my work is able to move you or make you feel something, regardless of whether it’s love or loathing, I’ll be content.
Contact 076 119 0721 • art@stefansmit.co.za www.stefansmit.co.za Rise Stefan Smit is a South African artist currently exhibiting his second solo exhibition at Abend Gallery in the USA. His work is attracting growing acclaim and continues to be added having to collections locally and internationally, including some collectionsprestigioussuchas MTN and Grant Thornton. To get in touch to view his latest show, please contact him.
SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 202044 FOR SAVVY COLLECTORS INTERESTED IN FRESH YOUNG TALENT, ZANDILE TSHABALALA IS ONE TO WATCH. LAYLA LEIMAN CHATS TO THIS RISING STAR TO FIND OUT MORE NEW EXPRESSIONS OF BLACK FEMININITY 1
PROFILE: ZANDILE TSHABALALA SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 2020 45 1. Zandile Tshabalala, Within silence I, 2020, acrylic on canvas. 2. Zandile Tshabalala, Paradise II, 2020, acrylic on canvas. 3. Zandile Tshabalala, portrait. 2 3
Zandile Tshabalala is young a Soweto born artist rapidly gaining recognition for her striking paintings. Working primarily in acrylic and enamel, Tshabalala’s paintings present bold and empowered portrayals of black femininity that reference and subvert the art canon, challenging cultural and art historical stereotypes about the black female body. With reference to historical paintings by the likes of Henri Rousseau and Édouard Manet in which black female bodies were used to signify primitive sexuality, Tshabalala’s portraits radically rewrite the power dynamics of the black female body. The figures in her paintings stare out at the viewer with startlingly white eyes that seem to follow the viewer like a panther stalking its prey. Blood red lips. Skin black as the night sky. In Tshabalala’s portraits, each a kind of self-portrait, the women are self-possessed and empowered, returning the viewer’s gave with their own languid look that is at once mysterious and unarming.
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4. Zandile Tshabalala, Letting go of what no longer served I, 2020, acrylic on canvas.
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5. Zandile Tshabalala, Portrait I, 2020, acrylic on canvas. DID YOU GROW UP IN A CREATIVE FAMILY? PLEASE TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND HOW IT HAS INFLUENCED WHERE YOU ARE TODAY.
Growing up I was always creative and enjoyed drawing and colouring in. I was exposed to fine art when I was in high school and that really got me interested in pursuing painting as a career. I did not know of many painters, especially back home in Soweto. Initially my family was not supportive of this idea, but the urge in me really pushed me to rebel to follow my dreams. Today my family is very supportive as they are now also exposed to new possibilities and assist me however they can in my growth as an artist.
SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 202048 6. Zandile Tshabalala, Portrait IIII, 2020, acrylic on canvas. 7. Zandile Tshabalala, Thinking ‘bout you, 2019, acrylic on canvas. 6 ANDINTROSPECTIONRELAXATION,ANDREPRESENTEDOFINI“CONCEPTUALLY,AMINTERESTEDHOWWOMENCOLOURARETHEACTSOFDREAMING.” – ZANDILE TSHABALALA WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE IDEAS OR INSIGHTS THAT HAVE PLAYED A PART IN SHAPING YOUR ART?
I’d say art history, other painters and personal reflections and interests in what is currently happening in our society, especially in relation to women, play a big role in my work. Conceptually, I am interested in how women of colour are represented and the acts of relaxation, introspection and dreaming.
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THERE ARE ELEMENTS OF ARTISTS LIKE HENRI ROUSSEAU AND KERRY JAMES MARSHALL IN YOUR VISUAL LANGUAGE AND SUBJECT MATTER. PLEASE TELL US HOW YOU ENGAGE WITH ART HISTORY AESTHETICALLY AND CONCEPTUALLY IN YOUR PAINTING? I’m interested in the placement and positioning of the black woman in painting, especially in historical paintings. I believe that some of these images that depict black women as servants and invisible maintain certain stereotypes and contribute to the reinforcement of ideas that the black woman is inferior. Yes, these narratives of servitude may be true and still are true even today, but for us as women there is much more to us than our given circumstances. I interrogate ideas and stereotypes associated to how the black woman is or should be. We dream, we rest, we reflect and that needs to be captured and shown in art as well. So I guess my work is more interested in those ‘behind the scene’ moments that each individual has and reflect my own ideas, perspective and desires.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE PUTTING YOUR WORK OUT THERE FOR PEOPLE TO SEE AND ENGAGE WITH? WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE WILL TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR ART? So far my audience has been receiving my work well and sharing some of their thoughts and experiences. I hope people take away from my paintings a new perspective and image of the black woman. 8. Zandile Tshabalala, Paradise I, 2020, acrylic and pencil on canvas. 9. Zandile Tshabalala, Dreaming, 2020, acrylic on canvas.
