Archive: Issue No. 83, July 2004

01.07.04 Robin Rhode at Carlier Gebauer in Germany
01.07.04 Rust and Charles in Germany
01.07.04 Ten SA artists on 'X' in Greenwich
01.07.04 Kendell Geers gets sexy in France
01.07.04 Ten years of democracy under the spotlight in Germany
01.07.04 Philip Briel and Martine Jackson in London
01.07.04 Mandy Lee Jandrell on 'Cinderella' in London
01.07.04 South African and Swiss artists collaborate in Bern
01.06.04 Mandy Lee Jandrell at the Whitechapel Gallery
01.06.04 Van Den Ende Collection in Holland shows 57 South African artists
01.06.04 Marlene Dumas and Antjie Krog in gallery of ekphrastic poetry
01.06.04 Hentie van der Merwe in Cologne
01.05.04 South African photographers on FotoGrafia
01.05.04 Frances Goodman in Belgium
01.05.04 James Webb in Barcelona

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

01.07.04 Robin Rhode in San Francisco
01.07.04 Robin Rhode at New York's Artists Space
01.07.04 Ian van Coller at the University Of New Mexico Art Museum
01.06.04 Robin Rhode's 'The Animators' at Rose Art Museum
01.05.04 Big name South Africans in Washington DC

'How would you light heaven?' is a group show featuring the work of Robin Rhode. Taking British conceptual artist Adam Chodzko's question to a group of rave and club lighting technicians, the show reflects the interest in visual connections between fantasy and reality.

Opens: June 1
Closes: July 31

Imke Rust, a young Namibian artist, has been invited by the GTZ (Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit) to participate in their annual exhibition, to be held at their head office in Eschborn, Germany. Rust is one of 7 African artists, and the only Namibian artist, who has been invited to exhibit in this prestigious event. South Africa's Clifford Charles was also invited.

'An unobstructed view: new art from Africa', also features the artists from Uganda, Namibia, Senegal, Benin, Togo and Ghana. The pictures provide an insight into the contemporary African art scene; they bear the spirited message of African culture and politics. Around 100 pictures will be on display, and all are for sale.

Rust will be exhibiting works concerned with socio-political issues. Says the artist: "In my work, I frequently make use of the dog as a metaphor for human behaviour and characteristics. Although the works are conceived from a Namibian perspective, the concepts are of a universal nature".

Rust won the first prize for painting and a merit award for sculpture at the Standard Bank Namibia Biennale in 2001, and has participated in several group exhibitions in Namibia, Cape Town and Italy.

Opens: June 28
Closes: September 10

Through the work of ten artists, each exhibiting work created during the last ten years, 'X' celebrates ten years of democracy in South Africa through the visual arts. 'X' presents the work of a generation of South African artists that has emerged during this transition, whose work addresses issues unique to the present moment in their country's history. It showcases the work of young South African artists working in a variety of media in order to provide an insight into the diversity of artistic responses engendered by the process of change in South Africa.

X signifies both the Roman numeral for 10 and the universal symbol for democracy (x being the mark made on the ballot paper). It also references the Greek preposition ex, meaning out of or proceeding from. 'X' aims to articulate the variety of strategies that South African artists use to connect their living history with its past, presenting a transient moment in South African history as they negotiate between what was, what is, and what is to come.

The participating artists are Lisa Brice, Mandy Lee Jandrell, Mustafa Maluka, Senzeni Marasela, Johannes Phokela, Robin Rhode, Tracey Rose, Claudette Schreuders, Johan Thom and Andrew Tshabangu.

Opens: July 1
Closes: July 31

Sexus is the title of a novel by Henry Miller. 'Sexus' is an exhibition titled after the novel by Henry Miller. Like Miller, Geers claims an association with "the family of materialist hedonists, whose origins lie in the mists of philosophical and mythological time, and contrast with rationalist or mystical ascetics".

Less cryptically, 'Sexus' was specially designed exhibition by Geers for Les Moulins Albigeois, in Albi, southwest France. It will include one or two old works, hitherto never exhibited in Europe, as well as many new ones. The show is Geers' first devoted entirely to eroticism.

The point of departure for this project is the historical context of the area of activity of the art centre. Albi is both the city of Toulouse Lautrec, famous painter of Parisian nightlife in the 19th century, and the city of the renowned cathedral of St. C�cile, which exalts the victory of the Catholic church over the Cathar heresy, after a fierce struggle which put the whole region to fire and sword in the 13th century.

