Archive: Issue No. 116, April 2007

01.04.07 'Houses of Memory' at the Durban Art Gallery
01.04.07 Andries Gouws at the KZNSA Gallery
01.04.07 Fiona Simmons at the African Art Centre
01.04.07 Coral Spencer Domijan at artSPACE durban
01.04.07 Jacquelyn Thunfors at DUT Art Gallery
01.04.07 Gayle Walters at artSPACE durban
01.04.07 Jane Mennigke at artSPACE durban
01.04.07 KZN Annual Matric exhibition at the Durban Art Gallery
01.04.07 Jeeva Rajgopaul at Ike's Bookshop
01.04.07 'Memory and Magic' at the Durban Art Gallery
01.04.07 Colwyn Thomas at Beanbag Bohemia
01.04.07 Jo Anne Petzer at Beanbag Bohemia

04.03.07 'Michaelis School of Fine Art Masters Students at the KNZSA Gallery
04.03.07 'A Life's Work - James O. Hall 1916 - 2006' at Durban Art Gallery
04.02.07 'Women for Children' Print Portfolio at Tatham Art Gallery

'Memories of Modernity' is the title for the collaborative project between K3 School of Art and Communication, Malm&oum;a University, the Centre for Creative Arts, and Centre for Culture and Media Studies of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The project is supported by the Department of Arts and Culture. The exhibition, 'Houses of Memory' at DAG has been produced by South African and Swedish artists and forms the backbone of the 'Memories of Modernity' project.

Contributions for the exhibition come from Swedish artists Carlos Capelan and Jan 'Håfstr&oring;m�, Loulou Cherinet and Tova Mozard. The South African team comprises Clifford Charles, Tracey Rose, Doung Jahangeer and Langa Magwa.

'Houses of Memory' is informed by the insight that the house as the home has been the prime symbol for human identity in Western culture and will be a multimedia exhibition, giving room for a variety of artistic expressions that connect to one or more of the sub-themes of the project: Security, Lifestyles, Public Sphere and Remembrance.

After the Durban run the exhibition moves to Malm&oum;a Museum in Sweden.

Opens: April 4
Closes: April 25

Andries Gouws' meditative paintings express his fascination with everyday objects and interiors - things we tend to overlook, precisely because they are so familiar. 'Hiding behind simple things' has previously been shown at the Grahamstown Festival of the Arts, the Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein, the Aardklop Art Festival in Potchefstroom, the art galleries of the University of Johannesburg and Stellenbosch, as well as the Pretoria Art Museum. The KZNSA Gallery is its last stop.

Gouws was selected thrice for the Kebble Awards exhibition, and was one of 18 painters featured in the Summer 2005 special issue of Art South Africa on painting. Gouws studied Fine Art at Michaelis (UCT), the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam and the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, completed his Master's and Ph.D. in Philosophy in Utrecht, and currently lectures in Philosophy at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

He previously had a one-person shows in Durban, Chicago, Oudtshoorn and Cape Town. A colour catalogue and educational supplement will be available at the show. To see more of his work, go to www.andriesgouws.com

Opens: 6pm, March 27
Closes: April 15

'Sangoma Style: Traditions, Aesthetics and Personality' by Fiona Simmons comprises a selection of photographs taken over a period of three years, from 2005 through 2007, forming part of a postgraduate study of the visual language of Swazi/Shangaan traditional healers from Eastern Mpumalanga.

The intention of this exhibition is to show images portraying the beauty of this tradition, of the people chosen to follow its path, of their sense of aesthetics, the choices that they make, and how this influences the way in which they present themselves, their garments and accoutrements. The method of dressing by initiates during learnership reiterates their allegiance to the spirit world and the healing tradition. Clothing also has a mimetic quality, signifying the healers' aspirations and forming a mobile advertisement of the wearer's status and future occupation for the general public.

Simmons will open the exhibition on Wednesday April 18 and present a lecture at 12pm on Thursday April 19 on her research in this area.

Opens: April 18
Closes: May 18

Coral Spencer Domijan's work seeks to examine the human condition by expressing it through the medium of paint. She takes a thought and expresses it visually in a two-dimensional format. 'Substance' is Spencer Domijan's 4th exhibition at artSPACE durban.

Opens: 6.30pm, April 2
Closes: April 21

Gayle Walters' 'Myths and Legends' is made up solely of drawings and paintings of the human body. The overlying theme is an investigation into myths and legends of ancient Greece, where the secret forces of life, the workings of fate, and all natural phenomena were personified by man depicted as gods or goddesses. Walters has portrayed these figures from ancient times by giving them a contemporary flavour. In addition to the use of pastel and crayon, she has incorporated acrylics, collage, oil and wash on card and paper to add a sense of drama. After completing her studies at the Technikon Natal, Walters spent a number of years designing and building stage sets.

Opens: April 23
Closes: May 5

An exhibition of recent works by Jane Mennigke entitled 'Whose Land' is a series of landscapes of the KZN Midlands and the Eastern Cape/Wild Coast. The possession of land rights and ownership of familiar places are themes she explores in these works, which are realised in oil on canvas and board.

In 2000, Mennigke decided to return to being a full-time artist in her studio in Hilton outside Pietermaritzburg. It is here where she finds her inspiration for much of her work.

