Archive: Issue No. 114, February 2007

04.02.07 'Prints and Multiples IV' at Warren Siebrits Modern and Contemporary
04.02.07 Nathaniel Stern at Art on Paper Gallery
04.02.07 Santu Mofokeng at the Standard Bank Gallery
04.02.07 Guy Tillim at Goodman Gallery
04.02.07 Various exhibitions at the Pretoria Art Museum
04.02.07 'Marcus Neustetter at Outlet
04.02.07 Wilma Cruise, Guy du Toit and Elfriede Dreyer at Fried Contemporary Art Gallery and Studio
04.02.07 Sanell Aggenbach at Absa Gallery
04.02.07 Roger Palmer at the Premises Gallery at The Johannesburg Civic Theatre
04.02.07 Recent Work by David Krut Print Workshop at David Krut Arts Resource
04.02.07 Art Bank Jo'burg and David Krut Print Workshop at David Krut Arts Resource

15.01.07 Sotiris Moldovanos at Artspace Gallery

3.12.06 Berni Searle at JAG
3.12.06 'Turn the Table' at Artspace Fine Art Gallery
3.12.06 Laurence Blogg, Thomas Dunn and Gregory Wright at JAG

5.11.06 'Women: Photography and New Media - Imaging the Self and Body through Portraiture' at JAG

Warren Siebrits' first show of 2007 is the fourth installment in his 'Prints and Multiples' series. The show comprises 50 'rare and historically significant' prints, and as is the norm with Siebrits' curated shows, there are special moments, like some interesting works by the likes of Walter Battiss and William Kentridge.

Once again Siebrits follows an historical trajectory, with the earliest print on show by Selby Mvusi from 1955, lending the show a temporal and conceptual depth. Yet it is work from Rorke's Drift that forms the backbone of the show, with works by John Muafangejo, Caiphas Nxumalo, Dan Rakgoathe, Vuminkosi Zulu and Cyprian Shilakoe. Even the Battiss work relates: he was known to have visited Rorke's Drift in the mid-70s, establishing a connection with the artists and the spirit of the place, purchasing many works there both for himself and for the UNISA Art Gallery.

Elsewhere, the show traces the compelling presence of Durant Sihlali on the SA art scene over the last three decades. In his press release Siebrits defines Sihlali's approach as a counterpoint to the rural context in which the Rorke's Drift works were produced, with his focus squarely on township realities. The show explores Sihlali's preference for the medium of monotype, a process which for him shared numerous formal affinities with watercolour. Also on show are four etchings dealing with various subjects.

Opens: January 25
Closes: March 9

Nathaniel Stern presents a show of digital and handmade prints at Art on Paper Gallery this month. Entitled 'Call and Response: Performative Prints and Iterations', the show is to be opened by Professor Jane Taylor.

Opens: January 27
Closes: February 24

This month Santu Mofokeng is the subject of a survey show at the Standard Bank Gallery entitled 'Invoice'. Mofokeng holds a position as one of the most iconic figures in recent South African history, and as such this is an important show. The exhibition consists of images from almost all of his major series from 1982 to 2006.

Mofokeng's involvement with the Afrapix collective inevitably meant that his work is associated with political upheaval and resistance to apartheid. However, his work bears a more nuanced quality than the overt reportage favoured by many of his Afrapix colleagues. Instead, as the press release for this exhibition states, 'he shaped instead� a broader story about urban black life under apartheid.'

In recent years his work has shown an interest in landscape, and the works on this show reveal that he has not restricted himself to the South African landscape. Images from Auschwitz, Hanoi and a Free State concentration camp 'for natives'. Mofokeng's intention with this series is to 'explore the banality of horror'.

'Invoice' has been realised through partnerships with Autograph ABP and Gallery MOMO. Autograph ABP is an international, non profit-making photographic arts agency established in the United Kingdom in 1988 to address the lack of representation for a constituency of photographers which has historically been ignored. Autograph develops, exhibits and publishes the work of photographers from culturally diverse backgrounds and advocates their inclusion in all areas of exhibition, publishing, education and commerce in the visual arts.

Opens: January 30
Closes: March 17

The 2006 elections held in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were amongst the most significant and tumultuous in recent African history. The elections were the culmination of years of war, which left a spectacularly high mostly civilian body count. As such, the process raised issues about democracy in Africa, Western involvement in African political processes (a large portion of the $450 million spent on the election was European Union money), political careerism and the paucity of basic services for average citizens. Also noteworthy was the number of candidates contesting the election: the ballot paper, exhibited here alongside Tillim's photographs, was a 6-page poster-size document complete with thumbnail photos of many of the candidates.

The works on 'Congo Democratic', as the show is called, reveal Tillim's indebtedness to Henri Cartier-Bresson's dictum of the 'decisive moment'. As has become his trademark, Tillim manages to suggest a narrative not only by capturing action but also by photographing scenes and events on the periphery. The works, for the most part large-scale colour prints, inject a sincere empathy into the lexicon of the conflict-zone photographer which is often absent.