It is a city whose present-day identity and sphere of influence are represented by the art of painting brothels, on one hand, and, on the other, by the memory of the spiritual quest of two religions, at once kindred in their understanding of the physical body, and clashing in the way they established the predominant path and praxis.

The Cathars regarded the body as the handiwork of Lucifer, and advocated abstention from all sexual relations, thus going beyond the Catholic injunction, which authorised sexual intercourse solely for procreation.

In the press release to this show, it is argued that 'Sexus' "has its place in the maturing work of an artist whom we might describe as an actual philosopher, experimenting with philosopher George Bataille's "conna�tre en br�lant" (literally: knowing by burning) principle, to do with not separating art from social life and private drives or instincts, or, more accurately, not separating thought from body� Through transgression and taboo, Geers strives to lend visibility to the energy of liberation and individuation, contained in the erotic act, here likewise broached in its poetic dimension".

The opening will be held on July 2, at 7 pm.

Opens: July 3
Closes: October 31

Ten years after the end of apartheid, the Bochum Museum is taking a keen look at the current art scene. 16 artists have been selected for an exhibition that scrutinises each's aesthetic actions for suggestions of the complexities of post-apartheid South Africa. The show is titled 'New Identities: Contemporary South African Art."

The participating artists are: Jane Alexander, Kay Hassan, William Kentridge, David Koloane, Rossina Maepa, Esther Mahlangu, Santu Mofokeng, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Samson Mudzunga, Sam Nhlengethwa, Berni Searle, Penny Siopis, Andrew Tshabangu, Minnette Vari and Sue Williamson.

Opens: July 7
Closes: November

'Cool & Kitsch' is an exhibition by two Cape Town artists. Philip Briel's "cool and luxurious" style of painting reportedly produces a confident and fluid dialogue with the work of Martine Jackson, the latter noted for his use of bright child-like colours. Although there is a stark contrast between the two artists, from the subject, to the use of medium and technique, both display similar nostalgia.

Opens: July 10
Closes: tbc

Photographer Mandy Lee Jandrell is one of 41 artists showing on the fifth floor of an old biscuit factory, on a show titled 'Cinderella'. This exhibition takes place in three main areas: Il Palazzo (unit A501), The Ballroom (unit A502) and The Scullery (unit B501). Units A501 & A502 focus on anticipation, illusion and desire, whilst Unit B501 presents the possibility of loss, anxiety and revenge. Jandrell's contribution is titled Beauty panders to nobody.

There will be a private view on Friday, July 16 between 6pm and 9pm. The show is curated by Juan Bolivar.

Opens: July 17
Closes: July 31

"Underneath the impressive and powerful layer of future-orientated optimism, a sensitive, irritable and most unpredictable soil is hidden," reads the opening salvo of the press release to a show presenting the work of artists who deal with their direct political and social context from many different perspectives.

Featuring Berni Searle, Thando Mama, Santu Mofokeng, Alison Kearney, William Kentridge, Moshekwa Langa, Brett Murray, Robin Rhode, Penny Siopis, Nontsikelelo "Lolo" Veleko, Jo Ractliffe and Nicholas Hlobo, 'min(e)dfields' defines itself as a co-operation between South African and Swiss curators.

The project is built up on a number of stages: the venue of the Kunsthaus Baselland, the STAGA-Pavillon of the Stadtgalerie Bern, the public realm and site-specific locations in Bern, a website, a catalogue and a lively theoretical stage including a reading room, public talks and discussions. All of these elements play their own individual part in creating a common notion of relations between South Africa and Switzerland today.

Jointly curated by Sabine Schaschl-Cooper, Stephen Hobbs, Beate Engel and Katrien Reist van Gelder, this exhibition is not only as a reflection on the South African situation ten years on, but serves as a metaphor for a north/ south dialogue and the very specific communication that emerges out of this exchange, with all its richness as well as confusing misunderstandings. As a visual art project 'min(e)dfields' wants to open up common fields of debate in both countries, regarding international relations, social and cultural development.

'min(e)dfields' will travel to Johannesburg in 2005.

Swiss artists participating in the project are Monika Dillier, Mario Sala, Mo Diener, Markus Schwander, Dias/ participating Riedweg and Samuel Herzog.

Opens: August 8
Closes: September 19

In a survey of the most exciting new trends and talent in London, 22 emerging artists - selected from open submission - present their work in the Whitechapel and on the streets of East London. This focused snapshot provides a glimpse of the immense creative output from Europe's largest cultural quarter.

