Listings(s)
'Ecstatic Entropy'
John Murray at Whatiftheworld / GalleryWhatiftheworld presents 'Ecstatic Entropy', an exhibition of new paintings by South African artist John Murray. Using the term entropy as a starting point to frame this body of work, Murray has created a series of paintings that exist in a state of tension between order and chaos.
The paintings, whilst attempting representational gestures toward landscapes, structures or symbols, ultimately fail in their task. Functioning in a liminal space, the paintings fall indecisively between organic form, geometric shapes and allusions toward landscape and architecture.
en·tro·py (ntr-p)
n. pl. en·tro·pies
1. Symbol S For a closed thermodynamic system, a quantitative measure of the amount of thermal energy not available to do work.
2. A measure of the disorder or randomness in a closed system.
3. A measure of the loss of information in a transmitted message.
4. The tendency for all matter and energy in the universe to evolve toward a state of inert uniformity.
5. Inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society.
21 August 2013 - 12 October 2013
'Tjorts/Cheers'
John Murray, Liza Grobler, Tina Jensen, Marna Hattingh and Marlise Keith at AVATjorts! /Cheers! In the Main gallery is an exhibition inspired by a single unpublished poem, Tjorts! By Danie Marais. ?It summarises living and working in Cape Town in the twenty first century. The direct and personal nature of drawing finds a resonance with the personal nature of Marais’ work. In this text Marais – whose work often conjures up strong visual associations- maps a space overtly familiar to all the participants (and also to most of the viewers).
Each artist responds to the text in a series of drawings. The drawings are associative rather than descriptive, and artists were encouraged to respond to the text in a range of media. Executions therefore vary from work on paper to site-specific spatial constructions. Artists also circulated some of the drawings in progress and responded to each other’s interpretations a deliberate effort to find synergies and stimulate ongoing dialogue.
Curated by Marna Hattingh and Liza Grobler with opening introduction by Danie Marais
16 January 2012 - 10 February 2012
'Next Generation'
John Murray, Ruan Hoffmann, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Hasan and Husain Essop, Santu Mofokeng, Jeremy Wafer, Zanele Muholi, Clifford Charles, Nicholas Hlobo and Ndikhumbule Ngqinambi at Pilchri StudioIn 1993 the Thami Mnyele Foundation initiated the exhibition 'Zuider Kruis/ Southern Cross' in Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, an exhibition of contemporary art from South Africa with artists who had been taking part in the Venice Biennial the previous year. Now 19 years later, the Thami Mnyele Foundation exhibits the work of a new generation of artists from South Africa in cooperation with the Pulchri Studio in The Hague. 'Next Generation' presents a selection of 20 contemporary artists from South Africa who have been working in the Thami Mnyele Foundation as 'Artist-in-Residence' during the past years.
Artists include: Hasan and Husain Essop, Michele Tabor, Ina van Zyl, Sandra Kriel, Ndikhumbule Ngqinambi, Adriaan de Villiers, Ruan Hoffmann, Zanele Muholi, Dineo Bopape, Clifford Charles, Thulani Shongwe, Nicolas Hlobo, John Murray, Senzeni Maracela, Jeremy Wafer, Shepard Mtyshelwa, Progress Matubako, Pat Mautloa and the work of the current resident Nisren Abasher, a Sudanese artist. It also encompasses the work of the Artist-in-Residence for June to July 2012: Santu Mofokeng.
02 June 2012 - 22 July 2012
'Undo All'
John Murray at Whatiftheworld / GalleryWHATIFTHEWORLD is pleased to present 'Undo All', a new exhibition of painting by John Murray.
John Murray is a South African painter living and working in Cape Town South Africa. Working in oil on canvas he creates abstract compositions rendered in a way that still hints at representational forms beneath the surface. His paintings have evolved into an ongoing series that allude structures that are simultaneously in the process of forming or perhaps disintegrating.
'I used to take my dog for walks to a specific beach in Sea Point. On one of these walks I picked up a ceramic shard from what could have been a pot or a vase. The following day I noticed another piece of ceramic. Over the years it became a habit to look out for these shards, like a treasure hunt, trying to find them in between the masses of broken shells.
After my walks I would lay them out on the kitchen table. I liked the way the different shapes, colours and patterns of these fragments interacted with each other.
These shards have a nostalgic presence. What intrigues me is their ability to resonate long after the original objects have been shattered. They trigger the imagination to think of their history, function, previous owners and ultimately the transience of things.
This body of abstract paintings continues an ongoing interest in fragments as a representation of undoing or loss.' - John Murray
04 February 2015 - 21 March 2015
