Archive: Issue No. 68, April 2003

15.04.03 Kim Lieberman at the Goodman Gallery
15.04.03 Tribute to Nhlanhla Xaba at JAG
01.04.03 Wayne Barker at Art on Paper
01.04.03 'Show Me Home' at JAG
01.04.03 Churchill Madikida's 'Liminal States' at JAG
01.04.03 'Trusting the Truth' at JAG
01.04.03 Brett Murray at the Standard Bank Gallery
01.04.03 Contemporary Jewellery Collective at the Bag Factory
01.04.03 Spark! revamp
15.03.03 Schütz, Kirkwood and Aiken at the Standard Bank Gallery
15.03.03 'Departure' at PhotoZA
15.03.03 Amalar-Raviv and Yudelman at David Krut Fine Art

15.04.03 Sculpture Exhibition at Pretoria Art Museum
15.04.03 Revisiting the Seventies
01.04.03 Margaret Gradwell and guests at the Old Arts Gallery
15.03.03 'Estelle McIlrath Art School Retrospective' Pretoria Art Museum

The once peripatetic Kim Lieberman has made her home in Johannesburg. 'Every Interaction Interrupts the Future', her first solo show in the city's pre-eminent contemporary art gallery, marks an important moment in her artistic career thus far.

In 'Every Interaction Interrupts the Future' Lieberman presents a range of new works executed in her distinctive postal genre style. Striking maternal reds predominate through many of these works, apt given the birth of her firstborn recently. Common throughout too is Lieberman's use of postal elements, such as blank perforated postage stamp paper, perforations, and perforation residue. These have been combined with oil paint and silk thread. As with her previous output, the artist attempts to overlay her own narrative images onto the officious source material that she uses.

"I have a fascination that explores the consequences that follow a single action," the artist says of herself. "I allow myself to dwell in the shear wonderment of the simplicity of this notion, the reality of effect. Yet, despite this simplicity, it evades our perception. The exact consequences of an act cannot be traced. At most we can make crude associations between our more obvious actions - hardly realising the subtle, yet perpetual, ripple of effect that is the result of every interaction. This concept runs through the body of work in this exhibition."

The show is accompanied by an elegant little catalogue, which includes a conversation between the artist and RoseLee Goldberg, a regular contributor to Artforum magazine. Retired art teacher, Rory Doepel has also contributed an essay, one that attempts to contextualise the Kabbalistic symbolism latent in Lieberman's work.

Opens: April 10
Closes: May 3, at 16H00

Goodman Gallery, 163 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood
Tel: 011 788 1113
Fax: 011 788 9887
Email: goodman@iafrica.com
Hours: Tues - Fri 9.30 a.m - 5 p.m, Sat 9.30 a.m - 4 p.m

Advance Notice: The Johannesburg Art Gallery will be holding a tribute show celebrating the work of Nhlanhla Xaba, winner of the 1998 Standard Bank Young Artist Award, who died under tragic circumstances in March 2003. The show is planned for June.

Xaba's artistic training began informally, with a three-year stint with artist and designer Madi Phaala in the late 1970's. Moving to Soweto in 1986, Xaba joined the Funda Art Centre in Diepkloof, where he received his first formal instruction in art. He went on to complete further degrees through UNISA.

Xaba was primarily a painter, using impasto techniques to work up rich, textured surfaces in oils and acrylics, but he also made drawings, sculptures and prints. In terms of visual language, Xaba drew directly on his experiences of living (and observing) in South Africa. "The kind of art that interests me explores ethnic-looking objects. I find rural scenes, objects and people more fascinating in terms of inspiration than the zigzag life of the urban setting." (Nhlanhla Xaba, 1998).