South African born Mandy Lee Jandrell will be showing her photographs alongside an eclectic bunch of contemporaries. The works on show range from intimately scaled drawings to paintings transformed into room-sized environments. Video by Zatorski & Zatorski includes real-time footage of the last breath of a wasp. Jandrell's quietly observed and seemingly casual photographs contrast with the fantastical paintings of Naomi Bishop, Louise Brierley and David Harrison.

A distinguished panel selected the artists: Chantal Crousel, Director, Chantal Crousel Gallery, Paris; Chris Ofili, artist; and Niru Ratnam, critic and curator. The Whitechapel's East End Academy was first launched in 1932 as an open submission exhibition "for all artists living or working East of the famous Aldgate Pump". The East End Academy is curated by Andrea Tarsia, Head of Exhibitions and Projects, Whitechapel.

Opens: June 11
Closes: August 30

Janine and Joop Van Den Ende of Stageholdings in Holland have put together an impressively large show of South African art entitled 'The ID of South African Art'. The show is informed by issues of identity in South African society and works were purchased from different venues in the country in January 2004. The show will run in conjunction with the musical 'The Lion King'� which will play for approximately two to three years. The show will be on exhibition for the same length of time.

All the works shown were purchased for, and form part of the Van Den Ende Collection. There are 57 artists whose works were chosen for this exhibition and over 108 works of South African painting, prints, drawings and sculptures. The accompanying 300-page catalogue has been put together by Sharlene Khan and also features an article by David Koloane and Sharlene Khan.

The exhibitor lists includes: David Koloane, Stephen Maqashela, Colbert Mashile, Bongi Bengu, Paul Blomkamp, Anton Smit, Collen Maswanganyi, Norman Catherine, Sam Nhlengethwa, Robert Hodgins, Tracey Rose, Deborah Bell, Kay Hassan, Dominic Tshabangu, Sotiris Moldovanos, Mmapula Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi, Velaphi Mzimba, Lucky Sibiya, Amos Letsoalo, Vincent Baloyi, Sharlene Khan, John Baloyi, Gavin Younge, Pippa Skotnes, Jane Alexander, Roderick Sauls, Katherine Bull, Penny Siopis, Phillip Rikhotso, Wayne Barker, Karl Gietl, Sipho Ndlovu, Ricky Dyaloyi, Willie Bester, Xolile Mtakatya, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Beezy Bailey, Lallitha Jawahirilal, George Pemba, William Kentridge, Cecil Skotnes, Walter Battiss, Brett Murray, Philip Barlow, John Murray, Kevin Brand, Wonder Marthinus, James Reed, Jennifer Lovemore-Reed, Nkoali Eausibius Nawa, Gary Frier, Velile Soha, Marlene Dumas, Sandra Kriel, Andries Botha, Stephen Inggs and Fritha Langerman.

All the artists from the show were invited to attend at the expense of the Van Den Endes, although only 40 artists were available to make the opening.

Opens: April 3
Closes: 2005/6 - see above

Marlene Dumas and Antjie Krog are two names that do not readily spring to mind in unison. Then again nor does Vincent Van Gogh make one think of poet Robert Browning. This rather eclectic ensemble does however reveal a little about the juxtaposition of word and image planned by the gallery of ekphrastic poetry, an initiative put together by Dutch Boekgrrls.

Alongside Dumas and Krog, the gallery will showcase works by Joan Miro, Paul Klee, Fra Filippo Lippi, Henri Rousseau, Jacob van Ruisdael and Rembrandt alongside the poetic verse of Joseph Brodsky, Hein de Bruin and others. South African-born Dumas has gained widespread acclaim for her emotionally charged portraits, often monotone watercolours, while Krog is an acclaimed poet and author of Country of my skull.

Hentie van der Merwe, an artist currently based in Belgium, is showing in Cologne, Germany alongside a host of big names including Carl Andre and Andy Warhol. The show is titled 'Is One Thing Better Than Another'.

Van der Merwe, who has appropriated photography as one of his chosen media, is currently also on show at the South African National Gallery. His most recent work has catalogued group identities as manifested in the urban centres of his adopted country, Belgium.

Opens: May 16
Closes: July 17

The third edition of 'FotoGrafia', Rome's international photography festival, is a showcase of over two hundred photographers. It includes over forty exhibitions held in some of the city's most evocative venues. As in the previous editions, the 2004 festival will also focus on a single country. This year it is the turn of South Africa.

