Archive: Issue No. 77, January 2004

16.01.04 Cameron Platter at João Ferreira
16.01.04 Ed Young at Bell-Roberts
16.01.04 2nd Spier Outdoor Sculpture Biennial
16.01.04 New shows at the AVA
16.01.04 An Irish Eye: Landscapes of Fact and Imagination at the Cape Town Castle
16.01.04 Unveiling of Come to Pass
20.12.03 New exhibitions at Michael Stevenson Contemporary
20.12.03 IQE - The power of rock art: ancestors, rainmaking and healing at the SA Museum
20.12.03 Berni Searle's 'Float' at the SANG
15.11.03 Louis Jansen van Vuuren at the AVA
15.11.03 AidsArt/ South Africa at the SANG
01.11.03 New Boshoff work on show at SANG
15.09.03 Co-existence: contemporary cultural production in SA at the SANG

In his first one-person exhibition since graduation from Michaelis two years ago, Cameron Platter presents a suite of drawings entitled 'The Love is Approaching'.

His drawings are inspired and influenced by a diverse range of sources which include "desert islands, palm trees, sharks, fast cars, women, cash, politicians, cocktails, dark and stormy nights, Frank Sinatra, leopards, James Bond, zebras in spaceships, landscapes, African woodcut artists, his friends, strangers in the night, and approaching love". Platter claims that these themes are all central to life in contemporary South Africa.

On the opening night there will be a large-scale video projection, which promises to shed some light on the drawings.

Opens: January 7, at 7pm
Closes: January 31

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Ed Young's third successive one-night exhibition is titled 'Asshole'. [Nothing coy in the title is there! - Ed.] The new work has been produced in response to the numerous derogatory comments about Young's previous exhibitions, which have included the sale of a local bar-owner and his subsequent donation to the National Gallery ('Bruce Gordon') and the presentation of the all-girl Muse string quartet in a commercial gallery space ('Muse'). Through this process, Young acknowledges his status as an arsehole and brings together a number of elements in order to create an installation environment that stresses this point.

Unlike on his previous two outings, Young here presents a range of more traditional artworks, including painting, print media, video, as well as performative works. In his own words: "Some bare naked ladies can be expected. Delicious food and excellent drink will be served". A catalogue will be available on the night.

Opens: January 14, at 6pm

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The 2nd Spier Outdoor Sculpture Biennial opens at the Spier estate, outside Stellenbosch. The works at this year's event are all in the environs of the Eerste River, stretching from the vehicular bridge near the lake to the outdoor amphitheatre. Public Eye and the Spier Arts Trust once again jointly present the event.

The opening includes a walkabout at which many of the artists will be in attendance.

Opens: January 15, at 6.30pm
Closes: March 15

The AVA kicks off the new year with three new shows. Brendhan Dickerson, a Capetonian now resident in Ireland, presents a body of work called 'Suspended Disbelief', while German-born Petra Kleinhorst presents 'Time and Again'. These two shows are jointly called 'No Ja'. In the remaining space André Naudé and Chris Diedericks present their first collaboration, which they have titled 'Residue'.

Opens: January 26, at 6pm
Closes: February 14

Ireland has long enjoyed a close political, business and sporting relationship with South Africa, yet cultural exchange has been scarce. To coincide with South Africa's celebration of 10 years of democracy, the Solomon Gallery from Dublin, is bringing a major Irish art exhibition to Cape Town.

'An Irish Eye: Landscapes of Fact and Imagination' brings Irish figurative art right up to date and comprises a diverse collection of visual art. The exhibition includes painting and sculpture by some of the greatest Irish artists of the last century including Jack B. Yeats, Patrick Collins and Tony O'Malley, alongside older contemporary artists such as Louis le Brocquy and Basil Blackshaw.

The show also includes work by young Irish painters and sculptors such as Hughie O'Donoghue, Donald Teskey, John Shinnors and Mary Theresa Keown, all of whom are fast making names for themselves internationally. During the four-day exhibition, sculptor Patrick O'Reilly will realise a major outdoor bronze work in the courtyard of the Castle. A portion of the proceeds from this exhibition will support the Mandela Rhodes Foundation.

