Business Art Aug 09

SOUTH AFRICAN

AUGUST 2009 | Supplement to The South African Art Times | E-mail: [email protected] | Member of the Global Art Information Group

Clive Kellner’s speech

In refl ecting on the Joburg Art Fair, its past and future, I thought I might raise a number of comments, facts, con-tradictions and ideas about art fairs, the art market, curating and values as a means of addressing this post Joburg Art Fair assessment. In a sense, what is at stake here is the relationship between art and commerce. Often, itwould appear that the two are diame-trically opposed, more especially in re-lation to curating, academia, museums and art history. Damien Hirst’s now infamous two-day sale at Sotheby’s on September 15 and 16, 2008, brought in sales of 95.7 million Pounds, on the same day that the Lehman Brothers collapsed initiating a global fi nancial crisis. Art has never been so popular! Art certainly does refl ect its time and in the Warholian sense, appeals to everyone and is accessible to all. Art Fairs have become symbolic of a time where money and art are synonymous and everybody knows the name of Da-mien Hirst. There is a story that goes, in the 16th century, Mrs Albrecht Durer, would set up her stall of art works for sale in the public square in Bruges. The roots of the art market can be traced to the fairs of Brabant and Medina del Campo in the 15th century and during the 16th century the public sale of art became widespread particularly in the Netherlands. Art, for a long time has remained the domain of the select few, a rarefi ed fi eld where connoisseurship, the canon and art history were the purveyors of knowledge and therefore taste. The more things change, the more they stay the same! I believe that during the Salon’s of the 17th century, where art works were hung wall to wall, fl oor

to ceiling (sounds like an art fair!); the art works were not for sale! Here the academic and artistic merit of the works were paramount and sales were for tradesmen. Art was not seen as a trade but as a higher activity. Far from where we are today! Today art’s value is created by headline newspapers, high prices and business managers. However the global fi nancial crisis is beginning to show signs of a downturn, postwar and contemporary art auc-tion have tumbled 77% from totals achieved a year ago. Although records prices for select artists continue to be established. It is a contradictory time. There are 284 art fairs and Biennale’s in the world today and they in total receive a total of 4.9 million visitors in a year. By comparison, the Tate Modern received 5.3 million visitors in 2007, MOMA 2.6 million visitors and the metropolitan 4.24 million. The Joburg Art Fair is in its infancy. Art Basel has been going for four decades and has changed signifi cantly over this period. Perhaps one of the oldest, the cologne Art Fair which started in 1967 with just 18 galleries. Art Basel, started in 1968 when 3 Swiss gallerists – Trudi Bruckner, Ernst Beyler and Baltz Hilit decided that Switzerland needed an Art Fair too. One of the most celebrated newer Art Fair’s must be the Frieze Art Fair in London. However American art critic, Dave Hickey had some very controversial things to say about it at the keynote lecture he gave at Frieze in 2007. I will quote a few lines, “This is a great moment. There are people out there who like art more than money”. How do we know what makes for ‘good art’. We live in an age where money defi nes taste and im-ages are everywhere. So much so that economists are beginning to defi ne this era as the image economy or i-conomy. Sir Alan Bowness in his 1989 Walter

Neurath Memorial Lecture given at the University of London gives four factors that lead to an artist’s success: 1) peer recognition 2) critical recognition 3) pa-tronage by dealers and collectors and 4) public acclaim. Art Fairs are not the all conclusive defi ning arbitrator of artistic taste or merit. But they are important vehicles in a network of artists, dealers, auctions houses, media, curators, col-lectors and museums. Increasingly they are changing their focus from purely economic, dealer booths to include collateral events and programs. These include: talks by leading fi gures in the art world, music and fi lm pro-grams, education programs, curatorial pro-grams, artistic commissions, awards, public art projects and collaborations. I remember in the 1990’s – there was an outcry by galleries and artists not being presented at the Basel Art Fair and they ended up creating the un-fair! The Joburg Art Fair is important in a South African context. It promotes an active and positive image of the contemporary South African art market internation-ally, contributes to cultural tourism and facilitates thegrowth and development of art collec-tors and patronage. Even more impor-tantly, it brings contemporary South African art into the mainstream public domain. A recent article in the Art Newspaper runs with the heading, “Attimes of crisis, fairs should take a more‘curated’ approach”. It would appear that there is a move toward bigger,better, more complex and more competitive art fairs as the pressures of success, hype and the ‘shock of the new’ are increasingly present. Art’s function, at least, one of them, has shifted from an academic role to that of a social function. It is now cool to be seen at Venice Biennale or Art Basel. In the end, does this help makebetter art?

Report back session from The Joburg Art FairThe SA Business Arts publishes 2 keynote speakers at the JAF disscussion

held at the Narina Trogon restaurant in Braamfontein last month In an effort to break the monthly and evenquarterly South African art news cycles

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People in the SpotlightBritz: Kebble’s Lost Orchid, not the Lost Orchid (27 Jul 09)After months of speculation, auctioneer Graham Britz has admitted, in an interview with Beeld, that a painting sold as Tretchikoff’s “Lost Orchid” earlier this year, is “without a doubt” not the original. Forensic tests have proved that the painting is defi nitely not the work it was billed as in the catalogue, but, says Britz, may still be an original work by Tretchikoff. According to the auctioneer, forensic tests prove that the work is at least 60 years old, while other tests and the opinions of experts suggest that the work, is “in all probability”, another work by Tretchikoff, entitled “After the Dance”. [more...]

An arts adviser for Zuma? (27 Jul 09)Sean O’Toole writes a letter to president Jacob Zuma, in the Sunday Times, offering the president Kudzanai Chiurai as offi cial cabinet photographer. ‘Sobriety Tool’, as the Art South Africa editor coyly signs the letter, says that he has already entreated the president to accept his services as an art consultant. “You didn’t reply. That’s OK, really, I understand”, says a mock hurt Tool. Chiurai, whose satirical posed photographs are currently on show at Goodman Gallery Cape, portrays “extreme stereotypes” of African success, and says he would love to photograph the real cabinet. [more...]

ABSA L’Atelier 2009 Award Winners announced (24 Jul 09)The results of the 2009 Absa L’Atelier competition were announced last night at a gala exhibition in Johannesburg, and the this year it’s Eastern Cape artist, Stephen Rosin, who will be taking home the R110 000 prize money and jetting off for a six month jaunt in Paris, Die Burger reports. [more...]

Babelaas after the festival: NAF Director reports back (24 Jul 09)National Arts Festival director, Ismail Mohamed compares himself to an alcoholic in a report-back on this year’s Grahamstown fest, on Artslink. “I guess there is much similarity between a festival producer and an alcoholic. As soon as the alcoholic’s bottle is empty he looks for the next.” The morning after the end of a successful festival, is, says Mohamed, like a “lekker babelaas”. [more...]

START Nivea Art Award winners announced (22 Jul 09)The winners of the 2009 START The Nivea Art Award were announced at a packed gala award ceremony at the KZNSA last night. First prize went to Pinetown artist, Jane Oliver, who received R20 000 in cash, a sponsored art studio and art materials for six months, as well as an exhibition at the KZNSA in 2010. [more...]