WHAT IDEAS AND THEMES ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXPLORING IN YOUR WORK? Representation, beauty, the state of rest, self-introspection and the imagined. PLEASE TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE MOTIFS IN YOUR WORK – NEON NAILS, ANIMAL PRINTS, FLOWERS – AND HOW YOU USE THESE TO CHALLENGE STEREOTYPES AND CREATE AN EMPOWERING PORTRAYAL OF BLACK FEMININITY. I use these imageries and elements to enhance the narrative that I am speaking to in each painting. I think a lot about the associations, for instance with the animal prints I think about how some of the terms are used to describe women and with the foliage I think about what it means for me as a woman of colour to use these elements especially with the given burden of being pushed towards a certain political narrative. I believe the act in itself not only contributes to my storytelling and desire to create a sort of dreamscape but is also radical in itself as it goes against the expected.
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PROFILE: ZANDILE TSHABALALA SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 2020 51 WHERE CAN PEOPLE VIEW AND POTENTIALLY BUY YOUR ART? I share most of my information on my Instagram so I’d say that is the best place to view my work and stay updated on upcoming shows and publications. https://instagram.com/zandilet_art
SA HOME OWNER ART SEPTEMBER 202052 ART GALLERY ARTYLI.COM WITH ITS INNOVATIVE APPROACH IS A WELCOME ADDITION TO THE VIBRANT JOHANNESBURG AND AFRICAN ART SCENE BRAVE ARTWORLDNEWFORGALLERY 1 2
Anew journey unfolds. Each of us has endured and is still enduring the cocoon of lockdown and the challenges it has brought. Every day provides another opportunity to embrace a new part of the journey. The Artyli.com story began two years ago, when Karen Cullinan was approached by Ryan Illgner, CEO of Blacksmith Interior Inspiration, about the possibility of creating a new kind of gallery. One that embraced technology as an inherent part of its gallery model and would be able to showcase contemporary African artwork in a way that would suit modern hotel interior trends and consumer behaviour.
SOUNDS IN SOLITUDE EXHIBITION The gallery’s current exhibition, Sounds in Solitude, is showcased at the Stanley Studio gallery, on the Artyli.com website and on Artsy. It features original artworks by rising stars Andrew Ntshabele and Daniel “Stompie” Selibe as well as renowned ceramic artist Charmaine Haines. Sounds in Solitude runs until 30 September 2020. Karen Cullinan, CEO of Artyli.com, speaks to Ntshabele, Selibe and Haines to find out more about their individual artistic journeys, and what inspires their unique works. The gallery is open Mondays 9am to 5pm and Saturdays 10am to 4pm. Pop in and have a look at the exhibition. Stanley Studios, 39 Stanley Avenue Milpark, Johannesburg Contact Karen Cullinan on 081 504 9974 www.artyli.com I info@artyli.com 4 1. Artyli.com art gallery. 2. Artyli.com gallery interior shot. 3. Andrew Ntshabele, Unspeakable Joy 1. 4. Karen Cullinan, CEO of Artyli.com. Stand a chance to win an authenticated limited edition print by Andrew Ntshabele entitled Unspeakable Joy 1 by opting into our newsletter by 30 September 2020. Click on the link www.artyli.com 3
The move towards online exhibitions and art sales due to the pandemic together with more and more people trusting online as a safe way to view and purchase art meant that the gallery’s significant investment in a fully commercialised digital platform before Covid-19 hit began to pay off.
In addition to the online platform, Artyli.com has developed a modern contemporary gallery in the new Stanley Studios opposite the open-air iconic 44 Stanley complex in the creative hub of Milpark in Gauteng. It was opened three days before the lockdown in March and continues to evolve under extraordinary circumstances.