Tillim's work has been exhibited globally for a number of years. In October 2006, this series had its first showing at the São Paulo Biennale, and later that year at Neue Galerie in Graz, and at the DaimlerChrysler Gallery in Berlin. His 'Petros Village' series was exhibited concurrently at Michael Stevenson in May 2006 and at the Museo di Roma in Trastevere, Rome, as part of Rome Photo Festival 2006. His work also featured in the Vitamin Ph book published by Phaidon in 2006.

Opens: January 20
Closes: February 10

The Pretoria Art Museum is holding a number of shows in its various halls during this year. Until February this year is a 'Showcase of South African Art', with work arranged under the themes of portraiture, animals, interiors and landscapes. Works in various media form part of this show.

Also up, this time in the Albert Werth Hall, is an exhibition entitled 'Favourites from the Permanent Collection', catering to the varied tastes of the museum's visitors over the years. This show stays up until April 2007.

In the Henry Preiss Hall until May this year is a show of works from the Lady Michaelis Bequest. These works, donated in the 1930s, initially formed the core of the museum's permanent collection.

Until December this year is an exhibition of works from the museum's permanent collection under the title 'A Story of African Art'. The show tells 'a brief story of South African art from the time of the first San artists', including images from early 20th century painters, works from the period of Resistance art and 21st century contemporary works. This takes place in the museum's South Gallery.

Adding depth to this wide range of exhibitions is the travelling solo show by Andries Gouws, entitled 'Hiding Behind Simple Things', up until March 25. Gouws, an established Durban-based painter, lends an esoteric air to simple, everyday objects through the use of sensitive, highly considered lighting, a là Jan Vermeer.

Marcus Neustetter presents a show of work at Outlet in Pretoria this month. 'Still Experimenting, Still Playing' reveals Neustetter's continued interest in play as a productive conduit for creativity. Neustetter is a Johannesburg-based artist and cultural activist who operates The Trinity Session with Stephen Hobbs.

Opens: February 2
Closes: Feb 28

Pretoria art gallery and studio complex Fried Contemporary this month presents a show of work by three established figures on the SA art scene: Wilma Cruise, Guy du Toit and Elfriede Dreyer. Taking inspiration for the sculptures, video installations and prints on show from notions around the concept of 'Little Deaths', the artists explore various interpretations of this idea. Considerations as wide-ranging as Buddhist notions of death and rebirth, dreams and digitally-generated virtual realities are touched on. In fact, the show makes the point that 'the human condition today is strongly characterised by ongoing change and an intermingling of real and virtual worlds'.

Du Toit has exhibited extensively both locally and internationally. His noteworthy successes include the Sol Plaatjies Sculpture Award in 1989, and Volkskas Atelier Merit Awards (now Absa Atelier) in 1989 and 1990. More recently, du Toit was a finalist in the Brett Kebble Art Awards of 2003 and 2004, and in 2006 his was nominated Best Overall Contribution at the InniBos Arts Festival, Nelspruit.

Cruise has had a similarly illustrious career in fine art, both here and abroad. Recent works include The Dolly Suite, a suite of works that includes installations and a series of mono-prints made in collaboration with David Krut Arts Resource, and the commission Sheep May Safely Graze: the Return of the Bultfontein Sheep for the Oliewenhuis Museum in Bloemfontein. Another public work, The Right to Life, was installed at the Constitutional Court in 2004. Cruise has been the recipient of numerous awards and commissions, and she is well represented in significant South African and international collections.

Dreyer is an interdisciplinary art specialist, having involved herself in numerous activities surrounding the production, theorising, teaching and workshopping of visual art. Topics of posthumanity, technoculture, Romanticism and utopia/dystopia are recurring motifs in Dreyer's practical and theoretical research. Besides curating several exhibitions, she has exhibited her own mixed media paintings and video productions widely, both locally and overseas.

Opens: February 13
Closes: March 10

This month Johannesburg's Absa Gallery plays host to one of Cape Town's most visible and prolific young artists, Sanell Aggenbach. Essentailly a survey show of her work since winning the 2003 Absa l'Atelier award, the exhibition features sculptural installations and paintings. Typically Aggenbach's work deals with issues of shifting cultural heritage, and the impact of memory and social history.

The most recent body of works on show is a series of paintings sourced from images generated by Van Kalker, a community portrait photographer active in Cape Town's Woodstock suburb between 1938 and the 1970s. The works utilize Van Kalker's negatives, from which Aggenbach has conjured haunting acrylic paintings, as much about the starkness of Van Kalker's images as they are about the mercurial nature of identity in a fraught social history.

The exhibition catalogue features an essay by ArtThrob's Michael Smith.

