PIERRE VERMEULEN
08 . 07 . 17
19 . 08 . 17
Pierre Vermeulen, 154 | 49 Untitled hair orchid print, , 2017. Sweat & gold Leaf imitate on aluminium, 150 x 195 cm
SMAC Gallery is proud to present a solo exhibition by Pierre Vermeulen. This is his first exhibition with the gallery and will include a series of prints and paintings on gold-leaf imitate. Each work, like the vibration of a Tibetan singing bowl, suggests a moment of meditation. Vermeulen’s work evidences his meticulous exploration of presence and impermanence. His practice operates within a conceptual framework that questions the importance of the artist as a ‘source’ of art, as well as the medium as an active agent in making. Vermeulen’s medium of choice is his own sweat and hair, his method of application is both imprinting and painting.
MOSTAFF MUCHAWAYA
Memory / Ndangariro
08 . 07 . 17
19 . 08 . 17
Mostaff Muchawaya, Ndaikuda II 2017. Acrylic on canvas, 108 x 85 cm
SMAC Gallery is pleased to present Mostaff Muchawaya’s first solo exhibition in South Africa entitled Memory / Ndangariro. The show will comprise of a selection of portraits, each a combination of memories, a dream-like flash of faces combined to form an impression of a half-remembered experience.
Muchawaya references a deep connection to his experiences, which are inseparable from ‘his people’ and his surroundings. The artist grew up in the province of Manicaland, located in the mountainous East area of Zimbabwe.He continuously refers back to his upbringing – his family part of the work force on a white-owned farm. Muchawaya creates portraits of characteristics – picked from various people present in both his up-bringing and current life. The combination of these characteristics results in a layered and multi-faceted portrait, which simultaneously looks familiar and completely unrecognisable. Muchawaya has an unbreakable bond with his community and, while the paintings presented in Memory / Ndangariro are new in their material form, to Muchawaya they are old, remembered renderings. These paintings are self-portraits of Muchawaya’s memories. Clearly evidenced in Memory / Ndangariro with the use of found, ornate gilt frames is Muchawaya’s shrewd reference to traditional Western portraiture. However, unlike the commissioned portraits of wealthy nobles that litter the history of portrait painting, Muchawaya maintains a strongly personal, and sentimental connection to each of his portraits.
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