“Anomaly” by Corné Eksteen 2 - 22 December 2017

 

 

Artist’s Statement 

As much as contemporary art is about commentary on art itself, some of its fundamental intent remains: Art is about reflecting (in some cases even defining) our times, values and culture.

When one looks back at the legacy of art and the timeline in human history it represents, you become aware of our ever growing, ever expanding visual language: our ability to continuously develop new modes of expression and our capacity for and vigour in constantly creating new visual metaphors, incorporating imagery from an ever-changing world in new and innovative reflections of that world. Today more than ever, a good level of visual literacy is as important as a higher education in navigating a culture that is visually driven in every aspect. 

It is this highly developed visual language of the 21st century, with "dialects" of symbolism, iconography and branding that serves as primary reference for this body of work. Our visual culture is largely driven by technology.  Much of our everyday experience of the world is now filtered through a screen of some kind. Our technology is not flawless and often presents us with "glitches" or visual malfunctions.

As a starting point I am ‘capturing’ and incorporating these moments of malfunction, both accidental and intentional in the creation of a new series of portraits. Using these imperfections as a vehicle for social commentary and commentary on art itself.

 

Works in the series explore the polarities between the controlled and unpredictable. It focuses on the repurposing of intentionally corrupted imagery and questions what it means if we reclaim the “errors” in our technology and use them as tools in representing and defining ourselves.

Artist’s Bio

The interplay or relationships between gender and identity, gender and sexuality and the contradictions between the physical and emotional world, has been some of his major fields of exploration. 

His work is visually confrontational, but most often serves as a simple “question” posed to the viewer. He has presented images of castrated men (La Mort, 1998), confronting notions and understanding about gender by beckoning the viewer to confess “who they are without their genitals” He has combined the faces of male and female sitters into a single androgynous portraits (xx=xy, 2015) asking the viewer to identify the gender of the image and in so doing to expose their own gender bias understanding of the visual world. 

Eksteen, is currently living and working in Durban, South Africa.   

http://www.anomaly.durban/ 

"Serendipity" a solo exhibition by Heidi Shedlock 14 October - 2 November 2017

14 October - 2 November 2017

Overtones embedded in a bygone era bring to mind the art of quaint needlepoint brooches and tapestry. A catalyst of blended blossoms offers us a lingering dose of nostalgia when first encountering Heidi Shedlock’s paintings.  Then comes the transforming 'serendipitous' moment when portholes of intensely layered blossoms are captured in circular motion through layered forms and a choreography of expressive mark making that creates an aesthetic sensibility that is not only seen, but felt and experienced.   

Heidi is a Durban artist who has been involved in education but now paints full-time from her studio in Durban North. She intentionally seeks to nestle her arrangements safely within nurturing circular and oval formats. She believes 'serendipity' is as much about 'consciousness' as it is about valuable fortuitous discovery - "...it's about keeping your eyes open and appreciating a fleeting moment that would normally be lost…finding something when looking for something else. This antithesis can be the result of an observant mind…” 

Article by Marianne Meijer in the Durban Mercury 13.10.17

"Light and Space" 25 August - 14 September 2017

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"Light and Space”

A Group Show of Paintings by Michelle Irving, Alison Akal, Haley Wright, and Ilma Matthews

25 August - 14 September 2017

In this crazy, busy, daunting, space we live in, we felt it was time to reflect on our personal space and the light we were reflecting within it.

Observing objects and people around us to consider how they were perceived and welcomed within the space they occupy.

"Sea Level" a group exhibition of miniatures 1 July - 27 July 2017

There is something very seductive about holding an exquisite, small work of fine art in the palm of one’s hand and being into that minute jewel-hued space.   SEA LEVEL will explore this......

Organized and Curated by Anthea Martin and  Catherine Stempowski 

ARTISTS PARTICIPATING : Anthea Martin, Catherine Stempowski, Pamela Benporath,
Megan Bonnetard, Marianne Meijer, Camilla Kinnear, Jane Bishop, Estelle Hudson, Stella Beth Peat, Darryl Houghton, Hermine Spies, Lorraine Wilson,  Odette Tolksdorf, Lesley Magwood Fraser, Diane Samson, Jannie van Heerden, Mariek Petzer, Steffi Steffen, Deidre Maree, Chris Reabow, Pauline Maurer, Morgan Coakley, Denise Hill,  Penny Brown, Pascale Chandler, Heidi Shedlock, Ann-Marie Nason, Laurelly Allaway, Grace Kotze, Ewok, Nicole Pletts, Zamani Makhanya and Katarina Richter

Closing on Thursday, 27 July

“Olive Schreiner Revisited” a solo exhibition by Jannie van Heerden 4 - 30 March 2017

Olive Schreiner is best known for her novel: “The Story Of An African Farm”. I grew up in Cradock, Eastern Cape where Olive Schreiner lived as a teenager along with her elder brother and sister and where she worked later as a tutor on the farms: Gannahoek and Klein Gannahoek. In 1921 she was buried on the mountain Buffelskop, just outside Cradock.

