Archive: Issue No. 103, March 2006

7.03.06 Beeldspraak at the University of Johannesburg Art Gallery
2.03.06 Rhona Gorvy at Art on Paper
2.03.06 Solomon B. Tlhagwane at The Project Room@gordart Gallery
2.03.06 Mikhael Subotzky at the Goodman Gallery
2.03.06 Shannin Antonopoulo at The Gallery Premises
2.03.06 Colbert Mashile at David Krut Arts Resource
2.03.06 'Picasso and Africa' at the Standard Bank Gallery

3.02.06 'Prints and Multiples III' at Warren Siebrits Modern and Contemporary

13.01.06 Norman Catherine at JAG
 

The University of Johannesburg Art Gallery presents the final phase of the 'Beeldspraak' project. Curated by Gordon Froud and Chris Diedericks, with works by 52 established South African artists, the project aimed to 'challenge the idea that an exhibition can only happen in an art gallery, by bringing artwork by South African artists directly to the public through the medium of the newspaper'. Works were published on the front page of 'Plus', the art, entertainment and lifestyle supplement of the daily Beeld, for 52 weeks, with the series ending in February 2006. The project also gave readers the opportunity to comment on artworks, thereby opening up a dialogue between the art world and the Beeld's readership. Works by, among others, Luan Nel, Usha Seerjam, Berco Wilsenach Senzeni Marasela, Colbert Mashile, Penny Siopis, Nerupa Singh and Wim Botha appeared, and are on the show.

The works will be auctioned by Bernardi Auctioneers in aid of the Beeld Children's Fund at 6.30pm, Wednesday March 22.

Opens: March 1
Closes: March 22

Veteran of the SA printmaking scene and cutting social commentator Rhona Gorvy shows a retrospective of series of works from the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's. A strong vein of Surrealism underpins Gorvy's imagery, taking her work beyond easy comparisons with Goya's violent prints of wartime atrocities.

The show is extensive, and uses Art on Paper's new venue to good effect.

The show is no longer closing on February 25 and remains open until further notice.

22-year-old recent Vaal Triangle Technikon graduate Solomon B Tlhagwane presents a show of small-scale photographs shot entirely with cellphone cameras. Oscillating between the roles of photographer and curator, Tlhagwane has relinquished some control of the creative process by allowing friends and family to contribute images. The images are collected together and printed in narrow horizontal strips, a formal device that possibly points to the influence of more established local photographers like Jo Ractliffe and Mikhael Subotzky.

The images depart from the gravitas of these two influences, however, and enter a decidedly suburban realm where quasi-abstract street scenes, ubiquitous family faces and salacious DIY erotica collide. The images are strongest when the limited pixel count of the cellphone cameras renders them painterly.

Opens: February 22
Closes: March 10

A tightly curated show of photographic work by Cape Town whiz kid Mikhael Subotzky is up at the Goodman Gallery this month. 'Die Vier Hoeke and Umjiegwana' continues Subotzky's exploration of the lives of Cape prisoners. The work goes beyond Subotzky's previous focus on incarcerated men, turning the lens on former inmates whose lives remain inextricably linked to the prison system. These men are shown in a variety of situations, most involving desperate bids for survival in an unwelcoming world umjiegwana - outside die vier hoeke (the 'four corners').

This show sees the Goodman Gallery's veritable labyrinth of available partitions used to full effect: the works are arranged in concentric rings radiating from the centre. The centre, a kind of inner sanctum, contains photos of incarcerated men, but Subotzky opts for moments of touching humanity and tenderness over the violence and rapacity that most often mark the representation of inmates. Sound, the recorded voices of prisoners, filters down from the rafters of the gallery, and communicates the ubiquitous human presence in an overcrowded prison system. The ease with which one can pass from this central space reminds one of the difficulty these men have in escaping their terrible birthright of cyclic movement between the prison and the outside world.

The show takes in themes of petty crime, homelessness, Tik addiction, informal settlements and informal trade, and cunningly juxtaposes them with the rampant gentrification of Cape Town's inner city. Subotzky owes much to David Goldblatt in his eye for acute social critique through highlighting moments of economic contrast.

This show has a companion exhibition at The Women's Jail on Constitution Hill, 1 Kotze Street, Braamfontein, from February 26 - March 25. Entitled 'Die Vier Hoeke and prison workshop photographs', this show deals with images made during prison workshops.

