ARTLife THE SOUTH AFRICAN
May 2010 For the full online edition go to: www.artlife.co.za SUBSCRIBE: 1 year’s subscription to your door: R 360 - Incl. SA Art Times and Business Art. E-mail: subs@arttimes.co.za
Where Art and Life meet
Surveillance 2 Gasworks (Lino cut) by Jonathan Comerford will be on show entitled: Time and place- a retrospective of prints that will include a selection of work made prior to his departure to London, and exciting new work. The exhibition will take place at The South African Print Gallery, Woodstock on Saturday 8 May. See www.printgallery.co.za
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On exhibition at the Cedar Tree Gallery, from 11 May 2010 – 10 June 2010 Opening Hours 09h00 – 16h00 Artists, both in history and contemporary who work to their own inner tempo inspire me the most. I don’t let myself get bored too fast. I bin my stillborns quickly. I enjoy producing something worthwhile that I love completely because that is when my paintings are best appreciated. If I admire Bernard Dunstan or Walter Sickert, then I want to paint something of my own as good if not better. And if I enjoy Michelangelo’s ‘David’ in marble (who doesn’t?) then I sit down and sketch it for four hours, which is exactly what I did in Florence late last year. In December 2009 I exhibited at the 7th Florence Biennale along with six hundred and fifty artists from 78 countries. (Three of the five South Africans exhibitors won prizes). Cedar Tree Gallery is giving me my first solo exhibition after the Florence Biennale and my Premier Solo in my home city that I love. So for me it is doubly fortunate. I hope you will be inspired enough by these images to join us at Rodwell House on Tuesday 11 May 2010 for an exciting evening! I look forward to meeting you. Thank you for this opportunity Joanne. CEDAR TREE GALLERY At Rodwell House – 5 Star Boutique Luxury Accommodation – voted one of ten top hotel art collections in the world by American Express, USA, 2009 Rodwell Road, St James, Cape Town Robin von Holdt and Cedar Tree curator Joanne McGilvray have revived The Salon where art, music, wine and good food come together in a beautiful venue. The Titanium Bistro and gallery are uniquely interactive making the exhibition a place to relax, enjoy the art and have a good dinner with friends. To top this, the excellent collection of renowned South African Masters on view is a treat for all. Telephone Joanne McGilvray for details on 021 787 9880 or e-mail: cedartreegallery@gmail.com
CedAr Tree Gallery
Martin Osner Born in Johannesburg, South Africa (1963), Martin Osner opened his first photographic studio in Johannesburg (1985) where he established a solid reputation as a professional photographer and artist. In 1993 he co-founded the National College of Photography, which today has become the premier photographic training institution in Southern Africa. Osner eschews photography, favouring a more expressive vision that accords with his visual understanding and spiritual appreciation of the world. A multi-award winning artist his photography is characterized by an urge to explore with the willingness to experiment. Concentrating intently on elemental form, pattern and shape, paired with a necessary sense of restraint, he bears out his belief that simplicity is the cornerstone of successful imaging. Today Osner specializes in a contemporary portfolio of fine art photography, offering limited edition Gicleé and traditional black & white vintage prints, into a collectors’ market. His collection consists of ghostly abstract renditions, moody landscapes and social documentary imaging which can be viewed at his exclusive gallery in Hout Bay, Cape Town or online at www.martinosner.com Contact details: 1 Beach Road, Hout Bay, Cape Town 083 472 1717
Urban Reflection #9
Artist Statement: On a winter’s day in 1984, photography and I met one another quite by accident. A meeting that redirected my life and changed it forever. Over the past twenty odd years, while walking the path of self-discovery, my approach has taken numerous detours. A journey that has allowed a move towards a relaxed subconscious attitude with the desire to express simplicity and honesty through my work. For me, a photograph holds an undeniable sense of realism, a connection that is easy to associate with. I see, I understand, I experience, I relate. Unlike many artists, I treat anything as a subject and photograph things purely because I am interested in their transformation from reality to realism to art. Although I have never been a dedicated painter, I see and experience the world in this way. My social commentary and documentary work has been inspired by the great artist and master photographer Henri Cartier Bresson. On the other hand, many of my still-life studies can be described as painterly expressionistic drawing influences through the Fauvism movement, in particular the work of Henri Matisse. In my spiritual walk I experience hours of peace and contentment when behind the lens of a camera. I have never doubted my love for photography or my burning passion for art. It is something I could never stop. It’s what I do, it‘s what I love, it’s who I am.