As a young boy my father often took me to the Schreiner House, then derelict, where Olive lived with her siblings, and we once ascended Buffelskop to look at her grave. The legend of Olive was always with me and was realised in 2013 with my exhibition at the KZNSA Gallery, Durban: “Olive Schreiner: The Story Of An African Farm”. However in the past few years I felt that I had not done her justice and thus the revisit.

Olive was born on the Wittenberg mission station in 1855. Her first encounter with Cradock was in 1867 when as a teenager she lived with her elder brother and sister in Cross street (now part of the National English Literary Museum). She returned later to serve as a tutor on farms in the district. The landscape and its people left a deep impression upon her, and influenced her famous novel which was published under the pseudonym Ralph Iron, as women were not allowed to publish at that time. Her other best-known works are: “Thoughts On South Africa” and “Women And Labour”, long considered as the bible of the women’s movement. Olive was deeply involved in politics and was a fighter for all the oppressed peoples of South Africa, she was totally opposed to Rhodes and British imperialism.

In 1894 she married Cron, 8 years her junior and they settled on the farm Krantzplaats, Cradock district. She insisted that he took her name and he was known as Cronwright Schreiner. During this time they ascended the mountain Buffelskop, with its breathtaking view across the valley. Olive decided that this was where she wanted to be buried and acquired the plot.

Olive was excessively asthmatic and she soon had to leave the damp riverbeds of Krantzplatts and spent a lifetime searching for a suitable climate for her health, first Hanover, then Kimberley, Johannesburg and eventually Matjiesfontein. Her firstborn child lived for only 9 hours and after that she had 3 miscarriages.

Olive and Cron eventually drifted apart and she left for Europe and England in 1914.  She already knew many influential people there like Havelock Ellis and Eleanor Marx, both who influenced her outlook on life.

Olive returned to Cape Town in 1920. She died in 1921 and was buried in the family crypt. According to her wishes Cron had her body exhumed and buried in 1921 on Buffelskop.

The re-internment on Buffelskop was a very dramatic event. Eight carriers spent 2 days carrying her coffin plus those of her dead child and her dog, Nita, up the hill.

The undertaker schooling built a dome shaped sarcophagus on the pinnacle to take the coffins. According to Olive’s wishes no religious ceremony was allowed. As Cron finished his eulogy an eagle soared across the sky, to paraphrase the “The Story Of An African Farm”: “the dark plumed bird uttered its deep low cry: Immortality”

- Jannie van Heerden   

The exhibition closes on Thursday, 30 March at 4p.m.                                 

“I See In Colour” by Izolda van der Merwe 11 February - 2 March

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Izolda is inspired by everyday objects, situations and people. Growing up in rural South Africa, she was mesmerised by the beauty of the ordinary and still is today. The things we take for granted, a view as you drive, a person walking down the street. There is a sincerity in her day to day life that is portrayed in her paintings, a whimsical movement which is captured through colour and pattern. 
 

Working in mixed media Izolda’s art has been pushing the limits of different application processes. This has opened up a world of possibilities in executing technique/creating art, pushing those boundaries in growing her style of art. 

 “I See In Colour” looks at Izolda’s world and the influence nature has on her life. Being an avid gardener and collector of aloes and succulents, the geometric patterns and symmetry of the plant structures has fascinated her. There is a sense of order in their construction, which resonates with finding order in everyday life.

Great influences in her work are Hung Liu (a Chinese-born American contemporary artist) and Michael Carson (American painter). Their use of pattern and movement has added to the freedom of expanding her technique and breathing life into the canvas. Being aware of a “traditional” landscape or portrait style of painting has allowed her to transform that visualisation/surrealism of her mind into a visible reality for the viewer to partake in.

Closing on Thursday, 2 March at 4p.m.