Archive: Issue No. 92, April 2005

26.04.05 Kathryn Smith at the SANG
26.04.05 Robert Hodgins at João Ferreira
26.04.05 New acquisitions at 34 Long
26.04.05 Birchall, Du Plessis and Gadd at the AVA
26.04.05 Tom Cullberg at João Ferreira
26.04.05 Murray Iversen at VEO Art Warehouse
26.04.05 South African landscapes at the SANG
26.04.05 Elmarie Costandius at DIRT Contemporary Art Space
26.04.05 Mikhael Subotzky at Pollsmoor
26.04.05 Stockroom sale at Bell-Roberts Gallery
26.04.05 Uwe Pfaff at VEO Gallery

04.03.05 Wim Botha at Michael Stevenson Contemporary
04.03.05 Gabriel Clark-Brown at UCT

05.11.04 'The Muse of History': Helmut Starcke at the Old Town House

STELLENBOSCH

26.04.05 Graven Images at Sasol Art Museum

04.02.05 Villa and Skotnes at Lanzerac

FRANSCHHOEK

26.04.05 'Kaleidoscope' at Grande Provence
 

Described by some as 'ravishing', and others as 'obscure' (though of course, the two adjectives are not mutually exclusive), Kathryn Smith's Standard Bank Young Artist award show has at last moved to the National Gallery. The work touches on a number of intriguing historical themes, including a possible relationship of the painter Walter Sickert to the infamous murders of British serial killer, Jack the Ripper.

Says the artist, "I try to work with the secret histories and unspoken desires that exist between the private and the public."

Opened April 13

Veteran artist Robert Hodgins exhibits 16 new paintings in this show as well as several sets of limited edition prints. He is described by Sue Williamson in 10 Years, 100 Artists as 'a man whose studio is the centre of this life, who is in love with paint, with its luminosity and brilliance; to whom colour and the extraordinary vibration which can be achieved when one hue is set off against another is a source of intense and never-ending experimentation'. This 84-year-old painter shows no signs of slowing down.

Opens: April 4
Closes: April 30

Substantial works in various media by several South African and international artists comprise the second exhibition for this new gallery space in Cape Town. Artists include Jenny Saville, Thomas Ruff, Takashi Murakami, William Kentridge, Willie Bester, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Esther Mahlangu, Speelman Mahlangu, Peter Clarke and Dumile Feni. A series of work by Robert Hodgins will be a highlight of the show.

Opens: April 13
Closes: May 28

Paul Birchall exhibits figurative drawings in charcoal and acrylic in the main gallery this month in a show called 'The Devil's Boyfriend's Hairdresser'. His recurring thematic concerns are religion, sexuality and the portrayal of a brother he never knew.

Inge du Plessis exhibits figurative paintings in the long gallery. She has attempted to create a fragment of a story with her exhibition with the paintings akin to film stills � each one a hiatus after, or a moment before, a recent or imminent event. 'The content of the stories is left to the viewer, the role of the paintings is to suggest a generative atmosphere and provide visual clues', she adds.

Upstairs, Ann Gadd shows paintings along a pop theme called 'Palindromes and Popular Icons'. Gadd spent two decades as a commercial artist, cartoon book illustrator, creative and art director in advertising and co-director of an advertising agency before indulging her passion for painting more seriously.

In this show, she interweaves religious themes and popular icons to examine the nature of polarity using palindromes as vehicles for altering fixed perceptions. Of her work she says, 'Through their reversal, palindromes mirror the shadow side of ourselves, ask questions for which there are no answers and, with their absurdity and humour, push us to challenge our beliefs and understanding of reality.'

Opens: March 29
Closes: April 16

Tom Cullberg returns to the João Ferreira Gallery with a new body of work called 'The Judge ... and other stories'. Each painting operates as a story in itself but also acts as a bridge to other paintings, constructing different narratives and meaning for the viewer.

Fact is blended with fiction, the past with the future and comedy with tragedy in a story that can take any direction. Cullberg says, 'I use figures ... like characters to act out a scene. These figures and places have an absence and a presence, both specific and non-specific in time and place.'

