CREATIVELY CONTRASTED NEW VIEWS ON THE PERMANENT COLLECTION
OLIEWENHUIS ART MUSEUM
Creatively Contrasted: New views on the Permanent Collection is a curated exhibition from the Permanent Collection housed at Oliewenhuis Art Museum, specifically created in celebration of Heritage Day celebrated on 24 September. The Permanent Collection is an outstanding collection of South African art. It has a solid foundation of early South African artists and continually expands on its collection of works by contemporary South African artists. By selecting artworks by contrasting interesting aspects such as the oldest and the most recently created artwork in the collection, the exhibition aims to give a fresh perspective on the collection. The exhibition highlights the incredible variety of heritage objects that it comprise and pays tribute to the incredible richness of South African visual art.
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Oliewenhuis Art Museum officially opened on 11 October 1989. Its first curator, Johan Coetzer, was appointed in 1987 when Oliewenhuis was still being transformed into a museum. Before 1989, a small collection of donated and purchased artworks were already documented. The first donation the newly established museum received was Dorte Berner's Das Kranke Kind (1981) in 1990, an etching in sepia on paper. Berner was born in Germany in 1942, and during the 1960s she and her husband settled in Namibia. The mother and child theme finds expression in many of her artworks. The first artworks that were acquisitioned once Oliewenhuis became a museum were purchased from Gallery 21 in Johannesburg. These artworks were: Norman Catherine's Ritual (1985), pastel on paper. Norman Catherine (B. 1949) at the age of 20, Norman Catherine exhibited oil paintings in which he used wood, bone, wire and found objects, and also produced whimsical drawings, assemblages and objects during this time. He began producing airbrush paintings in 1972. Lithographs featuring harsher imagery and themes followed, and his work became more political. In the 1980s, there was a renewal of whimsical imagery with subtle overtones of symbolic meaning in his work. Mixed media works with wire and tin followed. He painted primitive futuristic paintings in the 1990s that were brightly coloured, comical and nightmarish. Eduardo Villa's Torso (1968) in bronze. Eduardo Villa (1915 – 2011) was born in Italy where he studied sculpture. While some of Villla's works reveal the influences of his European background, he was also strongly influenced by African sculptural traditions. He was a member of the Amadlozi group which sought to popularize traditional African sculpture. Ezrom Legae's Head of a Wise man (n.d.) in bronze. Ezrom Legae (1938 – 1999) was educated in Soweto and studied at the Polly Street and Jubilee Art Centres under Cecil Skotnes and Sydney Kumalo. In addition to his sculptures, he gained recognition for his drawings and graphics during the 1970s.
Dรถrte Berner (B. 1942), Das Kranke Kind, Etching in sepia on paper, 13.8 x 18 cm (Print), 32 x 24 cm (paper)
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Ezrom Kgobokanyo Sebata Legae (1938 – 1999), Head of a Wise Man, Bronze 3/5, 34 x 12 x 17 cm
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Edoardo Villa (1915 – 2011), Torso, 1968, Bronze on wooden stand, 40 x 20 x 24 cm
Norman Clive Catherine (B. 1949), Ritual, 1985, Pastel on paper, 57 x 48.7 cm
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OLDEST ARTWORKS IN COLLECTION/ MOST RECENTLY CREATED ARTWORK The oldest artworks in the collection are three oil paintings by (John) Thomas Baines (1820 – 1875). Bloemfontein about 1850, oil on canvas, was donated by the Bloemfontein Municipality in 1990. This painting was purchased by the City Council in 1958 from Eric Bonner, a bookseller in London. Bloemfontein vanaf Naval Hill 1851, oil on canvas, was also donated by the Bloemfontein Municipality. At the back of the painting, a small bag houses a piece of linen on which the words “Bloemfontein the Capital of the Orange River Sovereignty……Ma 23 1851” are featured. Uitsig oor Bloemfontein 1850, oil on canvas, was donated to the National Museum in 1924 by Mr Geo Page. This work was painted on a sturdy striped fabric Ticking, which was traditionally used to cover pillows and mattresses, because its tight weave prevents feathers from poking out.
Oliewenhuis Art Museum's most recent acquisition, Born from Fire, is an exceptional sculptural masterpiece by Mam Noria Mabasa. Noria Mabasa was born in 1938 in Tsigalo, Venda. Today she lives and works in Vuwani, Venda. She had no formal institutional art training but received local training in the making of clay pots, and has been a full-time artist since 1976. Like many other rural artists, she explains that the source of her creativity lies in dreams and instructions from an ancestor. She is the only Venda woman who sculpts in wood and her works deal mostly with traditional issues, particularly those pertaining to women, as well as subjects of Venda mythology and spirituality. Her work (in clay and wood) encompasses mostly female figures, and sometimes tasks, associated with womanhood. Traditional women carrying pots, showing respect, and nourishing their children, seems to be a continuous subject matter. Noria is South Africa's only female woodcarver. This does not mean that her road to success was easy. She was mocked by some of the members of her community and was seen as a rebel since she defied the traditional social order in which “carving was considered to be a man's job”. Her works are represented in many art museums and other collections locally and abroad, including Johannesburg Art Gallery, University of the Western Cape, S.A. National Gallery, and the University of Fort Hare, University of the Witwatersrand, Standard Bank Gallery, and museums and galleries in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the USA. Born from Fire, is possibly the last major work created by Mam Noria Mabasa as it is becoming increasingly more difficult for her to carve large pieces. She came across a burning tree, dipped her shawl in the river and fought to save the piece of wood from which she carved this exceptional work. Mam Noria says that the wood, specifically used to create this sculpture, smells like Vicks and that the local people from her village call it the Vicks tree. From this wood, she carved a sculpture of former President Nelson Mandela and children. According to the artist “President Nelson Mandela came out of the 'fire' of the struggle against apartheid and yet he chose love for the children and the people of South Africa”.