Opens: February 18
Closes: March 11

'Soap Soliloquies' is Shannin Antonopoulo's installation that takes as its subject the 'sets' that play such an important role in the production of television soap operas. The show straddles the fields of art, production and décor, manipulating and exaggerating certain elements within the sets to 'implicate an individualised narrative'. The sets expose evidence of their own physical construction, thereby exposing the constructed nature of the narratives they facilitate. The five sets are each constructed around one of five fictitious female characters.

The show is Antonopoulo's M. Tech degree exhibition, in fulfillment of her course at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). Antonopoulo is a part-time lecturer in 'Conceptual Studies' at the UJ, project co-ordinator for the 'Paper Prayers' project at the Artist Proof Studio in Newtown, and was nominated as one of 4 finalists for the MTN Young Contemporaries prize in 2001.

Opens: March 4
Closes: March 18

Colbert Mashile presents 'Monotypes', a series of unique prints and other works on paper, all created at David Krut Print Workshop. Althugh known primarily as a painter, Mashile has produced several series of prints at David Krut Arts resource.

Opens: 12pm, March 4

A collaboration between one of Paris' Picasso Museum's leading curators, Laurence Madeline, and Marilyn Martin, Director of Art Collections at Iziko South African National Gallery, has resulted in this exhibition. 'Picasso and Africa' offers, for the first time, a dialogue between Africa and Picasso and explores the influence of African art on his artistic output, in the company of classical African pieces.

A major loan from the Picasso Museum has been augmented by works from the Musée National d'Art Moderne, the Centre Pompidou, as well as the Picasso family and other lenders. The exhibition has three distinct yet interrelated components: More than 60 paintings, drawings and sculptures, dating from 1906 to 1972, which contain and communicate Picasso's African inspiration; a selection of works that reflect the diversity and rapid changes of which he was capable; and a selection of African sculptures, similar to those with which Picasso may have been familiar, which have been sourced from various South African holdings. (Picasso's own collection is dispersed and too fragile to travel).

A thoroughly illustrated catalogue with in-depth essays by the two curators and other prominent writers, accompanies the exhibition. 'Picasso and Africa' moves on to the SANG in April.

Opens: February 10
Closes: March 19

Walkabouts take place from 1pm - 2pm, Wednesdays and Fridays, and from 2pm - 3pm on Saturdays

Warren Siebrits continues to explore his interest in printed works with the third instalment in this series. Though some old favourites return (most notably Paul Edmunds' gargantuan lino print The Same but Different and Joseph Beuys' silkscreen-on-blackboard Kunst=Kapital), Siebrits continues to push the envelope far beyond what one has come to expect from the traditional SA printmaking show. The inclusion of the 'Scarred for Life' set of lithographs (1994) by Australian art star Tracey Moffatt adds clout and depth to this show. Comparable in approach and aesthetics to the stills from Larry Clark's film Kids, the Moffatt series deals with the small tragedies and traumas of lower middle-class Aboriginal existence in the suburbs. This series, as well as some landmark works by Vuminkosi Zulu, William Kentridge, Walter Battiss, and an impressive group of coloured etchings by Claudette Schreuders, make this a surprisingly provocative take on a familiar theme.

Opens: February 2
Closes: March 30

Norman Catherine was born in East London in 1949. His considerable repertoire of images of fantasy, humour, horror, satire and pain is brought to the public in this exhibition entitled 'Now and Then' which covers approximately 35 years of his productive output.

Catherine first achieved success in the early 1970's with his use of airbrush, a technique generally employed by commercial artists. During this period, Walter Battiss was an important influence on his work.

By 1976 the whimsical airbrush work had evolved from light-hearted fantasy into surrealistic and bizarre images of mutilation and torture: bandaged severed heads, pierced bodies and dissected animals. Catherine's lithographs of the early 80's broke through the ambivalence of the surrealistic works of the mid to late 70's to capture the hopelessness, frustration and absurdity of upholding an unjust social order. These works lead the way to an outpouring of aggression in nightmarish and apocalyptic works.

'Now and Then' demonstrates how the artist continues to engage with social issues, taking inspiration from the world filled with contradictions. Catherine says, 'I try to capture those moments where things aren't quite what they seem.'

Opens: January 29
Closes: March 31