Opens: February 7
Closes: February 23

In 'Plume', artist Roger Palmer explores ways in which he can re-present to an audience images that have been erased from our collective consciousness. His interest in these images lies in their fading currency as part of South African history. Temporary wall drawings, based on engravings of former SA presidents Botha, Hertzog, Malan and Smuts, have been made by throwing pigment at the gallery walls. Residual pigment lies on the gallery floor beneath the drawings. The drawings are juxtaposed with black and white photographs of seemingly insignificant scenes or events: smoke from a roadside fire, the cloud of dust kicked up by a passing car, a group of inquisitive ostriches. Viewers are invited to consider the fragile drawings in relation to the insignificant events in the adjacent photographs.

This is UK-based artist Palmer's second solo show in Johannesburg. His first, 'Buttock and Tongue', was held in 1997 at the Rembrandt van Rijn Market Theatre Gallery. 'Plume' was previously shown in Cape Town.

Opens: February 10
Closes: March 3

David Krut Print Workshop presents an exhibition of recent work produced in collaboration with various artists. The show features work by Bruce Backhouse, Deborah Bell, Cyril Coetzee, Wilma Cruise, Johan Engels, Avhashoni Mainganye, Colbert Mashile, Ellen Papciak-Rose, Sean Slemon, Nathaniel Stern, Robert Whitehead and Alastair Whitton. Limited edition and unique works by all these artists will be available. Some of the artists wil be present to discuss their work.

Opens: January 27
Closes: February 12

Art Bank Jo'burg, in partnership with David Krut Print Workshop (DKW) and Brendan Copestake, got off to an early start this year with a printmaking workshop that was launched on January 10.

Lawrence Lemaoana, Mary Sibande, Ellen Papciak-Rose, Karin Preller and Stompie Selebi were selected to participate in the two-day workshop. Most of these artists do not specialise in printmaking, so creating monotypes under the guidance of printmaker Jillian Ross presented them with an interesting challenge. The artists were encouraged to express their personal conceptual concerns and individuality whilst exploring various printmaking processes. Works created during this DKW/Art Bank project will be on show.

Opens: February 17
Closes: February 28

Sotiris Moldovanos presents a colourful, narrative description of South African people. Moldovanos works in oil on corrugated metal sheeting and wood, creating surreal studies of people. The works, generally life-size, make use of cut-outs and create an interaction with the viewer by equating their own physicality with that of the viewers. The works encourage the viewers to enter into the reality and lives of others and 'encounter their spaces and dreams'.

These works by Moldovanos, who is represented in several private collections in Europe and the USA, make up a show that is being touted as the strongest yet at Artspace.

Opens: February 3
Closes: February 24

A mid-career Berni Searle retrospective opens at the Johannesburg Art Gallery this month. 'Approach' is part of a series of solo exhibitions the JAG is mounting of SA artists that are gaining international recognition. Curated by JAG director Clive Kellner, the show collects together a number of Searle's most important recent works, such as Snow White (2001), Profile (2002), About to Forget (2005) and Night Fall (2006). As Kellner stated, 'Searle is part of a generation of South African artists who are transcending the dictates and limits of identity politics to create powerful images that resonate within a global cultural discourse, while still referencing particular aspects of home and place. Her artistic production, although always personal and encompassing the human form, most often the artist's own body, has evolved from overt concern with body politics and identity framing to gestural, poetic subject matter.'

The show is accompanied by a full colour catalogue.

Opens: November 19
Closes: February 28 2007

The success of the 'Oppitafel' series of group exhibitions over the last four years has encouraged the curators to shake things up a bit this year. This year's show is to be called 'Turn the Table', and sees participating artists working with an old vinyl LP record as a starting point. Artists have been encouraged to utilize the record to create their contribution, yet to retain their own established artistic concerns. Thus, one can be assured of a range of responses to this brief.

Participating artists include Chris Diedricks, Johan du Plessis, Gordon Froud, Jaco Sieberhagen, Luan Nel, Landi Raubenheimer, Mandla Mabila, Musha Neluheni, Nirupa Sing and Paul Boulitreau.

Opens: December 1
Closes: January 31

A collaboration between young artists Laurence Blogg, Thomas Dunn and Gregory Wright has produced this show, an installation of film and related photographic prints entitled The Man. The film, immersive in its sound component and positively brutal in its lo-fi visuals, reads as an indictment of power and its consequences. The disjointed narrative takes as its backdrop a hypothetical urban space, devoid of human presence, yet retaining the trace of human activity. While I'm not in the habit of offering opinions in LISTINGS, this one is a must-see for many reasons, not least of which is that it challenges the fey nebulousness to which many art videos/films fall prey.

Opens: November 2
Closes: February 4

An exhibition that explores the work of women artists working in photography and new media opens at the Johannesburg Art Gallery this month. Specifically, the show focuses on works that image the self and body through portraiture, dealing with identity and mirroring the self. Featuring work by established and emerging artists, the works on show are drawn in part from the JAG's collection. Artists represented include Bridget Baker, Zanele Muholi, Usha Seejarim and Nontsikelelo Veleko.

Opens: November 9
Closes: February 28