Opens: April 6
Closes: April 29

Murray Iversen exhibits photography and sculpture at the VEO Warehouse this month. Zimbabwe born and educated, Iversen has developed his interest in photography through his African travels. He has captured unique character in 'highly textured and imaginative imagery with a contemporary feel', according to VEO. Iversen's photography has also triggered his appreciation for Shona stone sculpture, which forms the second element of this show.

Opens: March 29
Closes: April 7

This exhibition of South African landscapes, drawn from the permanent collection of the SANG, offers a chance to examine the different approaches artists have used to render the landscape over a period of 30 years.

Artists represented include Kevin Atkinson, Willie Bester, Gail Catlin, Paul Emsley, Alice Goldin, Randolph Hartzenberg, Diana Hulton, Erik Laubscher, Stanley Pinker and Clive van den Berg.

Opens: March 16
Closes: April 17

Internationally acclaimed glass artist Elmarie Costandius exhibits an installation of 11 glass speech bubbles at DIRT Contemporary Art Space this month. 'Communication', she says, 'has always been a fascinating struggle for me. I am not surprised that I am working with speech bubbles! When talking about my work it is difficult to find the appropriate words. I often want to come back to it, to rephrase it again and again.'

Costandius was trained in glass-blowing schools in Amsterdam, Prague and Orrefors in Sweden. She currently lectures design at the Stellenbosch Academy of Photography and Design.

Opens: April 12
Closes: April 30

Photographer Mikhael Subotzky graduated from UCT's Michaelis School of Fine Art in 2004 with the Michaelis Prize for his body of work called 'Die Vier Hoeke'. This show is a development of that series, incorporating both new images from prison combined with the products of photographic workshops he ran with prisoners at Pollsmoor. It also includes artworks by prisoners, such as so-called 'body maps' facilitated by Jane Solomon.

Subotzky says prisons are firmly rooted in the consciousness of this country. He says prisons have historically been brutal instruments of racism and oppression and today are grossly overcrowded and under-staffed with appalling living conditions for many inhabitants. 'Despite the fact that prison is a fundamental reality for so many young men in this country, it is easy for us to ignore it ... How can we agree to the extensive use of the prison and then turn away from the realities inside them?', he says.

The opening of 'Die Vier Hoeke' coincides with the launch of the Nelson Mandela Centre at Pollsmoor's Admissions Centre on Freedom Day.

Opens: 10am, April 27
Closes: May 6 (Please check - this exhibition may have been restricted to one day only, on opening)

Bell-Roberts Gallery is this month having a stockroom sale. The sale will include work by Matthew Hindley, Andrew Verster, Doreen Southwood, Roelof Louw, Donovan Ward, Gina Waldman, Usha Seejarim, Cameron Platter, Lyndi Sales, Sanell Aggenbach, Nicholas Hlobo and others.

Opens: March 29
Closes: April 30

Uwe Pfaff's exhibition 'I am not who I think I am' will show his trademark metalwork and a body of mixed medium work on a variety of surfaces including glass, perspex and aluminium. He takes a short break from heavy metal to explore new imagery with colour.

Pfaff says: 'I am working more spontaneously, establishing a more direct line to the images in my mind ... not only looking at shapes and the spaces in between but also the spaces beneath and above the surfaces.'

Opens: April 26
Closes: May 7

Capetonians will catch the first glimpse of Wim Botha's latest work before the Standard Bank Young Artist for 2005 hits the Grahamstown Festival and commences his national tour later in the year with another new body of work.

Botha is known for multiple media artwork that often reflects on the symbolic imagery of power, religion and art history. One of his more recent pieces called Mieliepap Pieta was a life-size mirrored replica of Michelangelo's original, but modelled in maize meal and epoxy resin. It was exhibited as part of the 2004 New York show, 'Personal Affects'.

