EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
Patrick Rulore : 653 Suurman, Section 6, Hammanskraal
4 – 31 March 2023
BAG FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
The Bag Factory in association with Makgati Molebatsi Art Consulting present the solo exhibition
635 Suurman, Section 6, Hammanskraal
by Patrick RuloreIn this body of work, Rulore explores the depiction of intimate human moments that co-exists alongside socio-economic challenges, aspirational goals, and technological advancement. Through a series of 16 oil paintings, the artist sheds light on various ways members of his community in Hammanskraal have circumvented the nationwide energy crisis, dubbed as “load shedding”.
The presence of electricity and by extension internet connectivity presents people the opportunity to occupy themselves with various electronic devices while the introduction of the load-shedding predicament has compelled families to interact with those in close proximity to them. This body of work highlights these delicate moments - when we sit in anticipation of the electricity to be restored. Rulore invites us into these quaint and intimate episodes where families try to navigate their time in the darkness.
Beyond the context of the challenges faced because of load shedding the artist’s current oeuvre speaks to the broader socio-economic realities of township life. Patrick’s work invites the viewer to pause and engage with the characters and imagery in the paintings as opposed to rapidly trying grasp what is presented.
What may seem like a nostalgic moment, inspires the artist to ask an introspective question:
“Is there a point of contention in these artworks?”
Perhaps the ambiguity lies in the continuous darkness that surrounds the persons, Rulore has painted. In what seems like picturesque scenarios, the circumstances allude to a sense of emptiness. Amidst the glistening eyes and the warm circles of conversation around a fire as depicted in his paintings, one is reminded of the stark reality of lived anguish.
BAG FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
Patrick Rulore
Ba ga Mashaba I
2022
118 x 99 cm
Oil on Canvas
R 30 000.00 (incl. VAT) Unframed
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
2022
118 x 99 cm
Oil on canvas
R 35 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Unframed
Patrick Rulore
Dinonwane tsa Ntate II
BAG
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
Patrick Rulore
Ma Dice’ng
2022
93 x 87 cm
Oil on Canvas
R 25 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Framed
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
2022
173 x 130 cm
Oil on canvas
R 40 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Framed
Patrick Rulore
E re keo behele metsi
BAG
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
2022
87 x 93 cm
Oil on Canvas
R 25 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Framed
Patrick Rulore
Ba ga Mashaba II
BAG
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
Patrick Rulore
One device left II
2022
118 x 99 cm
Oil on canvas
R 30 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Unframed
BAG
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
Patrick Rulore
We are outside 2022
97 x 83 cm
Oil on canvas
R 25 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Framed
BAG
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
2022
93 x 83 cm
Oil on canvas
R 25 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Framed
Patrick Rulore
Majita akasi
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
Patrick Rulore
Dinonwane tsa Ntate I
2022
150 x 115 cm
Oil on canvas
R 30 000.00 each (Incl. VAT) Framed
BAG
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
118 x 99 cm
Oil on Canvas
R 30 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Unframed
Patrick Rulore
Subway Surfer 2022
BAG
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
Untitled I
2022
30 x 30 cm
Oil on Canvas
R 5 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Framed
Patrick Rulore
BAG
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
30 x 30 cm
R 5 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Framed
Patrick Rulore
Untitled II 2022
Oil on Canvas
BAG
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
Patrick Rulore
Untitled III
2022
30 x 30 cm
Oil on Canvas
R 5 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Framed
BAG
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
30 x 30 cm
R 5 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Framed
Patrick Rulore
Untitled IV 2022
Oil on Canvas
BAG
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
Untitled V 2022
30 x 30 cm
Oil on Canvas
R 5 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Framed
Patrick Rulore
BAG
FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
30 x 30 cm
R 5 000.00 (Incl. VAT) Framed
Patrick Rulore
Untitled VI 2022
Oil on Canvas
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Patrick Rulore (b. 1995, Johannesburg) matriculated in 2013., following which he began his art practice by creating commissioned portraits. He went on to study a National Diploma in Arts at the Tshwane University of Technology, which he completed in 2021.
Rulore has participated in numerous group exhibitions since 2015 including India Delhi and Pretoria Penthouse (2015), Art Alive Brooklyn (2017), Centurion Art Gallery (2018), Retro Art Gallery and Pretoria Arts Association (2021). His works were selected as a part of the Top 100 of the prestigious Sasol New Signatures competition for 2017. In 2018, his artwork was awarded the Top Painting accolade. In 2019 and 2022, his submissions for the Thami Mnyele Art Award were selected for the top 15 best artworks.
Rulore is the winner of 2019 Sasol New Signatures Award for his artwork “Stage 4 Moments”, which led to an accompanying exhibition titled “Stage 4 Moments, Life in Darkness” at the Pretoria Art Museum in 2021. That same year, his work was selected again as a part of the top 20 of the Thami Mnyele Art Award. His artworks are included in various art collections such as Sasol, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria Art Museum and numerous private collections nationally and internationally
ABOUT MAKGATI MOLEBATSI ART CONSULTING
Makgati Molebatsi pursued her passion for visual art and retired from a thirty-year-old career in Marketing and Communications with public and private organisations to study Art & Business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London.
She founded an art consultancy to provide guidance to private collectors, corporates as well as early-career artists in navigating the contemporary art world. She has served on the Bag Factory Artists’ Studios board and currently sits on the board of Business and Arts South Africa (BASA). She has also juried and participated in selection committees for Turbine Art Fair, Sasol Signatures Art Award, and the National Art Bank art acquisitions.
She has worked as Senior Art Specialist for Aspire Art Auctions based in Johannesburg. Makgati holds a BA (SS) Degree from The University of the North and a Diploma in Business Administration from the Wits Business School.
BAG FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
ABOUT BAG FACTORY ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
The Bag Factory is a non-profit contemporary visual art organisation in Newtown, Johannesburg. With a pioneering 32-year history of providing a supportive infrastructure for artists, the Bag Factory is unique in combining art making with cultural debate and art exhibitions, thereby creating a fertile international environment for experimentation, innovation, and cultural dialogue between creatives in South Africa and the rest of the world. We provide studio space to a cross-generational community of Johannesburg-based artists and host a prestigious international artist and curator residency programme.
We present regular exhibitions in our gallery that showcase new work by early career artists to the wider public, and we also support the professional development of artists and curators through workshops, mentorship, and the prestigious David Koloane and Cassirer Welz awards. All our programmes are accompanied by a public programme that encourages greater understanding of contemporary visual art and stimulates interaction between artists and the local community. We are affiliated with the international Triangle Network.