New CEO for NAC (14 Jul 09)The National Arts Council has a new CEO, in the shape of Annabell Lebethe, Mail and Guardian reports. Lebethe has a background in provincial government, where

Before I begin, I feel it is neces-sary to state upfront that I under-took some media strategy work for Artlogic in the runup to this year’s Joburg Art Fair. There was an article published in a recent edition of SA Art Times that sug-gested that I was compromised or some kind of sellout as a result of this. So perhaps this is an op-portune moment to respond and say that, as an independent writer and editor, it is my prerogative to associate with whomever I choose on whatever basis I choose. Those associations are often deep and implicated ones. I have never claimed to be a detached and unbiased onlooker commentating on the toings and froings of the art world. I write in the fi rst person and have never striven to be some ideologically unstained bystander. For this reason, I have always had diffi culties with the term ‘critic’, although it is often tagged on to my name. For me, it is too cool a term. I am far more interested in the generative possibilities that my writing may serve, than in criticis-ing things in a manner that shows no concern for the potentially damaging impact of published words. I am not suggesting that criticism be discouraged, merely stating that I am personally more committed to constructive collabo-ration, translation and invention, than in detached deconstruction.

This year’s Joburg Art Fair was the fi rst big test for the lo-cal art market since the dreaded turbulence in the global economy

kicked in late last year. Despite the fact that the Fair’s attendance was up by 4 000 and that the produc-tion value of this year’s event way outstripped last year’s, art sales at this year’s Fair grossed about half of what was achieved last year. It was a jackpot of a Fair in every sense other than sales, which must surely be attributed to the dreaded slump having metamorphosed from a hazy projection into an uncomfortable reality.

Since then we have seen the landmark closure of WarrenSiebrits Contemporary and an article in the latest edition ofSA Art Times in which just about all the key Johannesburg galler-ies, barring Everard Read, admit to having to tailor their strategies around an impaired art market and a limping economy.

It is against this choppy back-drop that we are evaluating the Fair. And for this reason that I wish to encourage a spirit of treading gently, not roughly stamping on a seedling before it has a chance to put down roots. We South Africans are all too quick to slag off things and people when they’re still trying to fi nd a foothold and then mourn the loss of them when they’re suddenly not there anymore. This said, the Joburg Art Fair is not the delicate young calf that needs my protec-tion. It has already proven itself to be quite a strapping and muscular young event, drawing thousands through the doors of the Sandton Convention Centre and command-ing a healthy chunk of airtime and page space across Johannesburg’s various media platforms.

Yet the vinaigrette criticisms have also been fairly rife, centred

chiefl y around the argument that fairs are nothing more than meat markets for art. The same criticisms have been leveled at Art Fairs the world over, and I quote Jerry Saltz from an article in The Village Voice a few years ago: ‘Art fairs are perfect storms of money, marketability, and instant gratifi ca-tion – tent-city casinos where art is shipped in and parked for fi ve days. They’re adrenaline-addled spectacles for a kind of buying and selling where intimacy, convic-tion, patience, and focused look-ing are essentially nonexistent. They are places where commerce has replaced epistemology, and the unspoken contract that existed between artists, dealers, and col-lectors has been scraped.’ Eish! More than a touch of pulpit-style fulminating there.

Since the 1990s, when art fairs started to become big events on the global art calendar, there have been countless articles comparing fairs to the other big international forums for contemporary art – biennials. Usually the biennale is introduced as counterpoint to protest against the gross com-modifi cation of art. But, in my view, although they are different animals, they are not at opposite ends of the art spectrum. Biennials are not exempt from conceptual trendiness or favouritism, and fairs generate a lot more than just cash.

While biennials are curated with quite specifi c ideological or methodological aims, art fairs are hybrids combining elements of trade fairs, conferences, and big family get-togethers. Money might be their motive but community is their medium. Fairs can superfi -

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Risky Business, Anthea Moys throws herself to the Pirates, in her award winning show at The Everard Read Gallery, Jhb. Moys who won the prestigious Bait-Everard Read Award 2009 worked with the Pirates Rugby Team in Johannesburg. In her words she states: “In this performance I played the role of the ball. Throwing oneself into unfamiliar territory always involves risk. It asks of both performer and participant to engage in a shared space of play. For modern humans, this is a risky proposition, for there are no winners or losers in my rugby game. The outcome is the experience”.See her show at The Everard Read Gallery, 6 Jellicoe Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg from Thursday 30 July. Or visit there website at www.everard-read.co.za or www.antheamoys.co.za Photo: John Hodgekiss

Breaking Art NewsDaily at The Art Times

BUSINESS ARTBUSINESS ART

South African Print Gallery107 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock Cape Town.

Tel 021 462 6851 www.printgallery.co.za

The South African Print GalleryPresents:

GABRIEL CLARK-BROWNMid Life Retrospective Exhibition

Work from 1990 – 2007runs until Thursday 25 August 09

Newsfeeds continued on page 2

ARTTHROB PRINT EDITION Opens Saturday 27 August 09 11h30 - 14h00

includinga brand new Robert Hodgins Print.

Artists include: Guy Tillim, Mikhael Subotzky,Penny Siopis, David Goldblatt,

Willem Boshoff more.

continued on page 2

Creating our Eden, Etching 1996

SA ART TIMES NEWSFEEDS02 BUSINESS ART | AUGUST 09

cially be viewed as crass reduc-tions of art into exchange value, but the less cynical understand that they also offer something else to the inhabitants of the ‘art world’.

For most visitors, the big fairs create a sense of kinship that over-rides the whirl of air kisses and lipstick stained bubbly glasses. ‘Art fairs are the new biennials,’ declared The Village Voice a few years back. They are gigantic conventions where everyone sees one another, hangs out, and does deals. Fairs may even generate a valid sense of community in an art world so disparate that this expe rience is otherwise rare. Some even argue that they are more loose and egalitarian than curator-

driven exhibitions in which one person tells everyone else what to look at.

One of the most signifi cant fea-tures of all fairs is that by making your way around the booths, indi-vidual galleries’ signature styles start to become clear and acces-sible. And, perhaps even more ex-citing than tracking the distinctive styles of each gallery present, is the thrill of having galleries from all three of South Africa’s major cities present under one roof. It’s the ideal opportunity to track regional trends. One of the themes that I picked up on that this year’s Joburg Art Fair was a trend in intimate, personal, psycho-sexual paintings. Paintings that grapple with psychological rather than socio-political realities or concep-tual trickery, they explore loss, desire, memory, transience, an uncertain connec-tion to the notion

Report back sessioncontinued from page 1

of place or home. Interestingly, these paintings came mostly out of Cape Town, with a strong showing at the João Ferreira stand, while the focus in Johannesburg seems to be more outward looking, with a strong foothold in photo graphy cerebral/conceptual engagements with form, social documentary excursions, installation and urban interventions.