'Cold Fusion - gods, heroes and martyrs' promises new work that fuses imagery based on Western precedent with local resonance, 'incorporating elements of the meta-reality present in popular science fiction and Japanese anime'.

According to MSCG, the show will attempt a larger scope by referring to global concerns and the effects of ideologies on individuals and groups in conflict. The title itself is a clue to the content. Cold fusion refers to electrochemistry: the combination of certain elements that result in a chain reaction where the end is more than the sum of the component parts.

The artist will conduct a walkabout at 1pm on Thursday March 17 (call Nombini at (021) 421 2575).

Opens: March 16
Closes: April 30

This exhibition comprises nine works in print media by Gabriel Clark-Brown, a graduate of Michaelis School of Fine Art. The artworks relate the social construction of disability in South African society. Clark-Brown says their current position in the UCT Senate Room Foyer provides a platform to convey thoughts and messages to both the members of the Senate as well as university policy-makers.

The exhibition forms part of UCT's Transformation seminar series, which relates to the introduction of disability studies into all curricula. The work on show replaces the former formal portraits of previous vice chancellors of the university. The portraits are currently part of another exhibition at Hiddingh Hall, called 'Curiosity', which marks the university's 175th anniversary.

Opens: February 28
Closes: April 30

Helmut Starcke, a former lecturer at Michaelis School of Fine Art, shows a series of reworked celebrated Dutch masterpieces in this exhibition at the Old Town Hall. He juxtaposes classical figures from the Golden Age of 17th century art with characters and artifacts from Africa.

According to the artist, the show comprises 'mediations and meditations on the Dutch colonial adventure, with specific reference to Africa and the history of the Cape of Good Hope, colonised by the Dutch in 1652'.

The Old Town House, which houses the famous Michaelis Collection of 17th Century Netherlandish art, is therefore an appropriate exhibition context and setting. According to curator Hayden Proud, many of the interiors evoked in Starcke's works resonate with the proportions, lighting and architectural details of the venue itself.

Opens: November 17
Closes: April 2005

Michael Godby, lecturer at the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Cape Town, is the guest curator of this exhibition of photographs of the ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church, Swellendam.

It is common practice in this church to have a formal portrait taken of a retiring minister for record-keeping purposes. In older churches, this has left a legacy of photographs that constitute a powerful statement on the apostolic succession of the congregation. According to Sasol Art Museum, they also provide a stark contrast to the absence of images elsewhere in the churches.

Because these portraits were mostly taken under similar conditions and for similar purposes, they provide conditions conducive for historical study and comparisons. Their function as images of power, however, also gives them a broader resonance. According to the Sasol Museum, "the photographs may contain information about each minister's relationship to his congregation and even, perhaps, the relationship of the church to the society at large".

Opens: March 30
Closes: April 23

Edoardo Villa (89) and Cecil Skotnes (78) are both renowned artists in their own right. Together, they also established a new movement in South African art that paved the way for an avant-garde group who reinterpreted their African artistic heritage for a contemporary market.

In 1957, the duo founded the Amadlozi group that included artists like Sydney Kumalo. They were very influential in the development of other artists - in particular at the Polly Street Centre where the careers of many black artists were launched. Skotnes recently received the Order of Ikhamange from President Mbeki in recognition of his role in the arts and the development of black artists.

This exhibition includes 60 sculptures by Villa in the front and back gardens of Lanzerac Manor and Winery in Stellenbosch. They range in height from 30cm to 3m. Skotnes' works are hung in the Manor House.

Opens: December 10
Closes: March

A new gallery opens this month at the Grande Provence wine estate in Franschhoek. Art consultant Rose Korber has selected an assortment of artworks in a range of media from painting to sculpture and prints.

Artists represented include Sanell Aggenbach, Peter Eastman, Robert Hodgins, Stephen Inggs, JP Meyer, Xolile Mtakatya, Zwelethu Mthethwa, John Murray, Sam Nhlengethwa, Robert Slingsby, Herman van Nazareth, Avhashoni Mainganye and Louise Gelderblom.

Opens: April 10