KZNSA Members' Exhibition
by Carol Brown
The KZNSA traditionally starts the new year with their 'Members' Exhibition' which is intended as an opportunity for all their members to submit work. Nowadays membership of art organisations is dropping off as, with the advent of the internet, greater availability of art-related print matter and a concerted effort to make exhibitions and information more readily available, there is not really much point in paying membership fees. The concept of supporting an organisation through membership is also becoming less attractive as the responsibility for arts funding has shifted from the individual to the state or funding agencies. After all, why pay a fee when you can access information freely and participate in most ventures? However, by offering a once-a-year opportunity to participate in an exhibition in a professional gallery, the KZNSA has managed to hold on to its membership.
The spirit of an artistic community is evident in this show where well-established artists have chosen to submit works alongside amateurs and the result is the usual pot pourri which we see every year. The nature of the show does not allow for curation so it would be unfair to consider that aspect. Prizes are offered and it is clear that the better known and more experienced artists on the show are excluded from being chosen as prize winners. The prizes serve as encouragement for future endeavours, which is as it should be.
The theme was 'The Naked Truth' and in the current climate of gratuitous nudity (as investigated in the latest issue of Art South Africa) this was not explored in a risqué fashion, although some artists did approach the theme with some imagination eschewing the obvious. Generally it was taken in a traditional, literal sense by most of the exhibitors and the possible complexities of the word 'naked' were not too frequently considered. I checked the thesaurus and some of the supposed similarities to the words included: disrobed, divested, defenceless, vulnerable, unprotected�
First prize was awarded to Coral Spencer Domijan for a Lucian Freud influenced painting - her interpretation of his rich painterly surfaces, which generally depict large fleshy nude women, demonstrated a feminine sensibility in the humorous image of a layer of skin being unzipped from the fleshy body with the title Would that I could .
Rani Pillay's Sunset also picked up on the female expressionistic nude theme presenting a hot, red figure which contorted expressionistically across the canvas.
Renee Leslie's coloured drawing Alzheimer's Isolation was also rendered in an expressive manner underscoring the vulnerability and fragility of this condition which is one which is often denied. Third prize winner, Renata de Gersigny's mirror with mysterious traces of a photograph played with the concept of self-reflection, which was examined in a few other works on the show.
Kristin Hu Yang, who completed a Master's Degree in Fine Art at the UKZN and is a fast rising newcomer to the art scene in Durban, showed a work which referenced and distorted art historical iconic images by printing them onto transparent materials, thus questioning the veracity of visual history. Transparency was also used by Pamela Heely who used several layers of Perspex with different coloured images on each layer leaving a shadow of the image on the wall leading to doubt as to which image is real and which is illusion.
A more direct approach was taken in the acrylic and enamel paint bold graphic image Urhere by Paul Gossman which takes its lead from contemporary pop culture and the now familiar figures from Japanese illustration.
So, in the end, the show had something for everyone and is always one of the more popular shows on the KZNSA calendar.
The judging panel consisted of Ingrid Lotter Smith, Nontobeko Ntombela and Carl Roberts.
The prize winners were:
First prize: Coral Spencer Domijan, Second prize: Renee Leslie, Third prize: Renata de Gersigny. Merit prizes went to Ronnie Hubber, Brian Erkson, Lara Mellon.
Opens: January 23
Closes: February 11
The KZNSA Gallery
166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood, Durban
Tel: (031) 202 3686
fax: (031) 201 8051
Email: curator@kznsagallery.co.za
www.kznsagallery.co.za
Hours: Tue - Fri 10am - 5pm, Sat - Sun 10am - 4pm