Another common criticism of Art Fairs is that they dissolve into a meaningless whirl of freebee champagne and canapés, but from my point of view that really is a choice. And even with all the distractions, if you have your heart set on discovery and aesthetic exploration, the Joburg Art Fair is a great opportunity to encounter work by artists that are fresh and new. I was delighted not only to discover the bright fantasticalcollage paintings of Gabrielle

Manglou at Galerie Beatrice Binoche from Reunion Island, but to have the opportunity to talk with the artist herself about how she had drawn on old colonial photographs to conjure the ghosts of history and capture the post-colonial melee of island life on Reunion.

Art Fairs also provide us with the valuable opportunity to see things in the fl esh previously only encountered in reproduction.Before this year’s Joburg ArtFair I had only ever seen the work of Ghanaian waste sculp-tor El Anatsui in books. Despite the brilliance of reproduction, nothing compared to seeing these large-scale majestic sheets of goldenness, ironically crafted from the throwaway tops of booze bottles. Only one wealthy Sheik could afford to buy an El Anatsui masterpiece at the Fair, but there

they were at the October Gallery stand for everyone and his cousin to enjoy.

I conducted several tours of the Fair, which were supposed to last for an hour. Mostly though they turned into wild discursive adventures with aunties from Cyrildene and visiting art teachers from Toronto that went on for more than two hours at a stretch, and only ended when I managed to drag myself out of the conven-tion centre in search of a Strepsil for my burning throat. But the the-matic connectivities that emerged on those tours were exhilarating. One of my personal high points being the moment when theemasculated wingless vulture at the centre of Jane Alexander’sgut wrenching Security installation, conjured up the memory of Kevin Carter’s 1994 PulitzerPrize winning photograph of a

vulture stalking a starving Suda-nese child. The parallel felt all the more prescient against the back-drop of the renewed hype around the work of the Bang Bang Club photographers whose work was on show at the Rooke Gallery stand.

So, in my eyes, the Joburg Art Fairs is an invaluable forum that provides visitors with the oppor-tunity to see the work of hundreds of different artists under one roof, assess at a glance what’s on the market and get acquainted with art and the people who write about it, produce it, appreciate it and sell it. As someone who passionately and fervently hopes to see the arts and culture sector fl ourish and grow in South Africa, it is my wish that every year we will see a greater number of art collectors, artists, dealers, curators, critics and art enthusiasts from around theworld participating in the Joburg Art Fair.

Read the full stories atwww.arttimes.co.za

she held the Director of Creative Industries post, and was responsible for the development of arts, music and other creative projects in the Gauteng department of sport, art, culture and recreation. [more...]

Kentridge cops mixed reviews in States (15 Jul 09) “It’s quite a coups for the Modern to snag a show devoted to this rising star of the art world”, says the Fort Worth Weekly, claiming that Kentridge “has been winning raves for the exhibition William Kentridge: Five Themes”. Art Daily calls it “a searing body of work”. But not everyone is so happy. [more...] Hlobo “weird”? (14 Jul 09)Grahamstown festival visitors dubbed Nicholas Hlobo’s ‘Umtshotsho’ “weird”, but Anthea Buys suggests that this might have more to do with the extremely limited National Arts Festival art program, than Hlobo’s fl ow-ing rubber forms. In a review for the Mail and Guardian, Buys reveals that, as a socialisation ritual, Umtsho-sho provides “a place for marginial subjects – particularly gay men and women – within traditional Xhosa culture”. This is the point of departure for Hlobo’s works, which are, says Buys, “the worthiest follow-up on a Young Artist Award in years.” [more...]

Hlobo in Grahamstown: exclusive pics (13 Jul 09)For those who didn’t make it to Graha-mstown for the National Arts Festival, festival rag, Cue, publishes a slideshow of work by 2009 Standard Bank Young artist Award winner, Nicholas Hlobo.

Breaking art news dailycontinued from page 1

‘Umtshotsho’, a “traditional youth dance”, comprises new sculptures made in Hlobo’s distinctive materials, rubber inner tube, leather and ribbon. [more...]

Goldblatt and Subotzky are pre-sented with prestigious photographic awards (13 Jul 09)David Goldblatt has been awarded the important Henri Cartier-Bresson Award (2009), for his project ‘TJ’, an ongoing examination of the city of Johan-nesburg. The award is intended for a photographer of exceptional ability who has an established career and has completed a signifi cant body of work. This award will be followed by an exhibition of David Goldblatt’s essay of Johannesburg photographs at the Henri Cartier-Bresson in 2010. Goldblatt’s exhibition Joburg was on view at the Goodman Gallery in 2008. Goldblatt has been photographing and documenting South African society for over 50 years. Born in Randfontein in 1930 to parents who came to South Af-rica to escape the persecution of Lithu-anian Jews in 1890. Motivated by his contradictory position in South African society, Goldblatt began photograph-ing this society, and in 1963 decided to devote all of his time to photography.Mikhael Subotzky has been awarded the highly regarded Leica Oskar Barnack Award for his Beaufort West essay. An international jury is involved in the selection process, and the prize is awarded to a photographer who has the ability to capture and express the relationship between man and environ-ment without being obtrusive while maintaining a poignant and strong vision throughout the series.South African photographer Mikhael Subotzky was born in Cape Town in 1981, and achieved both international and South African acclaim for his fi nal year project entitled Die Vier Hoeke, which consisted of a detailed study of the South African prison system. In 2007 Subotzky went on to photograph

the town of Beaufort West, an area notoriously associated with violent crime and alcoholism. Exhibited as a solo show at Goodman Gallery Cape in August 2007, the series was then shown at MOMA, New York as part of their New Photography 2008 program.

African Art DownersValuable Sumner self-portrait stolen (24 Jul 09)A Maud Sumner painting worth an estimated R150 000, has been stolen from the house of former art dealer, and Pretoria Association of the Arts director, Elbie Kachelhoffer. Kachelhoffer, who has been bedridden since October 2008, fi rst noticed the theft on the 17th July of this year, when she visited her sitting room for the occasion of her daughter’s fi ftieth birthday. [more...]

Walsh’s work stolen at his memorial celebration (24 Jul 09)One of the last ten works painted by Aidan Walsh, before his death of cancer on July 11, was been stolen at the deceased artist’s Monday memorial ceremony at the KZNSA in Durban, Artsmart reports. Partner of 42 years, and fellow artist, Andrew Verster, said the theft was “an act of desecration to his memory.” “As the last works that an artist touched before they died, they have the aura of holy relics”, said Verster. [more...]

Nigerian Gallery Offi cials charged with stealing $6.8m (23 Jul 09)While Nigerian president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua faces impeachment threats for ‘lopsided budget implementation’, fi ve Nigerian government offi cials have been charged with the theft of $6.8m worth of funds meant for the National Gallery of Art, the BBC reports. Gallery director and artist, Joe Musa, and four colleagues, stand accused of siphoning off the money for their own personal use, over the past three years. [more...]

SA Art UppersArts sponsorship on the rise(21 Jul 09)The 12th Annual Business Day BASA Awards, supported by Anglo Ameri-can, have received a record number of entrants this year, with 63 different projects putting themselves forward for the award, Artsmart reports. “The large number of fi rst-time entries is also exciting as it indicates the diverse sup-port of the arts through business,” said Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts South Africa (BASA). The awards are set to take place on August 31, in Johannesburg’s Turbine Hall. [more...]