Medieval City #10
City Life #1
Elongated View #3
African Rhythm #1
Faceless Society #9
Abandoned #1
Wendy Anziska Subverted identities Written by Veronica Wilkinson There is nothing facile about the surfaces of Wendy Anziska’s paintings in oil on canvas and board. As mirrors of her perception they translate personal encounters and experience of travel over time into narratives both intensely personal and public. Iconoclastic modern cult figures like Marilyn Monroe and Madonna are portrayed with a gritty worldliness of erotic tactility while elsewhere marks made straddle centuries in time with their simplicity including handprints and passages of text. Ephemeral collections from a fertile subconscious informed by religious tradition, mythology and a determination to reveal the artificial reality of the ‘plastic world’ where role models are drawn from popular culture and values measured in designer accessories, form part of the oeuvre articulating Anziska’s visual vernacular. The layers to her understanding have been built upon a sound foundation of formal study which took place at the Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University in Cape Town where she earned a certificate in Fine and Graphic Art in 1968. She has exhibited widely in South Africa and overseas in prestigious galleries and is sought after by collectors. Her work forms part of public and private collections in South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America, France and Germany. Meeting the artist at her home is like stepping into an exotic world where objects tell their own tale about her interests and finely crafted treasures are a triumph of devotion to excellence that defy geographical borders and political hypocrisy. The studio has good light, lots of work in progress and some in storage, reference material in the form of books, magazines and photographs and an abundance of personal memorabilia. The books range from magnificently illustrated volumes about ancient civilizations, collecting and crafts, to contemporary artists and art history. Twisted paint tubes crowd a palette next to an easel like crumpled and exhausted costumes abandoned by post performance ballet dancers. Despite the temptation to read Anziska’s work at a glance because of its tonal sophistication and seductive surface quality, to do so would invite misunderstanding. There are layers of meaning to the work produced by this artist fascinated with the essence of origins which she writes about in passages expressing her concern for a global society morally conquered by information technology and popular culture. Anziska works slowly to create paintings that have developed in style inviting viewers to share her appreciation of an indefinable gift we call quality.
Detail from She is Special
Exit
Beauty Diptage
Peeping Tom
Past Icon
Explosion
Reunion
Talk To Me Doll
Floating
Who Is She
Showroom
Lips
The Master Series solo exhibition
by Derric van Rensburg Derric van Rensburg, internationally known for his superb impressionist paintings, is widely rated as one of South Africa’s top artists. He is well known for his colourful land-, sea- and earthscapes, female gures, abstract wildlife and the use of bright acrylic colours in these paintings.
teaching art before becoming a professional artist in 1986.He has contributed richly to the development of emerging artists in South Africa, not only through teaching art as a profession, but also through numerous workshops and private tutorials across the country.
Following humble beginnings, Derric has emerged as one of the true heavyweights of the local and international art scenes. Having always felt a profound connection to the natural environment since early childhood, this versatile and prolic artist draws his inspiration from the abundant beauty found in the African landscape, as well as the rich variety of people, fauna and ora inhabiting it. To the delight of audiences at home and abroad, his broad brush strokes and sometimes abstract visual intensity, coupled with ingenious impressionist air, continues to capture the true aesthetic essence of this rugged continent. It all started at the age of ten when he completed his rst pencil drawing, and his career later followed the commercial and manufacturing world of the creative arts. He progressed to
Derric’s rst exhibition was held in 1978 in Cape Town and was sold out within a few days. Since then he has exhibited many times in South Africa and also in Portugal, England, Italy, Australia and Germany. Most of his commissions are placed by multinational corporate clients, which include First National Bank, South African Airways, Transnet, Liberty Life, Price WaterhouseCoopers, Reebok, Ernst&Young, Alexander Forbes, BP and Mobil, as well as a number of South Africa’s best known hotels. His work is represented by selected top galleries throughout South Africa and abroad, and many of his paintings hang in homes and major corporate companies in Australia, England, Singapore, Switzerland, Portugal, Germany and Italy.
To celebrate his 55th birthday in 2007, a beautiful, full colour coƤee table book of 200 pages containing more than 170 images of Derric’s superb art, was published and launched at the Lindy van Niekerk Art Gallery and was one of his most successful solo exhibition ever.
Derric’s last solo exhibition was held in Bavaria, Germany in December 2009, and now, in celebration of his 58th birthday on 5 May this year Lindy van Niekerk Art Gallery will be hosting his next solo exhibition in South Africa. This exhibition called ‘The Master Series’ promises to be his best.