'FotoGrafia' represents the highpoint of the encounter between contemporary art and Rome's unmatchable heritage. The exhibitions, which are held in different locations (museums, archaeological sites, international academies and art galleries), are concentrated in two main regions: the Historic Centre and the Flaminio quarter, both areas with high concentrations of public and private museums and galleries.

Kathy Grundlingh, formerly of the South African National Gallery and currently with Michael Stevenson, is curating a group exhibition titled 'Sugar in the Petrol', at the British School at Rome Gallery (April 6 - June 4). The featured artists are Abrie Fourie, Andrew Tshabangu, Zwelethu Mthethwa and Doris Bloom.

Bloom is also holding a solo show, titled 'Sod, Myth of origin and other African stories' at Studio Stefania Miscetti (April 6 - May 8).

DaimlerChrysler award winning photojournalist Guy Tillim will be showing his evocative Angolan colour portraits, 10 photos taken in Kunhinga during the civil war. Tillim's work will be on show at the Sala 1 gallery from April 3 - May 31.

Pieter Hugo, a self-taught Cape Town photographer, is showing an impressive body of images at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (April 15 - May 16). 'Ritratti di Albini' (or 'Portraits of Albinos') has been described as "a thought-provoking reflection on diversity in the South African population". A selection of intimate portraits of people born with a deficiency of photo-protective pigment, or melanin, three of these images were recently shown at Michael Stevenson, on the show 'Staged Realities'. Hugo's transcontinental body of work is soon to be available in book form.

Sally Mann will be showing 'Deep South', a series of anthropomorphic landscapes created by the artist in Mississippi and Louisiana. The exhibition will be held in Palazzo della Calcografia (April 27 - June 6).

The theme of this year's festival is "Dura Bellezza" (or Hard Beauty). The festival is produced by Zone Attive, with the artistic direction of Marco Delogu, who proposes a reflection on the dual nature of photography: hard-hitting testimony and work of art. For further information, in English, visit: www.fotografiafestival.it

Frances Goodman is one of 28 artists appearing on 'Mo(NU)ment@Bornem'. The rather post-modern title refers to the moment of meeting between cultural history, contemporary art and nature. Art asks for time, a moment of attention for what it has to tell. The exhibition will take place along the scenic routes of Bornem, in Belgium, an area eagerly visited by walkers and cyclists the whole summer through.

The event is spread over four locations: the gallery and park of Monumental at Bornem, the gardens of the 15th century Sint-Bernardusabdij at Bornem, the regional museum 'De Zilverreiger', at Weert, and the tourism and recreation information centre of the Scheldt 'De notelaer', at Hingene.

Opens: May 9
Closes: August 29

James Webb exhibits his politically charged "White Noise" on Zèppelin 2004-Festival de Arte Sonor.

This year, Zèppelin2004-Festival de Arte Sonoro is focussing on audio material relating to situations of conflict and consensus in human societies. In this spirit, and specially conscious of the important role played by sound in the mass demonstrations against the pre-emptive attack on Iraq that took place throughout the world in March and April 2003, Z�ppelin have invited artists to create sound pieces expressing a total rejection of armed conflicts of any kind, to be played back on a high-quality, 8-speaker system in the CCCB Hall area during the festival.

The speakers will be arranged around a large semi-circular space and operate continuously between the 19th and the 22nd of May 2004, so that individual pieces will be played various times during the festival.

James Webb's White Noise, a 10 second clip of George W Bush repeating, "Make a weapon� We thought he had weapons... The international community thought he had weapons... But he had the capacity to make a weapon and then let that weapon fall into the hands of a shadowy terrorist network� is phased over an extended period of time to produce a jumbled rap of words sounding like an ever-changing stuck record. A sculptural installation version of the work can be seen locally on the ABSA L'Atelier show in Johannesburg.

Opens: May, 2004

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'Busted', a joint exhibition of new video, photography and installation by artists Felipe Dulzaides and Robin Rhode, reevaluates and reimagines the relationships between individuals and their physical surroundings.

Curated by Clara Kim and originating at Langton, 'Busted' celebrates the playfully defiant spirit of these artists' works, which tease the distinctions between interior and exterior, real and constructed, systematically challenging and reinventing the power relations embedded in public spaces.

Berlin resident Rhode will be represented by videos showcasing his maverick engagements with, and in public environments. The videos will be accompanied by photographic stills illustrating each event in sequence, like pages in a flipbook frozen on the gallery walls.