ArtHeat gets remix (20 Jul 09)Cape Town-based artist, critic, “feminist, WWE fan” and cultural com-mentator, Linda Stupart has launched a new, collaborative blog, linked to Robert Sloon’s blog, ArtHeat.net. Stupart’s blog, Mixtape (‘collabora-tion, culture, chaos’), takes the form of a collaboration with fi fty odd artists, critics, students and academics. The space will serve “as a space for each member of the project to post whatever they like.” This may be fi ction, reviews, music, video, “philosophical meander-ings, angry feminist rants and blatant self-promotion”. Contributors include Charles Maggs, Andrew Lamprecht, Julia Rosa Clark, Andrjez Nowicki, Wayne Barker and Ed Young amongst others. [more...]

Arts Alive under new management (20 Jul 09)Johannesburg’s Art’s Alive Festival will be under new management, as of this year, with brand solutions company, Zanusi, taking over the festival program and event management, Artslink reports. The festival, which will take place in Johannesburg from 3 to 30 September this year, will include visual art, theatre, dance, comedy and poetry, amongst other things. Organisers hope

to expand on the established festi-val, looking to models such as New Orleans’ Mardi Gras festival, and the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown for inspiration, as well as seeking the expertise of those who have been involved with the festival since 2003. [more...]

Minnaar vs Maggs & Sloon(15 Jul 09)It’s gloves off for Melvyn Minnaar as he reviews Maggs and Sloon’s Whatiftheworld exhibition over at Tonight. The whole show, says Min-naar, has “been positioned with such evangelistic self-confi dence... that one wonders whether they will even con-sider that what they are showing may not be all that interesting.” ‘Syndrome’, a two man show by artheat.net blogger Robert Sloon, and video artist, Charles Maggs is what Minnaar derisively dubs a “’conceptual’ show”, and has “been smothered in highbrow words and hype”. [more...]

National Arts Festival triumphs despite recession (14 Jul 09)This year’s National Arts Festival saw visitor numbers increase by 13.21%, with a whopping 170 045 people turn-ing out to support the various events. Growth in visitor numbers has been the trend over the past few years however this kind of growth is unprecedented. Previously, 2005 held the record with a 5.18 % rise in visitor numbers. [more...]

Charity Auction rakes in the cash (10 Jul 09)A charity art exhibition at the Knysna Oyster Festival has outstripped all expectations, raising three times as much money as organisers had hoped on opening night. Organised by the Hospice Knysna fundraising commit-tee, the ‘Night of 1000 Pictures” had hoped to raise R10 000 for the hospice,

by selling donated works at R100 apiece. [more...]

2010 art project largest ever for Fifa World Cup (09 Jul 09)South Africa will “break new ground” with the arts festival accompanying the 2010 Fifa World Cup, says managing director of 2010 Fine Art, Craig Mark, The Herald reports. Never before has such a large arts festival accompanied the Fifa World Cup, according to the paper. The project is still growing to in-clude more artists and will be promoted internationally and locally. [more...]

Prisoners art on show in Graham-stown (09 Jul 09) “I did art at school, but after matric I did not practise my skills. In prison, they showed me how to do it again”, said Andile Jaha, an inmate whose work is currently on show at the Department of Correctional Services exhibition, The Times reports. Jaha produced a range of ceramics and vases embellished with fl owers for the Department of Correctional services marquee, which is displaying prisoner’s art on the village green. A spokesman for the region’s Correctional Services said there was no policy regarding the sale of prisoner’s art in place. [more...]

Artists show their appreciation (06 Jul 09)Tammy Ballantyne, writing for the Weekender offers a more positive view of the Standard Bank young artist awards. Ballantyne, who attended the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the awards at the end of June, witnessed many previous and current winners showing their appreciation for the exposure and acclaim the award had brought them. She also reports a new initiative, being launched in conjunctionwith Alliance Francais this year, which

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ART LEADERS PROFILE AND IN THE NEWS AUGUST 09 | BUSINESS ART 03

Michael Coulson

Art Source, the consultancy run by mother-and-daughter team Les and Taryn Cohn, claims to occupy a “unique niche” in the local at world. That’s the sort of state-ment that raises any experienced journo’s eyebrows, but they make a convincing case. “Most artists are hopeless at career planning,” says Les, “and while galleries have the resources to help them, they tend to focus on short-term sales. We can help artists devise a long-term career strategy which can range from marketing individual works to museums or corporate collections to project development and organising travelling exhibi-tions that can tour museums both in SA and internationally, literally for many years.”

Museum tours, they stress, are aimed at building an artist’s profi le rather than immediate sales, though they hope the work has a commercial value at the end of the day. As a prime example, they cite the Transitions exhibition of Paul Emmanuel. Its appearance at this year’s National Arts Festival is its fi fth outing in SA. Later this year it goes to Spier, in the Western Cape, and next year to Zylt, in Germany. This will open the door to other European venues.

“We reckon Transitions still has another fi ve years’ life in it,” says Les. As Emmanuel started conceptualising the project in 2004 (its fi rst outing was at Jo’burg’s Apartheid Museum in 2008), this will give it a total lifespan of 10 years.

Les and Taryn Cohn

This is their second project for Emmanuel. Other artists for whom they’ve worked on projects include Rosemary Marriott, Leora Farber and, in association with art dealer Ralph Seippel, Mbongeni (Richman) Buthelezi, whose cur-rent mid-career touring exhibition opened in Pretoria in April 2009 and will visit fi ve other galleries before coming to Jo’burg next year. Thereafter, they are hoping for international exposure.

Fund raising for projects is a knotty area. Organisations like Art Source may not take fees from a grant or foundation. If fi nance is raised from a more commercial source, Les says Art Source may charge either a fl at fee or take a percentage, but she stresses that this is done in consultation with the funder and will be on top of the project fi nance.

Projects like this are only one aspect of Art Source’s activities, however. Broadly, it claims to in-terface between creators of art and providers of funds, both corporate and public-sector, and is branching out into marketing, public relations and communications.

For the past six years Art Source has been a major fund-raiser for Jack Ginsburg’s Ampersand Foun-dation, which gives local artists the opportunity to spend time in New York. It has also raised funds for the Phum ani Paper craft-based national poverty alleviation pro-gramme and has been appointed to raise funds for the Keiskamma Trust’s art project, based in Ham-burg, in the Eastern Cape.

Art Source is, indeed, a member of the SA Institute of Fund Raisers,

though Les says the Institute’s requirements on how fund raisers may be rewarded can be inappro-priate for artistic projects.

Art Source has also acted as intermediary in the acquisition of art works by many major institu-tional collections, including BHP-Billiton, Hollard Insurance, Spier. Sanlam, Sasol, the Iziko National Gallery, the Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill and civic galler-ies in Kimberley, Johannesburg and Pretoria

What qualifi es the duo to offer this range of services, and how did they get into the business?