Journalist Fred Khumalo once noted, "...[Xaba] is producing some of the best paintings to come out of post-Apartheid South Africa. His work - gutsy, fresh and confident - has a strong rural accent. Verdant rural landscapes and people in ethnic gear rendered in striking colours and deft strokes are his signature." (Sunday Times, 12 July, 1998)

"In my art I attempt to convey a painter's struggle. I am concerned with shifting boundaries mental and physical. On the canvas and in life, these boundaries are continually shifting and are complex, centred around the economics and politics of place and time...These boundaries are also the urban and the rural, the contemporary and the traditional. I attempt to convey not the simplicity of representation but a more complex and layered process. Neither the painting nor the approach is an attempt to surprise the viewer. Instead, it recreates what everyone knows. It reflects the process of life and living."

Opens: June 8 at 11h00
Closes: July 13

Johannesburg Art Gallery, corner Klein and King George Streets, Joubert Park
Tel: 011 725 3130 / 3184
Fax: 011 720 6000
Email: DavidB@joburg.org.za
Hours: Tues - Sun 10am - 5pm

The original enfant terrible is back. After a local hiatus, Barker exhibits new work, titled Black and White, at this funky little Melville gallery that is quickly garnering a reputation as a worthwhile art destination.

Wayne Barker's new work is a consolidation of the three exhibitions that the artist had last year, and is also a document of his experiences in New York and France. Barker uses recycled material that has meaning to the country and the times in which he lives. He describes the work as small stories or poems dealing with issues of contemporary life and says: "I try to understand the world by making images and juxtaposing objects to create meaning."

Wayne Barker will hold a performance workshop on Saturday 12 April from 2 - 6pm.

Opens: April 5
Closes: April 25

Art on Paper, 8 Main Road, Melville (next to Outer Limits bookshop)
Tel: 011 726 2234
Email: mwartonp@mweb.co.za
Hours: Tues - Sat 10am - 5pm

'Show Me Home' brings together contemporary artists in a variety of mediums, from video to drawing. Angela Buckland, Pitso Chinzima, Veliswa Gwintsa, Stephen Hobbs, Dorothee Kreutzfeldt, Colbert Mashile, Santu Mofokeng, Justice Jimmy Setumane Mokwena, Deborah Poynton, Jo Ractliffe, Usha Seejarim and Diane Victor are curated by Wits MA student Mads Damsbo.

The artworks in this highly intimate project express the warmth and comfort that goes with belonging to a place. Simultaneously the works reflect the ambiguities and insecurities of home in South Africa. Although the exhibition emphasises a personal matter, it is also highly important as a strategy for social and cultural exchange, as a means for strengthening tolerance and respect for differences, and provides a ground for the ongoing formulation of a shared, public space. For further information, call Mads Damsbo on 084 606 9620.

M&G columnist John Matshikiza will speak at the opening on Saturday April 5 at 4pm.

Opens: April 5
Closes: May 25

Johannesburg Art Gallery, corner Klein and King George Streets, Joubert Park
Tel: 011 725 3130 / 3184
Fax: 011 720 6000
Email: DavidB@joburg.org.za
Hours: Tues - Sun 10am - 5pm

"I focus on my history as an individual: ethnic identity, nationality, and global identity," comments Madikida on his autobiographical art. Confronting his Xhosa heritage as a form of positive identity and self-imagery, Madikida aims to "make society understand itself, to risk self-examination, to address issues, attitudes, and behaviours, and to challenge itself to be open to change."

Speaking about his solo exhibition and the JAG, he says: "I choose to reclaim the past, to explore my history and to work as a storyteller about our past and present. Through making images I connect the past to the present. It is my way of knowing what I know, a way to uncover how, where, and why I learned it, and a way to unlearn it. My work engages people in deeper critical debates and dialogues about traditional practices in connection to the concept of a nation and of national identity, especially in the new South Africa."

David Andrew will open the show on April13, 2003 at 11a.m.

Opens: April 13
Closes: May 12

Johannesburg Art Gallery, corner Klein and King George Streets, Joubert Park
Tel: 011 725 3130 / 3184
Fax: 011 720 6000
Email: DavidB@joburg.org.za
Hours: Tues - Sun 10am - 5pm

'Trusting the Truth' is an exhibition of photographs by Adam Broomberg (SA) and Oliver Chanarin (UK), two photographers currently based in London.

This photographic team were formerly the creative editors of Benetton's controversial Colors magazine, between 2000 and 2003. For an issue dealing with Prisons, Broomberg and Chanarin visited Pollsmoor prison, just outside Cape Town, to photograph members of the notorious Numbers gangs. Prior to this they completed an assignment at Rene Vallejo Psychiatric Hospital in Camaguey, Cuba, for an issue titled Madness. Following the publication of these images, the duo were asked to exhibit their images on a photographic show at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, which included Roger Ballen, Tina Barney and Allan Sekula amongst others.

The photography of Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin is interesting in many respects. While their work makes clear gestures towards the heritage of documentary photography, their working method nonetheless deviates from that of the typical photojournalist. The duo work with a cumbersome large format camera; not only does this require a tripod, but it also makes the taking of their photographs a slow and conspicuous act.

As Charlotte Cotton, Curator of Photographs at the V&A, has observed: "The sense of activity being slowed for the camera references nineteenth century photography both in terms of process and style. It also serves to detach their photographs from the conventions of photojournalism, which is compounded by the sense that these photographers arrive 'either too early or too late', and not with the usual media-driven timescale at a site of social crisis."

"All we're doing is giving people warning," explains Adam Broomberg, "letting the subjects represent themselves instead of pretending to catch 'the defining moment' that speaks the unwitting truth. The point is we're being self-conscious about our intervention, about the fact that it is a mediated truth."

Sean O'Toole, sometimes Colors contributor and editor of www.artthrob.co.za, will speak at the opening on April 12 at 3p.m.

Johannesburg Art Gallery, corner Klein and King George Streets, Joubert Park
Tel: 011 725 3130 / 3184
Fax: 011 720 6000
Email: DavidB@joburg.org.za
Hours: Tues - Sun 10am - 5pm

It's still a way off but pencil this into your diary now. The 'Dark Prince of Pop' and Standard Bank Young Artist 2002, Brett Murray, begins his commission at the home of the corporate patron sponsoring the widely feted art prize. Doubtlessly this will be the biggest opening since William Kentridge opened at the Goodman Gallery in March.

Standard Bank Gallery, corner Simmonds and Fredericks streets, Johannesburg
Tel: 011 636 4842
E-mail: SIsaac1@mail.sbic.co.za
Website: www.sbgallery.co.za
Hours: Mon - Fri 8am - 4.30pm, Sat 9am - 1pm

The Contemporary Jewellery Collective are Geraldine Fenn, Verna Jooste and Beverly Price; this exhibiting their most recent work together. There will be walkabouts by the artists on Fridays April 11 and 18 at 1.pm. Contact Verna Jooste on 083 564 9659.

Bag Factory, 10 Minnaar Street, Newtown
Tel/fax: (011) 834 9181
Email: bagfactory@acenet.co.za
Website: www.bagfactoryart.org.za
Hours: Mon - Fri 10am - 3pm, Sat 10am - 1pm

The Spark! gallery has gone into hibernation for renovations, and the owners are accepting proposals for utilising different spaces (as a café, nursery, office space, shop, small exhibition space etc).

Spark's next exhibition, 'Once Upon a Time' by Illse Pahl, opens on May 21.

Spark!, 10 Louis Road, Orchards
Tel: (011) 622 8297
Pieter Vorster 082 574 2152; Glynnis Jackson 083 836 1210
Email: orchardsproject@worldonline.co.za, pietervo@joburg,org.za
Hours: Mon - Sat 10am till café-bar closes, Sun 10am - noon

'Schütz @ 60': Peter Schütz's exhibition spans about 20 years. Works range from symbolic chairs, to landscapes, Madonnas, art deco 'dumb waiter' figures, goddesses and mythological figures. Works from public and private collections as well as a number of new works will be on show.

'Coats and Coverings' is Fiona Kirkwood's tenth solo exhibition and takes place downstairs in the Gallery. Fiona is presenting some of the main works from her exhibition held at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival in 2002. Kirkwood combines fine art and weaving to create monumental, highly textured multi media works. Since 1980, in her exploration of magical, ritual, social, political, environmental and spiritual themes, the concept of protection has been fundamental to her work. In this latest exhibition she has chosen the 'coat' as a metaphor for protection.

'Portraits by Appointment' is a lighter show, also taking place downstairs in the Gallery. Darren Aiken's chess sets have enjoyed wide appeal and include the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup, actors and actresses, old government/new government and many more. Darren's style varies from realistic rendering of features to caricature, which lends an air of satire to his work.

Opens: April 1
Closes: May 20

Standard Bank Gallery, corner Simmonds and Fredericks streets, Johannesburg
Tel: 011 636 4842
E-mail: SIsaac1@mail.sbic.co.za
Website: www.sbgallery.co.za
Hours: Mon - Fri 8am - 4.30pm, Sat 9am - 1pm

Guy Tillim has received many awards for his photographs since he began working professionally as a photojournalist in 1986. 'Departure', this exhibition of photographs taken on his travels in Africa, is a distillation of his style: portraying harsh realities from a distant, yet empathetic, point of view. The exhibition is accompanied by a book of photographs titledDeparture, published by Bell-Roberts Publishing (RRP: R250).

In an essay from Departure, Tillim had this to say about the photographs on display: "These moments are elusive, alluring for being so. My brand of idealism that had its roots in the time I started photographing in South Africa during the apartheid years of the 1980s has dimmed. There was right and wrong, it seemed clear to me which side I stood. One would forego, what I might now call subtlety, for the sake of making a statement about injustice. The world's press set the tone and timbre of the reportage it would receive, and I for one was bought by it. Perhaps that is why I now look for ways to glimpse other worlds, which I attempt to enter for a while. But one cannot live them all, and usually I am left with a keen sense of my own dislocation.

"Of course, there is always this: to change what is ugly and brutal into something sublime and redemptive. So I have photographs I like for reasons I have come to distrust."

Opens: March 18
Closes: April 12 (extended)

PhotoZA, 177 Oxford Road, Upper Level, Mutual Square, Rosebank (the old CD Warehouse)
Tel: (011) 880 0833 or 083 229 4327 or 082 533 7143 (Michelle Rock)
Email: info@photoza.co.za
Website: www.photoza.co.za
Hours: Tues to Fri 11 a.m - 5 p.m, Sun 11 a.m - 3 p.m

A selection of photographs, paintings and collaborative works by Cape Town photographer Dale Yudelman and artist Arlene Amaler-Raviv forms the second exhibition at the recently opened David Krut Fine Art.

Speaking about the exhibition, Dale Yudelman said: "It's been sixteen years since leaving the city I grew up in and it's wonderful to be exhibiting here again. This exhibition provides an interesting cross-section of my work to date and gives me the opportunity to include some recent colour photographs as well as to show a few of my early black and white images for the first time in Johannesburg."

Dale Yudelman has been collaborating with fellow artist Arlene Amaler-Raviv for the last four years, combining painting, photography and digital imaging. Four of their collaborative works feature in the exhibition. Amaler-Raviv has worked on numerous projects, such as an installation for the District Six sculpture project, Dislocation Relocation and the exhibition Departure at Mark Coetzee, consisting of large oil paintings on glass. In 2000 Vodacom commissioned Amaler-Raviv to create an installation of 17 oil paintings on aluminium, and in 2002 Spier purchased her 2 x 2m oil on canvas portrait of Nelson Mandela.

Yudelman and Amaler-Raviv have also been invited to exhibit their collaborative work at The Eighth Havana Biennale in Cuba at the end of 2003.

Opens: March 29
Closes: May 15

David Krut Fine Art, 140 Jan Smuts Ave, Parkwood
Tel: (011) 880 4242
Website: www.davidkrut.com
Hours: Mon-Sat 10am - 4pm

'Earthworks/Claybodies' is a group show featuring the sculptural work of the artists Deborah Bell, Wilma Cruise, Guy Du Toit and Josephine Ghesa.

Embracing the original intentions of the designers of this 1960s architectural showpiece, the exhibition takes up three quarters of the Pretoria Art Museum. This will allow audiences to view all the sculptural work in a large and expansive environment. Curated by Wilna Cruise, Dirkie Offringa, Director of the Pretoria Art Museum, is quite pleased with the show. "The exhibition is strong and bold and will go down in art history as a benchmark in ceramic sculpture," he has stated.

The show is accompanied by a catalogue, and also features work by the photographer Doreen Hemp.

Opens: March 18
Closes: May 26

Pretoria Art Museum, corner Schoeman and Wessels streets, Arcadia
Tel: 012 344 1807/8
Fax: 012 344 1809
Email: artmuseum@pretoriagov.za
Website: www.pretoria.gov.za/pam
Hours: Tues - Sat 10am - 5pm, Sun 12pm - 5pm, Wed 10am - 8pm

'Artworks from the Seventies' is a group show that revisits a rather stolid decade: the seventies. A period of contrasting energies, this show firmly reflects the conflicting styles of the era. Brightly coloured works inspired by the graphic style of the period are presented alongside minimalist, conceptual and surrealist-inspired works. The township style of the period is also shown, hinting at the strong influence of Black Consciousness and the political struggle at the time.

The exhibition presents international artists like Sidney Nolan, David Hockney and Paul Wunderlich alongside the South African artists Alexis Preller, Norman Catherine, Helmut Starcke, Lawrence Scully, Alan Crump, Dan Rakgoathe, Fikile Magadlela, Sidney Kumalo and Ezrom Legae. Women artists featured on this show include Anna Vorster, Makgabo Sebidi and Cecily Sash. The chilling surrealism of Judith Mason is also on display.

The interplay of styles showcased offers viewers an interesting insight into the period under review. South African artists working in an international style were highly inspired by modernism and abstraction. This was before the cultural boycott in the eighties. Exploring the essence of colour and light, conceptualism and abstraction were of importance. "Unlike most European [sic] artists at the time, the African [sic] artists of the seventies were highly aware and inspired by social political issues. Poverty, daily life activities and African spiritual and religious issues informed their work. The seventies gave birth to Black Consciousness and this brought about the notion of African surrealist expression, with the emphasis on African dignity and the spiritual injustice of political oppression and apartheid. Reviving African consciousness through art was essential."

Opens: Saturday, April 12
Closes: May 30

Unisa Gallery, Theo van Wijk Building (Gold Fields entrance), Unisa
Tel: (012) 429 6255/6823
Email: hattif@unisa.ac.za
Hours: Tues - Fri 10am - 4.30 pm or by appointment

Margaret Gradwell graduated from the University of Pretoria and is currently involved in their arts training programme, so it is fitting that she shows here. She enjoys creating symbolic 3-dimensional landscapes and still-lives. Her work has appealed to various corporations and government departments.

Opens: April 24
Closes: May 16

Old Arts Gallery, University of Pretoria, Lynwood Road, Pretoria
Tel: (012) 420 3036
Email: artcase@global.co.za
Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm

Artworks from the Estelle McIlrath Art School form part of the collection at Permanent Exhibition of Child Art in Tokyo, the Children's Art Gallery in Haifa, Israel and the Children's Art Gallery in Santa Cruz, California. Estelle McIlrath's Art School has won every possible category in the Santam Children's Art Competition. McIlrath's art methodology is based on enrichment of the child's visual perception of his/her environment, exploring a variety of materials, mediums and subjects.

Estelle McIlrath will present a lecture on Visual Literacy: Learning to Look at the Pretoria Art Museum on Wednesday April 9 at 6.30pm. A workshop for children, Looking at Creepy Crawlies, will be presented on Saturday March 27 from 10am - 1pm. Trainee educators are welcome to attend the workshops as observers (R10 per person).

Opens: March 23
Closes: April 29

Pretoria Art Museum, corner Schoeman and Wessels streets, Arcadia
Tel: 012 344 1807/8
Fax: 012 344 1809
Email: LelaniS@tshwana.gov.za
Website: www.pretoria.gov.za/pam
Hours: Tues, Thur - Sat 10am - 5pm, Wed 10am - 8pm, Sun 12pm - 5pm