Archive: Issue No. 56, April 2002

24.04.02 Heleen Verwey and Paul Weinberg at the NSA Gallery
17.04.02 'Untold Tales of Magic: Abelumbi' at Durban Art Gallery
17.04.02 Ezequiel Mabote at the African Art Centre
17.04.02 Artists for Human Rights UDHR Print Portfolio at the BAT Centre
03.04.02 Isabella Quattrocchi, Bernice Stott and 'Doodles' at the NSA
20.02.02 Ellis 'n Bheki at the NSA Gallery

17.04.02 Louisa Eriksen-Miller and 'Frayed Edges' at Jack Heath Gallery

Exhibiting recent paintings at the NSA is Heleen Verwey, a Dutch artist now living in South Africa. She has a diverse background in the arts, having worked in theatre, television, animation and in music, both as an organiser and a performer. She studied at the Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten (Rotterdam) and her work falls under the umbrella of "informal art". Utilising different media on supports such as canvas, wood and stone, her art is strongly influenced by the symbols and spiritual icons of Eastern and African cultures. Verwey has exhibited widely in Europe, Holland and Africa. Her last solo exhibition was at the National Art Gallery of Namibia in October 2001.

In the Mezzanine and Park Galleries well-known photographer Paul Weinberg exhibits a selection of images for a new book Durban: Impressions of an African City. The images take the viewer into the heart of a contemporary South African city facing the unique challenges of modern Africa. Published by Porcupine Press and written by travel writer David Robbins and storyteller Gcina Mhlope, this unusual travel book will be launched at the NSA on May 10 at 6pm with a special performance by Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre.

Opening: April 30 at 6pm
Closing: May 19

NSA Gallery, 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood
Tel: 031 202 3686
Fax: 031 202 3744
Email: iartnsa@mweb.co.za
Website: www.nsagallery.co.za
Hours: Tues - Fri 10am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm, Sun 11am - 3pm

Months in the preparation, 'Untold Tales of Magic: Abelumbi' is a fascinating survey of different cultural approaches to the idea of magic. The term "magic" is utilised here to embrace the unexplained, and so ranges across organised religion, local folktales, mythologies, alchemy, sorcery and enchantment. Concerned with both good and evil, the exhibition covers Western, Eastern and African subjects and features the work of 68 artists from KwaZulu-Natal.

Pieces to look out for are MV Naidoo's oil painting Kali and the Kutti-Shaitaan depicting the 1935 exorcism of an evil spirit that was eventually defeated by the combined forces of Zulu sangomas, Muslim priests and Hindu spiritualists; depictions by Zamokwake Gumede, Juluis Mfethe, George Msimang and Siphiwe Zulu of the Night Rider, the Zulu legend of a dark, undead entity who rides a baboon "familiar" facing backwards so as not to be recognised by his enemies; and Cross of Evil, a beaded sculpture by Thafa Dlamini and Ceaser Mkhize.

Curated by Jill Addelson of the Durban Art Gallery, the exhibition is seen as making a real contribution to indigenous knowledge systems. Michigan State University, in conjunction with Professor Seleti of the Campbell Collections, is funding ongoing research into the artists contributing to the show.

The exhibition will travel to main centres in KZN as well as to the Standard Bank Gallery in Johannesburg, the Pretoria Art Museum, the Oliewenhuis Art Gallery in Bloemfontein and the William Humphreys Art Gallery, Kimberley,

Opening: April 16 at 6pm

Durban Art Gallery, 2nd floor, City Hall, Smith Street
Tel: 031 311 2262
Fax: 031 311 2273
Website: www.durban.gov.za/museums/artgallery
Hours: Mon - Sat 8.30am - 4pm, Sun 11am - 4pm

Ezequiel Mabote's fifth solo show focuses on colour-reduction linocuts. A Mozambican by birth, Mabote was trained at the Nucleo do Arte Centre in Maputo and later refined his knowledge of printmaking with master printmaker Malcolm Christian of Caversham Press in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Influenced strongly by the legacy of John Muafangejo, his subject matter embraces the life of ordinary people as well as the folktales and family stories told to him by his grandparents. Rich in visual texture and dramatic in their colour combinations, the works are fine examples of a particular tradition in printmaking.