Les has a BA Fine Art from UCT and a diploma in arts and culture management from the Wits Business School. In the 1980s, she returned to full-time study at the former Technikon Witwatersrand. One of her teachers was Kim Berman, who introduced Cohn to outreach work and the arts’ need to raise funds.

In 1995 Cohn was appointed to start a residency program me at the Bag Factory, of which Ber-man was a major progenitor, and raise funds for it. Six years later she left to start Art Source. From 2006-2008 she was artistic director and curator of the Sasol Wax Art award, sadly axed in a precursor to Sasol’s more recent major retreat from sponsorship of the visual arts. Taryn was also involved in Sasol Wax as project manager or publi-cist throughout its existence.

Taryn did a BA Fine Arts (Hons) at Stellenbosch, followed by a Master of Philosophy in Cultural development, in which Berman was one of her supervisors. Since 2002 she’s worked on various cultural projects. As well as the already mentioned Sasol Wax, she was with the fi rst Brett Kebble Award but presciently quit the second, unhappy with how it was developing, and was marketing manager for Constitution Hill.

She began working for Art Source part-time in 2006, and went full-time in October 2007. She still presents a weekly radio pro-gramme focusing on Jo’burg, Jozi Today, for the community station Radio Today 1485.

Some may feel that consultan-cies like Art Source are parasites on the art world. But in truth, as Les and Taryn argue, most artists (like most journos!) are so bad at career development and fi nancial management that, properly used, they can only benefi t from their skill and services.

Peter Machen chats to Craig Mark from Kizo Gallery who is also the MD of 2010 Fine Art, a South African company that hasacquired a global license to pro-duce and distribute fi ne art re-lated to the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Peter Machen: This is the fi rst time in the history of the world cup that Fifa has licensed a fi ne art licence? What does a Fifa art licence actually mean?Craig Mark: It means that we, as the license holders, are allowed to assemble, exhibit and retail fi ne art collections that will be offi cial licensed products of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. It also means that, as a South African company, we will have the opportunity to use the phenomenal international platform provided by the tournament to promote African visual arts to the world and have some of the world’s most talented contempo-rary artists celebrate Africa and South Africa through art. PM: Does your contract with Fifa allow the license to continue in subsequent world cups?CM: Technically our license is with the Global Brands Group – Fifa’s worldwide Master Licensee, and no, it is for 2010 alone – although, should this project suc-ceed as we believe it will, we feel certain that there will be scope to negotiate licenses for Brazil 2014 and beyond.PM: And does it, in terms of Fifa’s 5km restraint of trade, mean

that only Fifa World Cup 2010 artwork will be allowed for sale in the defi ned radius?CM: No commercial or retail ac-tivity can happen in the so-called exclusion zones except through the on-site stores operated by Fifa’s commercial affi liates. Even our own products, if they were to be sold within those zones, would have to be carried by those retail stores. Those locations are not re-ally our focus – the 2010 Fine Art collections will be more specifi -cally retailed through exhibitions, although we may look at some targeted merchandising lines if there is a demand for them. PM: I presume that Fifa will be taking a large share of the profi ts?CM: There is a share of each work sold that is payable to the Global Brands Group – which is only fair in the sense that the value of the Fifa brand and the association with the tournament provides the raison d’etre for the collections.PM: At the launch, I think you said that there will be Fifa-li-censed exhibitions in 80 countries. This sound like a massive project and a major undertaking. How have you chosen your partners around the world? And who is co-ordinating the global project?CM: The 2010 International Fine Art Collection will be exhibited in all 32 countries that qualify to play in South Africa in 2010 – this is being done through a gallery partner in each of the qualifying

nations. It is certainly one of the largest and most ambitious inter-national art collaborations ever – befi tting the fi rst ever African Fifa World Cup. Our partner galleries are being chosen for their ability to exhibit the Collection to its best effect, their existing client bases, and their connections with their local media to assist in promoting the exhibitions. The project is be-ing coordinated by our 2010 Fine Art team based in Cape Town. PM: And how will local artists benefi t?Craig Mark: Local artists and art-ists from other African countries are being given the opportunity to submit works for consideration for inclusion in the 2010 African Fine Art Collection. We also fi rmly believe that the 2010 Fine Art project will benefi t the broad community of African and South African visual arts by helping to showcase the talents of our communities to a very diverse international audience.PM: All of the works on show at the recent 2010 African Fine Art Collection were inspired by South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup and they have all been recognised as Offi cial Licensed Products of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. What are the criteria for recognition or inclusion?CM: There are both thematic and technical criteria. In terms of the thematic brief, we have asked participating artists to draw inspi-ration from the return of the world to Africa, the energy and passion of the world’s largest sporting event and the national pride of their own country’s participation therein. The technical criteria ad-dress issues like medium, size etc. PM: The exhibition showed original artworks but sold prints of them. Will this be the standard format for all Fifa-licensed exhibi-tions? Who owns the original artworks?CM: Both the 2010 International Fine Art Collection and the 2010 African Fine Art Collection comprise originals and limited edition, signed, numbered prints. The originals are also planned to be offered for sale – but will only be made available for acquisition closer to the period of the tourna-ment.

The Fine Art of Fifa

Now in it’s 7th Edition The SA Art informationDirectory provides the user with a wealth ofArt Information and access to the South African Arts Community. By advertising your art, artgallery and arts related company you will reach a large audience of arts professionals for a whole year.

2010 Early Bird advertising ratesuntil 15 August 09

Double Page Spread ( 332 x 166mm ) R 7 200 R 6 400 Full Page ( 240 x 166 mm ) R 3 800 R 3 200 Half Page ( 120 x 166 mm ) R 2 600 R 2 200 Third of Page ( 75 x 166 mm) R 1 100 R 900 Artist Listings R 420 R 400

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Les and Taryn Cohn direct Artsource a Johannesburg based artpromotions company

Work from “Real Heros’s” show by Clint Strydom

Please call Eugene at 021 424 7732 or E-mail [email protected] For more information see www.saaid.co.za

Eastern Cape

East London

Ann Bryant Art Gallery 6-23 Aug, East London Fine Art Society Peep Show exhibition, an exhibition of miniature paintings9 St Marks Road, Southernwood, East London T. 043 722 4044 [email protected]

Port Elizabeth

Alliance Francaise Port Elizabeth1-22 Aug, Clay 5 Artists 5 Direc-tions17 MacKay Street, Richmond Hill, T. 041 585 7889www.alliance.org.za

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum 4 Jun-10 Aug, Decade, A selection of works by some of South Africa’s most valued and emerging artists from the Sanlam Art Collection. 30 Jul-20 Sep, sculpture by 2009 Standard Bank Young Artist Award Winner, Nicholas Hlobo. 15 Aug-25 Nov, Poking Fun, works from the Art Museum’s permanent collection exploring humour, biting commen-tary and satire. 1 Park Drive, Port Elizabeth, T. 041 506 2000www.artmuseum.co.za

