The luscious quality of paint
by Kim Gurney
Painting might not be as 'sexy' as new media or installation art, but the work of three young painters at Michael Stevenson Contemporary proves there is nothing dull about this more traditional medium. Each artist brings to the discipline their own unique vision that shows just how versatile and expressive painting can be.
First up is Lawrence van Niekerk, Michaelis Masters graduate, with his finely observed and naturalistically rendered portraiture. Van Niekerk is perhaps the most traditional of the group, painting not to make some kind of grand statement but rather to revel in observation and describing what he sees.
Of his own work, Van Niekerk says: "I view the relationship between myself and the subject as a very equal exchange and I attempt to honour that relationship by documenting it with as much veracity as I can."
Three large canvases depict their subjects: Kasongo 'Beggher' Wa Pa Bowa, Sifiso and Zwite. The first portrait finds a figure posed against a multi-paned window, the latter two find their subjects set against walls. Van Niekerk uses light to great effect, with strong chiaroscuro reinforced by hanging the paintings in the only room with large windows, adjacent to the street.
Van Niekerk's passion for the medium is clear. Every inch of the canvas is worked to its ultimate conclusion, with the foreground and background given the same intensity of observation and attention.
In the next room, John Murray presents his exhibition called 'Uniformed'. The title is a direct reference to the subject matter, which includes a variety of figures kitted out in the uniforms of their particular occupation. These include nurses, sportsmen, flight attendants, and domestic workers.
The figures are life-size cut-outs, silhouetted against the stark white walls, which gives them a three-dimensional sculptural quality. Most of them are presented in triplets: two mirrored figures with a third object in between. In Nurses, for instance, two cut-out figures face each other with a rectangular framed drawing between them.
Murray's figures are all painted with oil on wood. The flat areas of colour with bold outlines and stylised features recall African hand-painted signboards advertising wares or hairstyles.
According to the exhibition guide, Murray is stylistically influenced by West African sign-writing as well as the graphic, painterly and photographic elements often combined in the photo collages of the Russian Constructivists and early propaganda posters of communist China.
Murray describes a tension between the public and the private in daily South African life. He says of his work: "The idea of uniformity has had a strange presence in South Africa over the last 10 years. We are encouraged to believe that, in spite of all the differences and diversity, we are able to live as one people or nation."
His paintings connect to this theme very well. While uniforms offer clear communication, the rest of the painting is ambiguous, with the characters apparent hybrids of various nationalities. Murray seems to comment on our society's propensity for 'naming' and our discomfort when we cannot fit something into a particular category.
The paintings are also quite playful. Their simple forms and narrative display have something of the cartoon about them. This playful element is continued in the third and final room which contains Peter Eastman's remarkable paintings. Here, the viewer's reflection is immediately apparent in the large monotone enamel backgrounds. In contrast with Murray's cut-outs, the background is crucial to Eastman's style.
The first painting, Figure 1, is particularly intriguing because of the contrast between the flat eggshell blue background and the more agitated and painterly brushstrokes describing the figure of a woman. She is centrally placed, which creates a feeling of alienation as the background threatens to overwhelm her slight figure.
The reflective painted surface is a deliberate attempt to involve the viewer. Eastman says: "They [the reflections] make us aware of ourselves in relation to a painting and, more broadly, of our persona and position in the world at large."
The other four paintings on show depict foreshortened shadows rather than actual figures, cleverly positioned at the base of the board with the feet cut off. Because of their life-size scale, the shadows could easily be cast by the viewer who is once again drawn into the paintings by association.
The only non-figurative piece on show, Large City , is a triptych cityscape crammed into the frame, buildings lit up from within and set against a midnight blue sky. Although the colours are severely restricted, the enamel is worked over the board in such a way as to suggest three-dimensionality.
The scene is devoid of human life, totally geometric and cold, and probably forms the context within which the figures play out their lives. Yet it also has a strange beauty that is captivating in itself and the mood is more mysterious than menacing.
As with Van Niekerk and Murray, Eastman shows an obvious delight in his medium with a luscious quality of paint that is bound to get visitors returning for a second look.
Opens: June 23
Closes: July 31
