The exhibition will run from the 13th July to 17th September 2016, at the Standard Bank Gallery in Johannesburg.
University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA) Executive Dean Prof Federico Freschi was announced on Monday, 25 January 2016, as the South African co-curator of the exhibition Henri Matisse: Rhythm and Meaning, to be held at the Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg from 13 July to 17 September 2016. This is the first time the work of the celebrated French modern master will be showcased on the African continent.
“Why bring a European modernist to SA? The short answer is that Matisse is so fundamental to understanding modernist art,” says Prof Freschi. “His work informed art making across race and continues to do so.”
Works on show will range from pieces Matisse made as a student to pieces he created just before his death in 1954. These will include paintings, drawings, collages, prints and sculptures exploring the dominant themes of Matisse’s work. Most come from the Musée Matisse. The exhibition core will be the complete set of Jazz Prints, prepared from paper cut-outs during the Second World War and published in 1947.