Free State

Bloemfontein

Oliewenhuis Art Museum 21 Jul-18 Aug, Dissemination, computer drawings by Jaco Spies, 7 Jul-16 Aug, Wilma Cruise, Cocks, Asses &,16 Harry Smith Street, Bloemfontein T. 051 447 9609

Johan Smith Art GalleryGlass, Bronze, Ceramics, Old Mas-ters, Contemporary works.Windmill Centre Main Street Clarens T. 058 256 1620 www.johansmith.co.za

Blou Donki Art GalleryContemporary Art, Steel Sculp-tures, Functional Art, Photography, Ceramics.Windmill Centre Main Street Clarens T. 058 256 1757 www.bloudonki.co.za

Gauteng

Art on Paper25 Jul-12 Aug, mixed media works by Senzeni Marasela; 15 Aug-12 Sep, prints and watercolours by Fiona Pole 44 Stanley Ave, Braamfontein Werf (Milpark), T. 011 726 2234www.artonpaper.co.za

Artspace – JHB29 Jul-22 Aug, Six Small Stories, group exhibition of contemporary jewellery design by Liz Loubser, Marchand van Tonder, Geraldine Fenn, Eric Loubser, Nannette Nel and De Villiers Venter. 26 Aug-16 Sep, paintings by Dylan GrahamChester Court, 142 Jan Smuts Av-enue, Parkwood, Johannesburg. T. 011 880 8802www.artspace-jhb.co.za

Brodie/Stevenson9 Jul-8 Aug, photography by Zanele Muholi. 13 Aug–5 Sep, solo show by Conrad Botes.373 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannes-burg T. 011 326 0034, http://www.brodiestevenson.com/

Constitution HillFrom 6 Aug, Innovative Women, work by ten contemporary black South African female artists Dineo Bopabe, Zanele Muholi, Nandipha Mntambo, Ernestine White, Ingrid Masondo, Nontobeko Ntombela, Usha Seejarim, Senzeni Marasela, Lerato Shadi and Bongi Bengu.

T. 011 339 6040/082 388 6870 Fax: 086 547 5195Email: [email protected] www.constitutionhill.org.za

Coolart SpaceFrom 28 Jul, sculptures and paint-ings by Avril Kentridge-Kayser. 17 6th st, cnr 4th Ave, Parkhurst, Johannesburg. T.011 442 6469

David Brown Fine Art20 Aug-20 Sep, Aidon Westcott39 Keyes Ave,off Jellicoe, Rose-bank, Johannesburg. T. 011 788 4435www.davidbrownfi neart.co.za

David Krut Projects30 Jul-29 Aug, I Knew you in this Dark, an exhibition of paintings by Jessica Webster142 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, Johannesburg T. 011 447 0627www.davidkrutpublishing.com

Gallery MOMO 9 Jul-3 Aug, Long Live the Dead Queen, work by Mary Sibande. 6-31 Aug, ‘Agony and Ecstacy’, David Tlate and Charles Storr.52 7th Avenue, Parktown North, Johannesburg T.011 327 3247www.gallerymomo.com

Gallery on the SquareFor Aug, contemporary South Afri-can artists, including: Paul Blom-kamp, Wilma Cruise, John Kramer, Colbert Mashile, Hermann Niebuhr, Carl Roberts, Jenny Stadler among others32 Maude Street, Nelson Mandela Square at Sandton City, Sandton, Johanesburg. T. 011 784 2847www.galleryonthesquare.co.za

Gold of Africa Museum Gallery30 Jun-30 Sep, Headgear, drawings by Jeannette Unite.Turbine Hall, Jeppe Street, Johan-nesburg T. 07829251834www.goldofafrica.com

Goodman Gallery 6-22 Aug, Eliza Kentridge163 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, Johannesburg, T. 011 788 1113www.goodman-gallery.com

Everard Read Gallery Jhb30 Jul-23 Aug, solo show by Brait-Everard Read Award-Winner, Anthea Moys. 11-25 Sep, sculptures by Dylan Lewis6 Jellicoe Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg T. 011 788 4805http://www.everard-read.co.za

Grahams Fine Art Gallery16 Jul-16 Sep, Imaging and Imagin-ing: South African Art circa 1896-2008Shop 31, Broadacres Lifestyle Centre, Cnr. Valley & Cedar Roads Fourways, Johannesburg. T.011 465 9192 www.grahamsgallery.co.za

GordArt Gallery 11 Jul-1 Aug, Family by Lettie Gardiner and Sticks and Stones (Dodge Burn) by Carla Crafford. 8 Aug-29 Aug, Cast and Crew, by Alex Hamilton, and Mtkidu, an interac-tive performance by the collectiveShop 1 Parkwood Mansions, 144 Jan Smuts Ave, Parkwood, t/f 011 880 5928http://www.gordartgallery.com/[email protected]

Manor Gallery2-26 Aug, 6th Black Like Us Exhibi-tion of 2009Norscot Manor Centre, Penguin Drive T. 011 465 7934Email: [email protected]

Johannesburg Art Gallery30 Jun-27 Sep, Musha Neluheni: Vantage, in the artist’s project room #5. 26 Jul-1 Nov, Vik Muniz, Stephen Shore and Janaina Tschape.King George Street, Joubert Park, Johannesburg T. 011 725 3180 www.joburg.org.za

Market Photo Workshop8 Jul-13 Aug, Alternative Kidz, an exhibition of photography by Musa Nxumalo.2 President Street, Newtown, Johan-nesburg, 2000 T. 011 834 1444 www.marketphotoworkshop.co.za

Museum Africa25 May-24 Dec 2010, l’Afrique: A Tribute to Maria Stein-Lessing and Leopold Spiegel; co-curated by Nessa Leibhammer and Natalie Knight.121 Bree Street, Newtown, Johan-nesburg, T. 011 833 5624 www.knightgalleries.net

Origins Centre5 Aug-10 Oct, From Abidjan to Joburg, Veronique Tadjo Cnr Yale and Enoch Santonga Str. University of the WitwatersrandT. 011 717 4700 www.origins.org.za

Resolution GalleryFor Jul/Aug, The Wealth of No Nations, works by Pat Mautloa and Godfried Donkor.142 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, Johannesburg T. 011 880 4054 www.resolutiongallery.com

Sally Thompson Gallery2-29 Aug, Drawing from Memory, paintings by Hazel Frankel and Judy Shear78 Third Avenue, Melville, T. 011 482 9719www.thompsongallery.co.za

Standard Bank Gallery4 Aug-19 Sep, SBYA 25th Anniver-sary exhibition.Cnr. Simmonds & Frederick Streets, Johannesburg, 2001Tel: 011 631 1889 www.standard-bankgallery.co.za

The Art Place, Gallery & Art Centre11 Jul-8 Aug, All Creatures Great and Small, a group show. 144 Milner Ave, Roosevelt Park, T 011 888 9120

University of Johannesburg Arts Centre Gallery29 Jul-22 Aug, Boarding House, photographs by Roger Ballen. 2 Sep-14 Oct, Braam Kruger. 2 Sep – 14 Oct, retrospective of oil paintings by Braam Kruger University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park Kingsway campus cnr. Kingsway and Universit-eits Rd, Auckland Park T. 011 559 2099/2556 www.uj.ac.za/artsacad-emy