John Thomas Baines (1820 – 1875), Bloemfontein about 1850, Oil on canvas, 37.5 x 60.5 cm
OLDEST ARTWORKS IN COLLECTION
John Thomas Baines (1820 – 1875), Bloemfontein vanaf Naval Hill 1851, 1851, Oil on canvas, 78.5 x 132 cm
OLDEST ARTWORKS IN COLLECTION
John Thomas Baines (1820 – 1875), UItsig oor Bloemfontein, 1851, Oil on canvas, 51 x 71 cm
OLDEST ARTWORKS IN COLLECTION
Noria Mabasa (B. 1938), Born from Fire (Mr Nelson Mandela and children), 2017-2018, Vicks tree wood from Limpopo, 110 x 100 x 109 cm
MOST RECENTLY CREATED ARTWORK
Installation view of Creatively Contrasted: New views on the Permanent Collection
OLDEST AND MOST RECENTLY ACQUIRED PHOTOS The earliest dated photograph in the collection is by David Goldblatt (1930 2018), Child with a replica of a Zulu Hut, Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria (Tzhwane), Transvaal (Gauteng), 16 December 1963, silver gelatin print. David Goldblatt, grandson of Lithuanian-Jewish immigrants and one of South Africa's most famous documentary photographers, photographed the people, landscapes and social structure of South Africa for more than 60 years. He left behind one of the best historical archives of photographs of South Africa in the twentieth century. The most recently purchased photograph is by Gerrit Hattingh (B. 1974), Les Demoiselles d' Pres Brand straat (2016), after the painting by the Spanish artist Picasso, Les Demoiselles d Avignon. It was purchased from the artist after the “Performing Women� exhibition at Oliewenhuis Art Museum. Gerrit Hattingh is Head of Department of Visual Arts and Design faculty at Motheo Technical Vocational Education Training College in Bloemfontein.
David Goldblatt (1930 – 2018), Child with a replica of a Zulu Hut, Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria (Tzhwane), Transvaal (Gauteng ), 16 December 1963, Silver gelatin print, 40 x 50 cm
OLDEST AND MOST RECENTLY ACQUIRED PHOTOS
Gerrit Hattingh (B. 1974), Les Demoiselles d'Pres Brand straat, 2016, Photograph, 44.5 x 59.5 cm
OLD AND NEW TWEETORINGKERK
Sydney Higham, Bloemfontein from the South, 1890's, Pen and ink on paper 29.8 x 24 cm
OLD AND NEW TWEETORINGKERK
Johan Voets (b. 1958), Sunday afternoon on Hill Street, 2010, Digital pigment print, 60 x 90 cm
OLD AND NEW TWEETORINGKERK
Bertha (Amy) Everard (Néé King) (1873-1965), Gesig op Tweetoringkerk, Bloemfontein, Oil on canvas, 68.7 x 40 cm
CREATED BEFORE 1900/ CREATED AFTER 2015
August John Paul Bohnhorst (1849 – 1919), Tafelbaai, 1874, Oil on wood, 76 x 130 cm
CREATED BEFORE 1900
E. Nisbet, St Bertholomeus Church, Smithfield, London, 1898, Watercolour on paper, 35 x 49 cm
CREATED BEFORE 1900
Kagiso Patrick (Pat) Mautloa (B. 1952), Street Politician, 2016, Mixed media, processed objects on board, 65 x 90 cm
CREATED AFTER 2015
Jeannette Unite (B. 1964), Complicit Geographies: Martyrs of Marikana, 2015, Mixed media, 80 x 190 cm
Janine Allen (B. 1971), Old Dog, Coloured pencils and ink on fabriano paper, 110 x 164 cm (artwork)
CREATED AFTER 2015
Diane Veronique Victor (B. 1964), Walking blind: From A LITTLE HISTORY, 2018, Etching on paper, 9.5 x 7 cm (print), 10 x 14 cm (paper)
CREATED AFTER 2015
Toni Pretorius (B. 1984), Amassing for our Carrion King (1-9), 2016, Porcelain, wood, glass, ink, vinyl and brass, 95 x 95 cm
Installation view of Creatively Contrasted: New views on the Permanent Collection
DEPICTIONS OF ARTISTS BY ARTISTS AND SOME OF THEIR ARTWORKS
Clare Menck (B. 1969), Death and the sculptor (George Ramagaga), 2006, Oil on canvas, 50 x 65 cm