Initially developed as a limited edition print gallery, Artyli.com held its first exhibition featuring exciting African artists at various stages in their careers at the Hi Hotel Montecasino in January 2020. The hotel gallery was designed to inspire guests with fresh and exciting contemporary artwork. The idea was to take the gallery out of the white box gallery model and into public spaces where many more people could be exposed to art and guests could purchase limited edition prints at affordable prices. The gallery, designed to sit at the intersection between the fourth industrial revolution and the contemporary art collector and artist, had to reimagine itself as soon as lockdown caused the temporary closure of hotels. Artyli.com began to include both original artworks and limited edition prints that would nurture and represent emerging and mid-career contemporary African artists.
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Today, with lockdown having eased to level two, people are emerging from their homes to enjoy the Stanley Street vibe and the beautiful physical gallery space and are using the gallery’s online platform to make their purchases. With a strong e-commerce and social media marketing strategy, Artyli.com is emerging as a fresh face and welcome addition to the vibrant Johannesburg and African art scene. Able to deliver original artworks and limited edition prints anywhere in the world within 10 working days, the gallery is becoming popular with local as well as international artHavingcollectors.endured the strict lockdown and overcome the social distancing challenges of the pandemic, Artyli.com has come out resplendent and flying, having curated four distinct and exceptional exhibitions by African artists who are making a name for themselves on the world stage.
HOW HAS COVID-19 AND THE LOCKDOWN IMPACTED YOU AND YOUR ARTWORK? Covid-19 has been a blessing in disguise as it has pushed me to think outside of the box and has challenged me to get outside of my comfort zone creatively. It has also challenged me to create artworks, not just for myself, but also works that will bring joy and that speak life. I believe Covid-19 has taught me to be more positive and even more resilient in my approach to life and the way I approach my work. As Napoleon Hill says: “You are the sum total of your dominating or most prominent thoughts.”
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My biggest influence was my mother. She encouraged me to become a professional artist, to be patient and to love what I do. Artistically, I would say Gerard Sekoto as he was one of the first major black African artists from South Africa to make a name for himself internationally. And I have always admired the works of the old Dutch masters, particularly Caravaggio and Rembrandt.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER? There has been more than one highlight in my career. Winning the Thami Mnyele merit award in 2012 in my second year of study and finally pursuing art as a full-time career from 2016 would be the main highlights. IN WHICH COUNTRIES CAN WE FIND YOUR ARTWORKS? My artworks can be found in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
5. Andrew Ntshabele, There is room for Hope 3, mixed media on newsprint. 6. Andrew Ntshabeleinstudio
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HOW DID YOU ARRIVE AT THE CURRENT STYLE FOR WHICH YOU ARE BECOMING WELL KNOWN?
HOW HAS YOUR ARTWORK CHANGED OVER TIME?
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At first, my artwork was serious as I was dealing with urbanisation within the inner-city of Johannesburg, which highlighted the poverty and decay found in the innerAlthoughcity. I still express sociopolitical themes in my artwork, over time I have learned to look at the brighter side of life. There is a good and joyous side to Johannesburg from the friendly and sometimes comical ways street vendors go about selling their goods, to the humorous interactions people have with each other in taxi ranks and on the streets or the children playing on the streets and in the high-rise flats they call home. So, I balance my work now with both the positives and the realities of the inner-city of Johannesburg. I believe this balance has increased my passion and love for my work.
WHO HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCE?
NTSHABELEWITHSTUDIOANDREW
I first discovered this style of using mixed media during the third year of my visual art course at the University of Johannesburg. I began drawing with mixed mediums of watercolour, charcoal and acrylic on newspaper. For subject matter, I chose portraits of waste collectors, street vendors, everyday people and old buildings in the inner city, that I had photographed.
Once I had mastered how to draw and paint with mixed media on newspaper, I stuck to the medium. It challenges me to think out of the box every time.
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IN SELIBE“STOMPIE”WITHSTUDIODANIEL
HOW DID YOU ARRIVE AT THE CURRENT STYLE FOR WHICH YOU ARE BECOMING WELL KNOWN? Music plays an essential part in the inspiration and creation of a piece of art. It begins with me listening to music and using musical theatre improvisation to be free-spirited and without boundaries. This then allows the possibility to both play and express myself.
WHO HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCE? My mentors – Stompie Manana and Dennis Nene. They have shown me how to look at myself and how to mould myself as a young person. They taught me the role of values in my work and in life. They also taught and embodied me with the ethics of practice – the ethics of what one does. Both of them were committed to the development of young people. They were friends as well as spiritual guides, they taught and showed me the value of harmony, of peaceful change and of doing good. They also showed how important it is to be guided in life by values and ethics and to seek out and build communities of people who share these values.