Opens: January 29, at 6pm
Closes: February 2

Finally, the winners of the 2002 Cape Town Public Sculpture Competition, Fritha Langerman and Katherine Bull, have been allowed to realise their work. Literally years of wrangling and political ping-pong have stalled the work which was initially due for installation more than a year ago.

'Come to Pass' is now to be unveiled, at the originally planned site by Andrew Boraine, former City Manager and current Chief Executive of the Cape Town Partnership. The final work has departed a little from its initial form, largely due to the City's concerns for the safety of pedestrian traffic and a general inability of the right hand to know what the left hand was doing. Refreshments at the AVA, which administered the competition, will follow the unveiling.

Unveiling: January 30, at 1.30pm (Friday)
Venue: Corner St. George's Mall and Shortmarket Street, Cape Town

Michael Stevenson Contemporary is host to two exhibitions through until next year. Hylton Nel presents some recent ceramics, while there is a curated show entitled 'Literally and Figuratively: Text and image in South African art'.

Nel describes himself as an 'artist-potter' which aptly refers to his interest in painted imagery as well as with form and function. Over the past four decades he has developed a style that makes reference to the decorative arts as much as literary and art historical sources. His plates, bowls, vases, plaques and figurative pieces are idiosyncratically decorated with witty - and sometimes poignant - line drawings and script. His imagery ranges from penises to Madonnas, and from cats through to angels, and his quotes are drawn from poetry and the daily press as well as his observations of the world around him. He presently lives on the outskirts of Calitzdorp, a small town in the Klein Karoo. A lavishly illustrated book on the artist accompanies the exhibition, and is jointly published by Michael Stevenson Contemporary and The Fine Arts Society in London.

Parallel to this is the group show of other artists who seamlessly integrate texts and images in their work. In the contemporary idiom, there are many artists who use both text and image to explore symbolism and convey narratives. Artists on this show range from Moshekwa Langa's word towers to Stanley Pinker's satirical oils, as well as works by Berni Searle, William Kentridge, Robert Hodgins, Jean Brunditt, Brett Murray, Chris Ledochowski, Colin Richards and Penny Siopis.

Opens: December 10, at 6pm
Closes: January 24, 2004

The long-awaited permanent exhibition of rock paintings and engravings is finally opening at the SA Museum. Entitled 'IQE - The power of rock art: ancestors, rainmaking and healing', the milestone exhibition, serves to demystify both the spiritual and workaday world of the Khoe-San people, descendants of the earliest inhabitants of southern Africa.

Rock art is undoubtedly one of the earliest manifestations of human's artistic awakening and Southern Africa is privileged to possess one of the richest legacies of cave and rock-shelter art in the world. Today, thousands of years after the first images were etched into rock, the results provide invaluable insight into what might otherwise have been an enigmatic past. Rock art holds the key to many mysteries of the past and interests not only those concerned with antiquity, but also artists, craftspeople and educators.

Despite their outward simplicity, the images are steeped in complexity and symbolism and the exhibition has necessarily drawn on the knowledge of the present-day San. Funded by a grant from the State Lotteries Board, the exhibition arises from a creative partnership with San and Khoekhoe descendant communities, curators, academics and leading designers. Associated educational and public programmes - for both schools and the public - will complement this powerful exhibition and include performance, storytelling, music, lectures and tours.

Opens: December 7

Advance Notice: The South African National Gallery is hosting the travelling exhibition of the 2003 Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner, Berni Searle. A Capetonian artist with an international profile, Searle has exhibited her video and lens-based media installations in South Africa, the USA, Europe and Australia as well as at the 7th Cairo Biennale, Dakart and on 'Authentic/Ex-centric', at the 49th Venice Biennale.

The recipient of several international awards, she has most recently been short listed for the Artes Mundi or Arts of the World visual arts prize. The Standard Bank exhibition will coincide with that of the ten candidates for this prize in Wales, which will be judged in March by a panel including another international artist originating from Cape Town, Marlene Dumas.