Pretoria Alette Wessels KunskamerExhibition of Old Masters and se-lected leading contemporary artists.Maroelana Centre, Maroelana.GPS : S25º 46.748 EO28º 15.615T. 012 346 0728C. 084 589 0711 www.artwessels.co.za

Cameo Framers and Gallery1-12 Aug, Glass art by Tersia du Plessis, sculptures and prints by Marinda du Toit and monoprints, paintings and drawings by Hardus Koekemoer198 Long Street, Waterkloof, Preto-ria T. 082 923 [email protected]

Fried Contemporary Art Gallery8 Aug-12 Sep, Recent work by Johann Moolman, Diane Victor and Rossouw van der Walt 430 Charles Str, Brooklyn, Pretoria T. 012 346 0158 www.friedcontem-porary.com

Kraal Studio29 Aug-10 Oct, Solitude and Things Collected.364 Milner Road, Waterkloof, Preto-ria T. 082 464 6767Email:[email protected]

Magpie Gallery 18 Jul-6 Aug, Dear John, postcard works by a selection of South Afri-can artists. 8 Aug-17 Sep, If I were a girl it is, works by male artists, curated by Debbie CloeteShop 21B, Southdowns Shopping Centre, Centurion T. 012 665 1832www.magpie.co.za

Naude Modern1-26 Aug, Face Look, portraits by Cathy Giordano and Leonie van der Loo254a St Patrick’s Road, Muckleneuk Ridge, Pretoria, T. 012 440 2201www.art.co.za/andrenaude Platform on 18th30 Jul-15 Aug, bronze sculpture by Andre Otto and Sua Havenga. 20 Aug-5 Sep, Narrative Video art, paintings and sculpture by 22 Open Windows students.232 18th Street, Rietondale, Pretoria T. 084 764 4258

Pretoria Art Museum 14 May-16 Aug, Mbongeni Buthe-lezi’s fi rst touring national exhibition of “plastic painting”. Until 1 Dec, A selection of artworks tells a brief story of South African art from the time of the fi rst San artists, includes early 20th century painters, Resis-tance artists and artists of the 21st century. Also on show until Dec, the Corobrik Collection, showcasing the development of ceramics in South Africa in the past thirty years. T.012 344 1807/8 http://www.pretoriaartmuseum.co.za

Pretoria Association of Arts14 Aug- 2 Sep, etchings, monoprints and mixed media works by Gerda Scholtemeijer173 Mackie Street, New Muckle-neuk, Pretoria, Gauteng, 0181, T. 012 346 3100www.artsassociationpta.co.za

Tina Skukon Gallery19 Jul-12 Aug, Worker, by Helen HugoPlot 6 Koedoeberg Road, Faerie Glen, PretoriaT. 012 991 1733

St Lorient Fashion & Art Gallery30 Aug-26 Sep, Rooftop, outdoor sculpture exhibition curated by Gordon Froud492 Fehrsen Str, Brooklyn Circle, Pretoria. T. 012 460 0284www.stlorient.com

UNISA Art Gallery15 Aug-11 Sep, New Acquisitions exhibitionTheo van Wijk Building, Goldfi elds entrance, 5th fl oor. Unisa Campus, Pretoria. T.012 429 6823www.unisa.ac.za/gallery

KwaZulu-Natal

Durban Artisan Contemporary10 Aug-20 Sep, Vista, a collection of fi bre art by Fibreworks, and beaded sculpture by Ceasar Mkize and Thase Dlamini344 Florida Rd, Morningside, T. 031 312 4364Email: [email protected]

Art Space - DBN3-22 Aug, Body of Work, a solo show of paintings by Coral Spencer Domi-jan, 24 Aug–12 Sep, mixed media works by Martin Burnett and Life Journey by Di van Wik3 Millar Road, Durban. T.031 312 0793 www.artspacedurban.co.za

Durban Art GalleryUntil 2 Aug, Working in Warwick, by Denis Gilbert. 12 Aug- end Oct, PAST/PRESENT, works by Andrew Verster. Until Dec 2009, Pic(k) Of The DAG, South African works from the gallery’s Permanent Collection.Second Floor, City Hall, Anton Lembede Street, Durban T. 031 311 2268Email:[email protected]/durban/dis-cover/museums/dag

Durban University of Technology (DUT) Gallery31 Jul-14 Aug, Architectural exhibition, 20 Aug-1 Sep, National Creative Youth Arts FestivalSteve Biko Campus, Cecil Renaud Theatre 2nd fl oor, [email protected] or 031 373 2207

Elizabeth Gordon GalleryA variety of new South African artworks, including new black and white acrylics and charcoals by Chris Buchner and Wim Rauten-bach.120 Florida Road, Durban T. 031 303 [email protected]

Imbizo13 Aug-13 Sep, Black and White, a show including black and white works in all media. Shop 7A, Ballito Lifestyle Centre, Ballito 4418 T. 032 946 [email protected]

KZNSA Gallery 21 Jul-8 Aug, START! The Nivea Art Awards, an exhibition by the 23 fi nalists of this year’s awards. Lerato Shadi: Hema (or six hours of out-breath captured in 792 balloons, video work.166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood, T. 031 2023686, www.kznsagallery.co.za

Tatham Art Gallery25 Jun-6 Sep, Into the Light, work by KZN women artists of the early part of the 20th Century. 9 Jul-13 Sep, Heath Family Retrospective, paintings by Jack, Jane and Jinny Heath.Cnr. Of Chief Albert Luthuli (Com-

mercial) Rd. and Church Street (Op-posite City Hall) Pietermaritzburg. T. 033 342 1804www.tatham.org.za

Northern Cape

Kimberley

#William Humphreys Art Gal-lery From 30 Jul, David Walters and Friends, an exhibition of top South African ceramicists.Civic Centre, Cullinan Crescent, Kimberley, T. 053 831 1724, www.museumsnc.co.za

Mpumalanga

The Loop Art Foundry & Sculp-ture GalleryCasterbridge Complex Corner R40 and Numbi Roads White River T. 013 751 2435 www.tlafoundry.co.za

Western Cape

Cape Town

Alliance FrançaiseFor August, Nina Barnett, a sound, video and stop-motion animation ex-hibition, investigating urban spaces.155 Loop Street, Cape Town. T. 021 4235699www.alliance.org.za

Art B Gallery 29 Jul-19 Aug, mixed media works by Marieke Kruger and sculpture by Paul de JonghLibrary Centre, Carel van Aswegen Street, Bellville T. 021 918 2301, www.artb.co.za

Association for Visual Arts (AVA) 17 Aug-4 Sep, Flatlands, photogra-phy by Marc Shoul. 35 Church Street, Cape Town T. 021 424 7436 www.ava.co.za

Atlantic Art GalleryA permanent display showcasing leading contemporary South African artists.25 Wale Street Cape Town, T. 021 423 5775