Closing: April 30

The Durban-based grouping Artists for Human Rights put together the UDHR International Print Portfolio in 1999 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights. The portfolio consists of 34 original prints by artists from South Africa and abroad, arranged into 50 limited edition portfolios of A2 size.

Endorsed by the Dalai Lama and various other champions of human rights, the portfolio reflects artists' understanding and interpretation of the values that are fundamental to human existence. Project leaders Jan Jordaan and Vedant Nanackhand believe the portfolio will "serve as a catalyst for further creative and critical discourse regarding the role of art and human rights, as we enter into the new millennium". The exhibition is dedicated to all victims of human rights violations and crimes against humanity.

Menzi Mcunu Gallery, BAT Centre, 45 Maritime Place, Small Craft Harbour
Tel: 031 332 0451 (Njabulo Hlongwane)
Fax: 031 332 2213
Email: info@batcentre.co.za
Website: www.batcentre.co.za
Hours: Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm, Sat - Sun 9am - 4.30pm

The next trio of shows at the NSA comprises the first solo show by Isabella Quattrocchi, a video installation by Bernice Stott and 'Doodles: A Group Exhibition of Serious Drawings'.

Quattrocchi is currently completing an MAFA in Fine Arts at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg. Six drawings on paper and an installation of three large-scale works are conceived to fill the gallery space yet counter notions of monumentality. Large floating gauze panels suspended from the ceiling and detailed with pins and other markings, the materials are fragile and diaphanous. Their transparency allows works to overlay and be read through each other. Impermanence, also an aspect of the artist's concerns, is engaged through large panels supporting growing grass, green and fresh when the exhibition opens, but at the end of its lifespan when it closes.

In the Multimedia Gallery, Stott's video installation The Colours that Come Back to You From the World explores womanhood, body, the spirited and spiritual. Influenced by Japanese Kabuki theatre, the video engages layered identity, from the persona (mask) one presents to the world to our constructions of who we believe we are. The installation is set in a space of mirrored surfaces to enhance ideas of introspection, reflection and identity multiplicity. Stott recently completed her B.Tech degree at Technikon Natal. She is active as an artist, a priest in the Anglican Church and community workshop facilitator. Andries Botha will open the exhibition.

In the Mezzanine and Park Galleries is 'Doodles: A Group Exhibition of Serious Drawings'. The NSA Gallery approached a variety of Durban-based artists (established and emerging) to contribute to an exhibition of drawings that sets up a range of styles and intentions. The definition of "drawing" is wide - some artists sketch out ideas for bigger works while others work with drawing as their main medium. Artists participating include Gabi Nkosi, Virginia MacKenny, Andrew Verster, Helen Clara-Hemsley, Seodin O'Sullivan, Nathi Khanyile, Georgia Kotretsos and Ingrid Winterbach.

Opening: Tuesday April 9 at 6pm
Closing: April 28

NSA Gallery, 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood
Tel: (031) 202 3686
Fax: (031) 202 3744
Email: iartnsa@mweb.co.za
Website: www.nsagallery.co.za
Hours: Tues - Fri 10am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm, Sun 11am - 3pm

Well-known Durban performers Ellis Pearson and Bheki Mkhwane will perform at the NSA Gallery for one weekend of the month for the next three months. They aim to create a dynamic performance area incorporating both the sloping lawns and the restaurant area, and to invite musicians and other artists whose work enhances the spirit of their African outdoor theatre.

The first 'Ellis 'n Bheki' NSA experiences will be from February 22-24 when they will perform Big Udder. The second weekend will be March 29-31 when they will perform their all-time favourite Boy Called Rubbish, and on April 26-28 they'll present a brand new piece commissioned by the Grahamstown Festival

Tickets are available at the NSA shop at R40 for adults and R20 for children. Inquiries to Sue at 082 882 9869 or clarence@icon.co.za.

NSA Gallery, 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood

Louisa Eriksen-Miller, a Masters student at the Centre for Visual Art at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, focuses on women's experience in the intimate environment of self and home. Small representational still-lifes in acrylic and oil are offset against larger works in torn paper allowing the artist to explore both the literal and psychological dimensions of a woman's domain. 'Frayed Edges' examines the unravelling of personal boundaries that so often occurs under the constraint of the domestic.

Closing: April 26

Jack Heath Gallery, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg