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Category: Exhibitions

Handmade Heaven

Handmade Heaven – Art Exhibition

15 April to 15 May 2019

Artists: Bastiaan van Stenis, Colijn Strydom, Gabriela Orzechowski, Haidee Nel,
Johann Booyens, Leandri Erlank, Maritha van Ameron, Marguerite Roux
Curated by Leandri Erlank

Venue: 1st floor, 19 Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch

“In some ways we live in a very unnatural world- our brains are constantly trying to adjust and adapt to a lot of social and technological change- and I think that can cause a lot of suffering. So many people have anxiety now and the natural world has less of a role in our lives.
Handmade Heaven is an imagined paradise. It’s about a sense of dislocation and a sadness of feeling separated from nature.”
-a song by Marina Diamandis

 

Home Ground

Home Ground – Art exhibition

29 March to 30 April 2019

Venue: 20 Plein Street, Stellenbosch

Opening: Friday 29 March, 6pm

An exhibition exploring HOME – be this a physical location, memory, or experience.

Artists: Emma Willemse, Isable Mertz, Paul Marais, Simphiwe Mbunyuza, Jessica Kapp

 

ON COLOUR - a group exhibition

ON COLOUR – a group exhibition

31 JAN – 01 MAR 2019

This group exhibition explores the world of bold colours and their combinations.

The artists in this show have a meaningful relationship with colour in their work, and use these different shades to convey their message. Historically, the art world has always looked to pure hues of colour for inspiration, producing well-known artists such as Henri Matisse and Mark Rothko.

‘On Colour’ turns the lens towards how 2-D artists are using colour in this day and age in South Africa.

 

What it is. a group show.

What It Is. a group show.

5 DEC 2018 – 26 JAN 2019

Featuring artists: Zenande Mketeni, Bulumko Mbete, Jessica Bosworth-Smith, Shomtwala Ndeedna Shivute, Nelago Shilongoh, Kirstin Warries, Akudzwe Elsie Chiwa, Shakil Solanki, Haidee Nel

Curated by Lemeeze Davids

WHAT IT IS.

Cataloguing information into neat boxes is what humans do best. We understand the world through names, umbrella terms, and fixed markers of identity because sometimes, it can be difficult to make sense of a world that is constantly changing. Our names are important to us because they are supposed to stand in for everything we are, even representing the things that we do not know about ourselves. While some identify with their given name, others find their real name as life goes on. Either way, we may feel compelled to find a piece of language that is all our own, and that can totally capture our apparent uniqueness.

This exhibition, What It Is, aims to delve into the relationship with one’s own identity, which is the ever-changing set of desires and intentions that we try to name. Instead of placing a solid stake in the ground, this show reflects on the reiterations and overlapping of what we think is ourselves and our world. Are things simply what they are? By hosting a number of works that are series, and/or repetitive, the pieces have multiple representations to voice their message, and provide avenues into different narratives of interpretation.

In its multiples, What It Is, draws a number of artists together that are thinking about how to draw borders around their self and society. The artists’ works are in dialogue with one another, unfolding topics such as personal mythologies, the link between consumer identity and environment, and the names that are monumentalised in a post-colonial society. The work contends with this heavy topic by addressing it from many different viewpoints.

Also Known As Africa - Art & design fair

Also Known As Africa – Art & design fair

Paris, 9 – 11 November 2018

Featuring artists: Simphiwe Mbunyuza, Gerhard Human, Haidee Nel,
Lehlogonolo Mashaba and Mandlenkosi Mavengere.

 

We Used to Exist

There is no doubt that globalisation and mass media has had a profound impact on society as a whole. From art, to food to a way of life. The idea of a global village is clear for all to see.

Understanding the issue of globalisation requires an understanding of the role of mass media on pop culture. Looking at the work of Marwan M. Kraidy in Globalisation of Culture through the Media, the general understanding of globalisation refers to the popularisation and influence of American icons like Coca Cola, Beyonce and McDonalds. Only a few would argue against the role of mass media in bringing these ideologies to screens in far-off countries.