Derric van Rensburg said the following about this book: “To have fty-ve years of one’s life represented in a beautiful book is probably something that most people would consider an incredible achievement, and so do I. Yet, I nd myself wondering and thinking back on how it all came about. Like every other person, I have not lived my life in isolation. The various experiences that are written about and portrayed in this book have shaped me, the way I see life and fundamentally how I paint”.
Derric has produced a collection of truly masterful artworks exceeding all expectations, taking his work to new heights. The art of impressionism has been explored with an array of amboyant & colourful paintings in a diversity of subject matters including gures studies, land & earthscapes, wildlife, interiors, abstract and many more. Each painting will be accompanied by a certicate elaborating on his inspiration and passion for that particular piece.
EXHIBITION DURATION: 6 -15 May ’10 OPENING: Thursday, 6 May ’10 from 18:00 – 20:00 VIEWING: Thursday: 6 May ’10 from 18:00 – 20:00 Weekdays: 7-14 May ’10 from 09:00 – 18:00 Saturdays: 8 & 15 May ’10 from 09:00 – 14:00
PLACE: Lindy van Niekerk Art Gallery, 31 Kommandeur Rd, Welgemoed, Bellville ENQUIRIES: T. +27 21 913 7204/5 · Email. lindy@artpro.co.za · www.artpro.co.za
Lost Horizon
Early Bird Catches
Early Morning Light
Ray Potter Paint with Passion Porcelain watercolour mixing pans, my favourite one and only sable brush, an old mop brush that has already painted a thousand different skies. The smell of purified turps and oil paint that greets me in my studio; a perfect piece of stretched watercolour paper crying out for its first colour wash – these are a few of my favourite things that whet the passion in me to paint. When I am out and about, I want to feel and hear the physical elements of my subject – the sting of salt water on my face, my bare feet in the sand of tidal pools, the squawk of seagulls. The smell of diesel and old hemp on the pier or the lapping of the water against the bulkheads of the fishing boats as they lie in wait; the steady throb of their motors as they sail through the port and starboard beacons on their way to the deep sea. These are the feelings that bring out the passion making me turn to the easel and brush and paint. My passion for painting makes me go the extra mile to find the subject that will help me paint that canvas with the ‘Wow’ factor. For example the 2010 winning best watercolour at the SASA Annual Exhibition which was my “Early Morning Light”, Kalk Bay … I was there before sunrise waiting in the dark for the first rays of the sun, ready with my sketch pad, pencil and watercolour to catch the simple composition that would unfold: A line of fishing boats still at rest, snugly tucked close to the harbour, their rigging and masts silhouetted against a cadmium yellow sky. Before I could see anymore detail the picture was there, ready for my brushes and then with passion I completed the painting – ‘wow’! My passion that morning paid off - so strive to feel, get involved PAINT WITH PASSION. Contact details: Email: jpotter@webafrica.org.za Tel: 027 (0)21 782 5690 Cell: 027 (0)82 472 2447
Coming Home
Fisherman’s Rest
From a Distance
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ARTLIFE - Where Art and Life Meet
Robert Hodgins
Lisa Brice
www.artthrob.co.za - Editions Available
www.artthrob.co.za is South Africa’s longest running visual art publication, started in 1997 by Founding Editor Sue Williamson. Twelve years on it remains an authoritative voice on South African contemporary art.ArtThrob is funded by sales of original prints, sold through Editions for ArtThrob. Over the years ArtThrob has been privileged to offer prints by artists Jane Alexander, David Goldblatt and Robert Hodgins. ArtThrob will be at the Joburg Art Fair 2010 to launch the third of our Portfolios with works by William Kentridge, Candice Breitz and Willem Boshoff. Contact Editions Manager Natasha Norman at editions@artthrob.co.za.
Surprise
Yourself !
Find out about our very affordable advertising rates at: www.artlife.co.za Or better still call Megan at 021 6856732 for a chat about getting the very best exposure in the South African art market. There’s not secret to why we are the largest SA circulated and read art newspaper for the last 5 exciting years, we work hard to get you the right exposure, at very affordable prices, and more. Ask us how. Cape Town based Fine Artist Ilse Kleyn with “The Widow”. Oil on canvas. Size : 1200 x 900 mm. R7560. Contact Ilse at +27 845042814 / +27 21 9814630. www.artofkleyn.co.za or e-mail at ilse@artofkleyn.co.za
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