Opens: June 23
Closes: July 24

Robin Rhode's 'The Score' is a new performance that incorporates wall drawings and audio recording. Using a broad brush and black paint, Rhode depicts the instruments of a typical jazz ensemble while the sound simultaneously replicates and destabilises the visual representations. Echoing Miles Davis in his gesture to turn away from the audience, Rhode references the conventions of both musical and artistic performance histories.

Video documentation produced by Rhode with the assistance of Tobin Yelland will be on view during the exhibition. 'The Score' is curated by Claire Tancons as part of the Emerging Curators Series.

Until: July 3

Ian van Coller will be holding a solo exhibition at the University Of New Mexico Art Museum. Entitled 'Natural Africa', the exhibition presents a series of digitally manipulated photographs of the African dioramas in the Museum of Natural History in New York. "The work is an interrogation of American's exotic view of Africa," remarks the artist.

Van Coller received his National Diploma in Photography from Technikon Natal (1991), before obtaining his BFA from Arizona State University (1996), and MFA in Photography from the University of New Mexico (2003). Van Coller currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Previous shows include solo outings at Durban's BAT Centre, The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, The Print Center in Philadelphia, and The Museum of Southeast Texas, among others.

Opens: August - date still to be confirmed

Robin Rhode showcases a collection of five animated movies. Rhode's works are a combination of drawings and performance, many often located in the public spaces of his hometown in Johannesburg, as well as cities in the United States and Europe. The collected material has been edited into animated movies.

Included in the show is SEE/SAW, which Rhode told a Boston-based newspaper has become a very important piece for him. "The work was created on a street corner in Johannesburg, a charged space in a South African context," he said. The corner sits opposite a playground destroyed by vandalism. "A dysfunctional site now becomes a starting point for the work. . . . I've recreated the past memory of a space," commented Rhode. "When I created the piece, I had almost the whole neighborhood watching in amusement, that this object could once again exist, as a drawing, on a paved sidewalk, filled with pieces of dried bubblegum that now almost function as stars in the animation."

Robin Rhode currently lives in Berlin.

Opens: May 28
Closes: July 25

Advance Notice: How does a work of art work on us? Henry Art Gallery Chief Curator Elizabeth Brown has been developing a concept of 'The Work of the Work' (WOW) over the last two years to probe the way certain works of art actively engage the viewer. Our connection to artwork might be intellectual or visceral or kinaesthetic; it is often multiple, involving some change in bodily sensation at the same time it provokes emotions or mental associations. Such responses are critical to the effectiveness of most, if not all, works of art.

'WOW' presents a selection of works by a small group of international and multi-ethnic artists. By featuring more than a single work by these artists, the exhibition increases audience attention. Viewers are encouraged to focus and therefore more productively engage with the works. Aside from Candice Breitz, the artist line-up includes Catherine Yass, Anne Appleby, Hannah Villiger, Callum Innes, Steve McQueen, Kim Sooja, Gary Hill, and Olafur Eliasson.

'WOW' is curated for the Henry Art Gallery by Chief Curator Elizabeth A. Brown.

The show opens in three parts:

Gary Hill: Tall Ships: August 13, 2004 - February 13, 2005
WOW Stroum Gallery: September 18, 2004 - February 13, 2005
WOW North Galleries: November 6, 2004 - April, 2005

The show 'Insights' features the work of nine contemporary artists from the National Museum of African Art's collection. These artists are: Sokari Douglas Camp, William Kentridge, Jeremy Wafer, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Georgia Papageorge, Ezrom Legae, Iba N'Diaye, Gavin Jantjes and Sue Williamson.

By displaying ensembles rather than individual works, the exhibition reveals the artistic process and play of experimentation, continuity and change in each artist's chosen subjects and materials. The artwork on exhibit reflects the collection's strength in contemporary South African art. As artist Sue Williamson suggests, "Art has several lives - it has one life when you are actually making it, and that process is important for the artist� Then when that's finished, the art begins the second phase of its life, where people react to it in a particular space - in a gallery."

Artists' insights are presented in quotes that illuminate and personalise the works on display, while the curators' comments impart the broader cultural and political themes that inform each artist's work. Together, these insights reveal the artists' varied use of visual metaphor, allegory, myth and even movement to evoke a range of experiences - the joy of masquerade, the resiliency of community, pride of place and the physical and psychic violence of political oppression.

The exhibition, co-curated by Kinsey Katchka and Allyson Purpura, reflects museum director Sharon F. Patton's interest in fostering inventive approaches to exhibiting the museum's collection by including newer staff members in the curatorial process.

Closes: November 28