Berni Searle is a conceptual artist who uses her own body to explore issues relating to personal and collective identity, aspects of South African history and her placement within it. 'Float' includes a commission for the Berkley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, the video installation A Matter of Time (2003), and Home and Away (2003), produced for the NMAC Montenmedio Arte Contemporaneo in Vejer de la Fronterra, Spain, as well as an earlier video installation, Snow White (2001). The exhibition also includes related two-dimensional works.

Opens: February 3, 2004, at 6pm
Closes: February 29

Former Capetonian Louis Jansen van Vuuren, who now lives in the Limousin region of France, holds his annual show in all three spaces at the AVA. Jansen van Vuuren is known for his evocative pastel work, often highlighting exotic destinations that he has visited. Since his move to France several years ago, his work has changed in tone, atmosphere and colour, focusing more on the hues of the French countryside and less on the bold blues of the Cape. This annual show is always popular and guarantees the gallery ample commission.

Opens: December3
Closes: January 24, 2003

Coinciding with the 2002 conference at Wellesley College, Boston, USA - 'Aids and South Africa', 'AidsArt/ South Africa' is a joint venture between that institution and Iziko Museums. The exhibition comprises a collection of artistic statements highlighting the tragedy that afflicts so many lives. It displays a gamut of artistic ideas and utilises a multitude of media, including photography, painting, collage and installation. Kyle Kauffman from Wellesley has co-curated the exhibition with SANG's Marilyn Martin and the work ranges from hard-hitting and powerful to poignant, personal, intimate and even enigmatic. The exhibition comes at a time when the Aids pandemic has reached epic proportions, and constitutes, says Martin, 'the most serious social problem facing the African continent'. Participants include Clive van den Berg, David Goldblatt, Karel Nel, Neo Matome and Lien Botha. A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition.

Opens November 29
Closes February 4

A significant addition to Iziko-SA National Gallery's permanent collection has been donated by Sanlam, in the form of a portfolio of visual poetry. 12 silkscreeens prints republished from Willem Boshoff's original KYKAFRIKAANS anthology of 1980 will be on show at the Gallery.

Willem Boshoff is a prolific, innovative and dynamic artist, a multifaceted craftsman and champion of the original, with a particular passion for languages under siege. On these, he bestows a new dimension and added impact by elevating words into an art form. His works have been exhibited at the Venice and Havana Biennale, in Belgium, Sweden, Germany and New York, and are also to be found in collections in Europe and USA.

A concrete or visual poem resembles a painting in that it is "in your face" - concerned not only with its literary content, but primarily with its visual or perceivable form. Interestingly, this art form dates back to the 16th century. Boshoff's "poems" have been made with an ancient typewriter, in the same manner that a brush functions in painting. Today KYKAFRIKAANS, states Marilyn Martin, Director of Iziko Art Collections, has gained almost mythical status and "occupies a respected place in the history of art and literature, both in SA and internationally."

The original KYKAFRIKAANS manuscript forms part of the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry in Miami and was exhibited at the local Museum of Art during the 'Global Conceptualism: Points of Origin' exhibition. The new edition of Boshoff's visual poems was commissioned by Sanlam and printed by Hardground Printmakers.

The exhibition is on view daily from 10:00 - 17:00 (except Monday).

Set to open on Heritage Day, 'Co-existence: contemporary cultural production in SA' honours not only our internationally-acclaimed artists such as William Kentridge, but also those whose remarkable talents have come to light through needlework collectives and other self-help initiatives. As such, each artwork is a unique response to the country's complex environment, be it an eloquent statement by a celebrated artist or an item of skilled handicraft by anonymous rural craftsmen.

The exhibition is a result of a collaborative curatorial effort by Marilyn Martin, Director of Iziko Art Collections with Zola Mtshiza and Pamela Allara, Associate Professor of Art History at Brandeis University in Boston, USA. The show opened at The Rose Museum at the University earlier this year. In the catalogue accompanying the show, Martin states, "the contemporary world is not limited to makers trained at universities and versed in international concerns. It includes those with little or no formal education whose involvement in the realm of art is through projects initiated as a vehicle for providing an income".

Originally listed as opening on Wednesday September 24, the show's works have been delayed in transit. The show will open on October 5, or as soon as possible after this date.

Closes: February 16