ARTS
K P Mautloa ART AMBLE
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he FynArts Art Amble from 5 – 16 June will be an extension of the Hermanus Art Amble and the Hermanus First Fridays Artwalk, and will include special exhibitions at various art galleries, at the Old Synagogue, the Municipal Auditorium, the Windsor Hotel, The Marine, on the Cliff Path at Gearing’s Point and at seven participating wine farms. ■ The Old Synagogue Exhibition: This group exhibition titled (In) The Nature of Things is curated by Marilyn Martin, Matthew Blackman and Melvyn Minnaar, and proudly presented under the auspices of the Association for Visual Art (AVA). Among the artists included are Lien Botha, Hanien Conradie, Ruann Coleman, Stephen Inggs, William Kentridge, Helmit Starke, Willem Strydom and Leon Vermeulen. ■ Sculptures on the Cliff: This group exhibition on the Cliff Path at Gearing’s Point is titled Biodiversity and will feature works by Adriaan Diedericks, Alex Hamilton, Anni Snyman and PC Janse van Rensburg, Anton Smit, Gordon Froud, Jaco Sieberhagen, Jean Theron Louw, Marieke Prinsloo-Rowe and Strijdom van der Merwe. ■ Wine farms: Bouchard Finlayson wine cellar – Tollman Bouchard Finlayson Art Award Finalists Exhibition Benguela Cove – Sheena Ridley solo sculpture exhibition titled Dance Creation – exhibition of Roberto Vaccaro titled Art @ Creation ELL at Spookfontein – exhibition of glassware by Ronel Basson and Janette Anderson titled Fanglasstic La Vierge – ceramic exhibition of Heidi Snaith and Clement Mkhizse titled Birds in the City Sumaridge tasting room – Jono Dry solo exhibition titled Vulnerability Whalehaven – Untitled exhibition of steel sculptures by Marco Cianfanelli And Vinotria 100 Wine Labels exhibition ■ Art Galleries: Abalone Gallery - solo exhibition of Kagiso Pat Mautloa Art Thirst - solo exhibition of Leon Müller’s work titled Silence Daniel Kok Gallery – solo exhibition of Sarah Danes Jarrett titled She Hermanus Art Circle – exhibition of guest artist Nico van Rensburg titled A Personal Experience embraced by Mountains and Sea Hornbill Gallery - exhibition of drawings and paintings by Erna Dry titled Kgalagadi Lembu Gallery - exhibition of Ed Bredenkamp’s works titled Far Horizons Malcolm Bowling Gallery - exhibition of woks by Boniface Chikwenhere and Malcolm Bowling titled Feathers, Horns and Scales Mission’s House Gallery - group exhibition of Bill Davis, Weyers du Toit and Joshua Miles Originals Art Gallery – solo exhibition of Terry Kobus titled Pushing the Envelope Pure South – exhibition of Errol Norbury titles African Strokes Rossouw Modern – joint exhibition of Diane Victor and Gordon Froud titled Second Lives The Courtyard Sculpture Garden – group sculpture exhibition of Shepherd Ndudzo, Anton Smit, Herman van Nazareth and Strijdom van der Merwe Village Art Gallery – solo exhibition of Tony de Freitas Walker Bay Art Gallery – solo exhibition of Gail Catlin titled Collection of Work Willie Botha Sculpture Gallery – solo exhibition of sculptures by Willie Botha titled From Clay to Bronze ■ Ralph Walton Design: Exhibition of Spice Rack Jewellery inspired by The Spice Route. ■ Windsor Hotel: Group ceramics exhibition titled Forms of Expression, to be officially opened on Saturday 6 June at 10:30 by Hennie Meyer. More than 20 ceramic artists are participating in this exhibition, including Ann Marais, David Walters, Eunice Botes, Christo Giles, Heather Frankel, Tania Babb, Ralph Johnson, Rae Goosen, Lisa Firer and Sarah Walters. ■ The Marine: Group exhibition of contemporary jewellery by seven goldsmiths – Idane Burger, Erica du Plessis, Lilly Friedlander, Geta Finlayson, Carla Maxine Kruger, Anine Roos, Carine Terreblanche and Angela Tölken. Trophy Heads – exhibition of vibrant and brightly coloured mosaic trophy heads (bull, buck, kudu and deer) by Karla Duterloo. ■ Municipal Auditorium: Art of Threads – group exhibition by innovative fibre artists working with man-made and natural fibres and textiles such as fabric, wood, wool and silk. Paired: Fynbos with Art – A display of paintings teamed up with floral arrangements presented by the South African Flower Association.
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Interpreting the passage of time and memory
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uring the Hermanus FynArts Festival, Abalone Art Gallery is presenting works by Kagiso Patrick Mautloa in a solo exhibition entitled 'Encounters'. Born in Ventersdorp in 1952, Mautloa’s artistic home base is the Bag Factory Artists’ Studio in downtown Johannesburg, which he helped to set up in 1992. He studied art at Rorke's Drift Art Centre in KwaZulu Natal where he obtained a Fine Art Diploma in 1978, and at the Mofolo Art Centre in Soweto. Before devoting himself full-time to his career as an artist, Mautloa worked in the Graphic Design Studio of the SABC from 1981-1992. With David Koloane, Bill Ainslie and other South African artists he developed the Thupelo Workshops in 1985, which are part of the international Triangle Network. He taught at FUBA (Federated Union of Black Artists) from the early 1980s and was instrumental in the Thupelo Gallery there. Mautloa observes and draws inspiration for bold, vivacious canvases and assemblages composed of objets trouvés from the vibrant street life around him, not merely for their own visual qualities, but as repositories of history. People are at the centre of his work, depicted in shadowy, rather mask-like outlines as surfaces for projection of their social environment. The use of multiple textured layers in his work evokes hidden complexities and gives the spectator space to explore the underlying imagery. Integrated random objects, urban debris or construction work elements reveal our society as a work in progress and are at the same time mementoes of the personal histories that people carry with them. A keen observation of his work opens the mind to unexpected, surprising encounters. Mautloa works in an abstract form language as well as with figurative elements, both intensified in an interplay with different textures and base materials, also involving reproduction techniques such as digital print. The works display a light, yet acute and intense preoccupation with positioning, size and colour. Apart from people in their urban surroundings, music is a defining theme, because like the fine arts, music is a means to overcome the restrictiveness and absoluteness of the spoken/written word and to explore subconscious perception. Mautloa’s work has been exhibited all over South Africa, in the United States, Cuba, Germany and Austria. His paintings are included in many important SA public and private collections. “In order to interpret the passage of time and memory, and create a sense of nostalgia in my artwork, I use a variety of objects and pigments. I layer my surfaces to bring about memories of time and age, in the same way as life is about layers of time and space. A recording of everyday objects can change perceptions and add meaning. An artist is a kind of historian. You live through certain times and those times come to be reflected in your work, which becomes a sort of diary, if you like. “I have always liked to place, displace, construct, deconstruct and reconstruct things. This stems from the enjoyment of seeing images shaping out of nothing – giving birth to form.” – Pat Mautloa In addition to the solo exhibition in the Annex, the main space at Abalone Gallery’s group show ‘Between Conceptual and Spiritual’ includes works by Alta Botha, John Clarke, Judith Mason, Elzaby Laubscher, André Naudé, Lynette ten Krooden, Jeannette Unite, Louis van Heerden and Kristin Hua Yang. The Courtyard Sculpture Garden shows a variety of sculptures and objects by Shepherd Ndudzo, Herman van Nazareth, Anton Smit, Susanna Swart, Carl Roberts and Strydom van der Merwe.