HAS COVID-19 AND THE NATIONAL LOCKDOWN IMPACTED YOU AND YOUR ARTWORKS? My work is a representation of what the lockdown has meant for me. It has sheltered me as well as creating deep feelings of longing and of loss. The isolation has meant living more with my own shadows as well as with my own imaginations and ideas of new possibilities. Covid-19 has highlighted how we need to find new ways of living life together, of leaving our deepest shadows and fears behind us. All of us need to learn to change, to create new possibilities and new impressions of a shared world and our own world within that. My work represents a new beauty within – seeing the opportunity to live a life making art, finding new meaning about ourselves and our lives together and exploring how to work, live and create together as a people.
IN WHAT CURRENT EXHIBITIONS ARE YOU CURRENTLY PARTICIPATING? Turbine Art Fair 2020 and Artyli.com. 7. Before the War, mixed media on on wood. 8. Daniel Selibe in studio. 9. Dance Mama, mixed media on wood. 7 8 9
IN WHICH COUNTRIES CAN WE FIND YOUR ARTWORKS? Africa, Europe and the US. Portrait Fluted Neck Vessel. Totem Figure with Fish Vessel. Charmaine Haines.
WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST RECOLLECTION OF CLAY? The Grahamstown Pottery, later known as Drosdty, used to be across the road from my grandparents’ house. As a child, I remember looking down into the pottery through windows that were below street level. There were light bulbs burning inside moulds to dry out the slipware. I attended the convent nearby and the nuns would often take us on walks past the kaolin clay deposits on the hillside. I recognised then that this was no ordinary ground. It was a special material with interesting properties. Today, 50 years later, I am using this very same white kaolin to slip cast my ceramic pieces.
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WHO HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCE?
HAS COVID-19 AND THE NATIONAL LOCKDOWN IMPACTED YOU AND YOUR ARTWORK? Living in the middle of the Karoo, I would say I have been working in isolation for the past 20 years. Covid-19 has not impacted on my artwork directly, but it has clarified what I would like to focus on in the future.
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I was extremely fortunate to study under the renowned ceramic artist Hylton Nel. Besides the focus on ceramics, he instilled in me an appreciation for objects from a bygone era. He encouraged me to start my own collections of objets d’art even if it meant skipping a lecture to attend an auction. This clearly ignited my interest in and ongoing fascination for ancient cultures, African artefacts and medieval iconic art, which embodies a broad interest in the history of art and craft from ancient to industrial times. HOW DID YOU ARRIVE AT THE CURRENT STYLE FOR WHICH YOU ARE BECOMING WELL KNOWN? Ceramics is such a broad field. There are so many options of different clays, techniques, and surface finishes. All of which involve many processes and steps where many things can go wrong. Over time, one eliminates certain materials and techniques. More so these days where perhaps high temperatures are required given the situation of electricity in our country. I am fortunate with the white clay body I have chosen - because it shows up the colours that I use - is also easily recycled, which saves time and fires at a lower temperature.
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WHAT HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR? In 2010 I was made a Fellow of the Ceramics Southern Africa Association in recognition of my contribution to ceramics in South Africa.
HAVE YOUR CERAMIC SCULPTURES CHANGED OVER TIME? Yes, they have, but I often find myself returning to previous forms, but with a new approach. A new environment can influence the surface, but the underlying form has similar bones. I do like to work with multiples of the same form and make a series of the same shapes, but varying the surface decoration. In this way, I can focus on just the surface and not have to solve the form itself as it is a familiar one. It is like taking a sketchbook and drawing on the blank pages –all the same size and format that one doesn’t have to thinkTheabout.natural Karoo environment plays an integral part in my day-to-day source of inspiration. It continues to be a place of extremes where the weather has a major influence creating an awareness of both life and death where small things matter. I am surrounded by the evidence that the Karoo was once an ancient sea. Fish and birds have always been part of my iconography. Together with my portraits, they have become autobiographical design elements that repeat themselves throughout my work, adding both a narrative and mythical presence to the forms.
Laubser,Maggie FezainBoy 000700-000R500 November8-12Auction,North/SouthforthcomingtheonsoldbeTo 2020 Thinking of Selling? Currently inviting consignments for our forthcoming auctions. Contact our specialists for confidential and obligation-free valuations: +27 11 728 8246 | jhb@straussart.co.za +27 21 683 6560 | www.straussart.co.zact@straussart.co.za