Opens: April 23
Closes: May 5

Foregrounding the intimacy of her relationship with the country of South Africa, Jacquelyn Thunfors is exhibiting drawings created during her previous visits to South Africa. Swedish-American Thunfors is interested in the discovery of the origins of human life in DNA, and sees herself strongly connected to the African continent. Accompanying 'Birth Mother to Us All - South Africa' is a catalogue detailing more about these artworks.

Thunfors has been creating art since the 70's, specialising in sculpture and drawing, working with the abstract form. To learn more about her visit www.thunforsinternational.com

Opens: April 2
Closes: May 17

This annual exhibition held in conjunction with the KZN Department of Education features artworks from Grade 12 learners from KZN Schools.

The exhibition is on view until April 29.

Opens: April 4
Closes: April 29

The photo essay What do they care? Informal Work in Durban by Durban photographer Jeeva Rajgopaul will be on view at Ike's Bookshop from March 22.

Rajgopaul has worked as a photographer for over 20 years, focusing on documentary photography related to the anti-apartheid struggle and more recently, social transformation in South Africa. He was awarded the Eli Weinberg photograph scholarship to study at the International Centre for photography in New York.

He has participated in numerous exhibitions and his work appears in various publications and magazines. He was a member of the renowned national photographic collective Afrapix.

Opens: March 22
Closes: April 12

'Memory and Magic: Contemporary Art of the !Xun and Khwe', is an exhibition of 82 artworks from the private collection of Hella Rabbethge-Schiller of Rosenheim, Germany, curated by Carol Kaufmann of the South African National Gallery. On exhibition are among the best works produced by 11 of the artists from the !Xun and Khwe Cultural Project since the project's inception in 1994.

Rabbethge-Schiller's complete collection includes of over 400 works from the !Xun and Khwe artists, resulting in the largest and most comprehensive collection of such work in existence and has until now resided outside South Africa.

As companion pieces to the exhibition are a selection of photographs of the artists by acclaimed Durban photographer Paul Weinberg.

Opens: March 14
Closes: May 13

Of her show 'Transcending Transience', photographer Jo Anne Petzer says, 'Transience is a word describing the impermanence of everything, from the smallest atom to the largest heavenly body. In my images, this impermanence is expressed in the fleeting beauty of a simple flower, prompting the viewer to become aware of their own oversight of the many subtle events in nature so near to us and which sadly go unnoticed due to worldly material distractions.

'Despite the fact that the physical structure of the captured images have long since perished, their essential nature is temporarily suspended, transcending the idea of transience simply because they are given extended visual life on canvas. But even that will disintegrate in time... '

Opens: April 11
Closes: May 2

Of his exhibition 'Stone the Crows', illustrator Colwyn Thomas says, 'My illustration work originates in a love of old school drawing techniques: the sketch work of great painters like Klimt and, especially, Schiele. It is resolved, however, by the power and beauty I find in modern illustration and graphic styles, where simplicity is harnessed to maximum effect. I like to think I blend the two.
'Things I like to draw. They have a dark edge, something comic, something macabre and something that aims at being beautiful. Whether from dreams or history my work attempts to recognise the duality of the situations we encounter in life. Cute can be dark, too. And in the tragic or shadowed moments in life, there's always an angle to smile with.
Opens: April 11
Closes: May 2

'Come' is an exhibition of work by students currently completing their Master's degrees at the Michaelis School of Fine Art. The exhibition includes a few already established Capetonian artists and also promises some exciting new talent. The work on show traverses media from painting to video, with themes ranging from the nostalgic to the political, playful to the austere and reverent to the obscene.

Artists include Jake Aikman, Jenny Altshuler, Stuart Bird, Justin Brett, Pieter Cilliers, Renée Holleman, Nandipha Mntambo, Andrzej Nowicki, Ruth Sacks, Linda Stupart, Karina Simonson, Lorraine Khoury and Barbara Wildenboer.

Opens: March 27
Closes: April 15

James Hall was one of the Durban artworld's most familiar and loved figures. His work is evident wherever one goes in the city, although it is not always recognised or as being by him. He cast many a school crest, he made lettering for buildings and among his religious pieces were the ceramic and fibre glass panels at the Jewish Hall of Prayer, Red Hill cemetery and the Madonna at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church. His work embraced the religious and the secular. The now trendy 70s hotel The Blue Water bears his mark along the poolside. One of his last commissions at the age of 89 was the bust of Nelson Mandela for the UKZN Medical School.

He was a teacher, mentor and an inspiration to many. This exhibition shows some of his public and private projects.

Opens: March 21
Closes May 15

Art for Humanity's 'Women for Children' print portfolio consists of a collaboration of 50 foremost women artists and poets, 46 of whom are South African, on the issue of children's rights and welfare.

The print portfolio includes etchings, linocuts, digital and mixed media prints created specifically for the campaign. Each artwork is accompanied by a poem in dialogue with the art, communicating a strong message on the rights of our children and each poem has been translated into one of South Africa's 11 official languages.

Some of the art and poetry collaborations included are from the following prominent women artists and poets: Bronwen Vaughan-Evans and Nise Malange; Gabisile Nkosi and Mavis Smallberg; Bronwen Findlay and Yvette Christiansë; Kim Berman and Mmatshilo Motsei; Diane Victor and Michelle McGrane; Lien Botha and Karen Press; Giselle Baillie and Magasina Majundo, and Judith Mason and Magasina among others.

Opens: 6pm, February 15
Closes: April 18