DEPICTIONS OF ARTISTS BY ARTISTS AND SOME OF THEIR ARTWORKS
Danie Malan, Portrait of Dumile, 1967, Gouache monoprint, 25.5 x 20.3 cm
George Ramagaga (1953 – 2006), Bandiete, 1990, Teak wood, 103 x 30 x 32 cm
DEPICTIONS OF ARTISTS BY ARTISTS AND SOME OF THEIR ARTWORKS
George Ramagaga (1953 – 2006), Qhomatsi, 1989, Tambotie wood, 78 x 20 x 23 cm
Iris Ampenberger (1916 – 1981), Selfportret, Watercolour on paper, 22.5 x 28 cm
DEPICTIONS OF ARTISTS BY ARTISTS AND SOME OF THEIR ARTWORKS
Iris Ampenberger (1916 – 1981), The Young Couple, Oil on board, 45.5 x 60.5 cm
Iris Ampenberger (1916 – 1981), Portret van Stefan, Charcoal on paper, 38.7 x 57.2 cm
DEPICTIONS OF ARTISTS BY ARTISTS AND SOME OF THEIR ARTWORKS
Stefan Ampenberger (1908 – 1983), Landskap, Oil on board, 61 x 51 cm
Iris Ampenberger (1916 – 1981), Portrait of Stefan, Charcoal and ink on brown paper, 38.7 x 57.2 cm
DEPICTIONS OF ARTISTS BY ARTISTS AND SOME OF THEIR ARTWORKS
Walter Whall Battiss (1906 – 1982), Not titled, 1963, Oil on canvas, 31 x 41.5 cm
DEPICTIONS OF ARTISTS BY ARTISTS AND SOME OF THEIR ARTWORKS
Zak Benjamin (B. 1951), Izak en Walter, 1984, Silkscreen, 55 x 42.5 cm
Zak Benjamin (B. 1951), Koperkatel, 2002, Acrylic on canvas, 102 x 77.5 cm
DEPICTIONS OF ARTISTS BY ARTISTS AND SOME OF THEIR ARTWORKS
Walter Meyer (1965 – 2017), Township, Luderitz, 2004, Oil on canvas, 70 x 55.5 cm
DEPICTIONS OF ARTISTS BY ARTISTS AND SOME OF THEIR ARTWORKS
Walter Meyer (1965 – 2017), Selfportret, 2009, Oil on canvas, 50.5 x 40 cm
Alexis Preller (1911 – 1975), Self Portrait, 1939, Oil on canvas laid on board, 46 x 56 cm
DEPICTIONS OF ARTISTS BY ARTISTS AND SOME OF THEIR ARTWORKS
Alexis Preller (1911 – 1975), Still life with Mask, 1939, Oil on canvas laid on board, 71 x 60 cm
Gerard de Leeuw (1912 – 1985), Father F.M. Claerhout, 1978, Bronze on wooden stand, 47 x 60 x 24 cm
DEPICTIONS OF ARTISTS BY ARTISTS AND SOME OF THEIR ARTWORKS
Iris Ampenberger (1916 – 1981), Portret van Vader Claerhout, Pencil on cardboard, 25.2 x 34.2 cm
Frans Martin Claerhout (1919 – 2006), Slagveld Mostertshoek, 1980's, Oil on board, 91.5 x 76 cm
DEPICTIONS OF ARTISTS BY ARTISTS AND SOME OF THEIR ARTWORKS
John Tladi, Portrait of Father Claerhout, Olive wood, 62 x 15 x 15 cm
ARTISTS COLLABORATION
Brigitte Hertell & Lambert Moraloki, Urban Sanctuary (diptych), 2005, Mixed media and relief on board, 99.5 x 81.5 cm
ARTISTS COLLABORATION
Brigitte Hertell & Lambert Moraloki collaborated to create the diptych Urban Sanctuary (2005). Moraloki largely produces sculptures while Hertell paints. They began collaborating in 1992 when they established the Ipopeng Art Project. Their powerful works contain important social and political commentary that is unique and extremely relevant to the South African experience.
Willem Hendrik Adriaan Boshoff (B 1951), Elephant-peepsite, (Collaboration: Johan Thom etching, W. Boshoff beads on acrylic), 2014, Etching on paper and beads on acrylic sheet, 178 x 189 cm (Print), 200 x 108 cm (paper)
ARTISTS COLLABORATION
Willem H. A. Boshoff collaborated with Johan Thom who created the etching, using an Elephant scull. Willem Boshoff extended the artwork by an acrylic sheet on which beads were pasted following the circle form in the etching. The letters on the beads and the etching speak out for the elephants who have survived for centuries and are being treated with violence in the extending and progression of the world of the human race.