Individualism is an idea often paired with western cultures and capitalist environments. This idea of individual initiative, innovation and creativity is the basis of “American-like” societies. As Ayn Ryan puts it, individualism regards every man as an independent, sovereign entity who possesses the right to his own life. In South Africa we find a new generation of local creatives experimenting with their own style. This subculture is a breath of fresh air, offering fresh perspective and a new identity to being South African. Then the question remains, is individualism still relevant or are we driven by the internet and pop culture?

Ross Clark, in his article “The Rise of Crowd Culture…”  asks whether we have given in to the attraction of the crowd? In his article on the digital version of The Spectator, Clark suggests that our greatest fear is that of being alone. This idea considers the need of having data on your phone, feeling part of a larger community and contributing to the greater good as realistic drivers in our modern society. Are we seeing a shift towards Ubuntuism or will the individual remain stronger?

Enter counter culture. As a means of understanding one might even call it anti-culture. If the culture is one of populist ideas, big capitalist values being shouted from the media and a move towards Americanisation of a culture far-far away then what would a counter culture look like? Individualism enters as people express their own creativity, find other ways of doing and establish a new norm. However, do we even exist if we’re not wearing Nike apparel, prefer a quarter chicken and chips to McDonalds’ or rather listen to Mafikizolo than Beyonce?

Between Figuration and Abstraction – Art exhibition

29 September 2018

Featuring artists: Bastiaan Van Stenis, Adele Van Heerden, Leandri Erlank, Ronald Muchatuta, Marguerite Roux, Colijn Strydom, Paul Marais, Kimati Mafafo & Corne Theron.

Between Figuration and Abstraction Catalogue (PDF)

“Between Figuration and Abstraction” is an exhibition about the revival of figure art digital age.

This exhibition interrogates the place of the physical body in a time of developing interest in virtual realities, online personas and digital media slower mediums such as painting, drawing, sculpture and printmaking represent the human figure, the constant subject. With this exhibition we offer an antidote to our current image- saturated culture, in which we obsessively scroll, flick and browse through an online visual world, leaving our physical selves behind.

Face to Face – Art exhibition

25 May – 30 June 2018

Featuring artists: Christo Coetzee, Haidee Nel, Carl Buchner, Bastiaan van Stenis, Sam Nhlengethwa, Marlene Dumas, Leandri Erlank, Adele van Heerden, Michal Kruger, Robert Hodgins, Colijn Strydom, William Kentridge, Adriaan Diedericks, San-Mare Raubenheimer & David Tsoka

Face to Face catalogue (PDF)

Walk into any building and you are bound to find at least one portrait. This art form aims to showcase the individual, whether real or imaginary. A well-crafted work is said to portray both appearance and character. Whether realistic or not, a painting or photograph the aim is to represent the feature, personality and traits of the individual. In the words of a well-known Greek philosopher, “The aim of Art is to present not the outward appearance of things, but their inner significance; for this, not the external manner and detail, constitutes true reality.”

The history of portraiture stretches back thousands of years to ancient times, images of Egyptian rulers signalling the start of this genre. Throughout the course of history it was only the rich and famous who were worthy of having their image reflected in a work of art. Among the most well known artist in this genre you are likely to hear the names Velazquez, Holbein, Rembrandt, and Vincent van Gogh, etc..

More recently the band of Dutch artists from the 17th, English and American artists from the 18th and 19th century and the well known figures from the modern portraiture movement have defined our understanding of the genre. From the latter, names like van Gogh, Manet, and Ganguin come up while the revival of the 70s is associated with name like Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and David Hockney.

Portrait art can take on many forms, from a painting to a sculpture to a photograph. The essence of art is to give expression to that which is unseen, the same goes for this genre. Many well-known voices from the art world has offered their opinions in this regard, mostly highlighting the role of expression, features and mood in pre-empting interpretation for the connoisseur.