Blank Projects5-25 Aug, Black: the antithesis of the fraudulent sensuality of culture’s façade an experiment in voluntary asceticism. A group show includ-ing works by Zander Blom, Liza Grobler, Nomthunzi Mashalaba, Kathryn Smith, Michael Taylor, Hen-tie van der Merwe and Mary Wafer198 Buitengracht Street, Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, T.072 1989 221, www.blankprojects.blogspot.com

Cape Gallery 26 Jul-14 Aug, prints by Lorraine Vivian and Ellen Norbu; 16 Aug-12 Sep, Annual Wildlife exhibition, including painting, sculptures and mixed media60 Church Street, Cape Town, T. 021 423 5309www.capegallery.co.za

Carmel Art Dealers in Fine art, exclusive dis-tributers of Pieter van der Westhui-zen etchings66 Vineyard Road, corner Cavendish St, Clarement T.021 671 6601Constantia Village Shopping Centre, Main Road, Constantia T. 021 794 6262

Christopher Møller ArtDealers in South African contempo-rary art and South African masters.82 Church Street, Cape Town, T. 021 439 3517www.christophermollerart.co.za

David Porter AntiquesBuyers and sellers of South African artT. 021 683 0580/083 452 [email protected]

Erdmann Contemporary /Photog-raphers Gallery 25 Jul-29 Aug, Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Photography and Vintage Printmaking group show, featur-ing work by Walter Battiss, Abrie Fourie, Mark Hipper, Jan Neethling, Jurgen Schadeberg, Themba Shi-base, Manfred Zylla and more.63 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town T. 021 422 2762www.erdmanncontemporary.co.za

Exposure GalleryFor Aug, an exhibition of contempo-rary photographyThe Old Biscuit Mill, 373 Albert Road, Woodstock. T. 021 447 4124www.exposuregallery.co.za

Focus Contemporary, Fine Young Art27 Jun-15 Aug, All Together Now, work by Ian Cattanach, Mark Stanes, Glen Green, Chris Dieder-icks, Philip Marinig, Karin Miller.

24 Jul-4 Sep, Works by Christiaan Diedericks, Chad Barber, Ian Cat-tanach, Mark Stanes, Glen Green, Philip Marinig, Aphelele Sikwebu and Karin Miller.2 Long Street Cape Town, T. 021 419 8888www.focuscontemporary.co.za

Gallery FContemporary and archival South African Art221 Long Street, Cape Town, T. 021 422 5246www.galleryf.co.za

Gill Allderman GalleryFor Aug, Group Exhibition 11, including new works by Dathini Mzayiya278 Main Road, Kenilworth, Cape Town T. 083 556 2540www.gillalldermangallery.co.za

Goodman Gallery, Cape 16 Jul-15 Aug, Dying to be Men, works by Kudzanai Chiurai, 20 Aug-12 Sep, Hentie van der Merwe3rd Floor, Fairweather House, 176 Sir Lowry Road Woodstock, Cape Town T. 021 462 7573/4, www.goodmangallerycape.com

Infi n Art GalleryWolfe Street Chelsea Wynberg T. 021 761 2816 and Buitengracht St Cape Town T. 021 423 2090 www.infi nart.co.za

Irma Stern Museum 8-29 Aug, functional ceramics by four pottersCecil Road, Rosebank, Cape Town T. 021 685 5686www.irmastern.co.za

#Iziko South African National Gallery 2 Jun-16 Aug, Jol, paintings and prints on the subject of jolling. Includes work by William Kentridge, Bob Gosani, Michael Wyeth and Gerard Sekoto, amongst others. 9 Jun-25 Oct, Cross-Pollination, South African artists working from 1930-50. Includes work by Laubser, Stern, Kibel, Pierneef, Sekoto and Lipshitz. 30 Jun-25 Oct, Choices 2008, showcasing new artworks acquired in 2008 by the Acquisitions Committee. From 14 Jul, The Art of Relief Printing, an exhibition de-mystifying print processes. Includes woodcuts, wood, engravings and linocuts.Government Avenue, Company’s Garden T. The 021 467 4660, www.iziko.org.za

Johans Borman Fine Art Gallery15 Aug-12 Sep, 10-20 Anniversary Exhibition: Art That InspiresIn-Fin-Art Building, Upper Bu-itengracht Street, Cape Town, T. 021 423 6075/082 5664631 www.johansborman.co.za

Kalk Bay ModernWinter Showcase: art works on pa-per by Cecil Skotnes, Penny Siopis, Colbert Mashile, Michele Tabor, Jane Eppel, Lyn Smuts, Rory Botha, Nat Mokgosi.1st Floor, Olympia Buildings, 136 Main Road Kalk Bay. T.021 788 [email protected]

Kunst House 18 May–31 Aug, a varying collec-tion of work by resident artists62 Kloof Street, Gardens, T. 021 422 1255www.kunsthouse.co.za

Lindy van Niekerk Art Gal-lery Exhibition of SA’s leading artists.31 Kommandeur Road, Welgemoed, Belville T. 021 913 7204/5www.artpro.co.za

Michael Stevenson Contemporary4 Jun–1 Aug, Everything Matters, paintings by Deborah Poynton; Ingubo Yesizwe, new installation by Nicholas Hlobo; This is my Africa, documentary by Zina-Saro-Wiwa; Shroud, sculpture by Katharine Jacobs. 6 Aug-26 Sep, Wim Botha, Sidestep by Simon Gush and Middle-sea, a video work by Zineb Sedira. Ground Floor, Buchanan Building, 160 Sir Lowry Road, Cape Town, T. 021 462 1500www.michaelstevenson.com

Michaelis School of Fine ArtMichaelis Gallery: 28 Jul-21 Aug, Legacies of the landscape, landscape prints from the Katrine Harries print cabinet. Rosedale Gallery: 28 Jul-16 Aug, Anaphora, work by seven Wits MFA students:

George

Strydom GalleryFor Aug, General exhibitionMarklaan Centre, 79 Market Street, George, T. 044 874 4027.www.artaffair.co.za

Oudtshoorn

ArtKaroo GalleryFrom 6 Aug, Klein Karoo Kleur en Geur Exhibition, Judy Bumstead, Francois Tiran, Francois Gerber, Lisl Barry107 Baron van Reede Str, Oudt-shoornTel/Fax: (044) [email protected] / www.artkaroo.co.za

Paarl

The Hout Street Gallery30 Jul-20 Sep, the 34th annual Winter Gala, including paintings by 25 South African artists, as well as sculptures, glass work and ceramics. 270 Main Street Paarl T. 021 872 5030

Stellenbosch

Art on 5Permanent exhibition of paintings and ceramics by Maryna de Witt, Pera Schillings, Karen Kieviet.7b Andringa Street, Stellenbosch. T. 021 887 7234

Dorp Straat Gallery Until 31 Aug, Winter Warmers Exhibition, featuring work by Henk Serfontein, Anthony Sherratt, Anya Adendorff, Maraleen Jonker-Aran-gies, Kelly John Gough, Louis Nel, Cornelia Stoop, Jenny Parsons, An-thony Johnson Anton Momberg and ceramics by light from Africa, Laura du Toit and John Newdigate.144 Dorp Street, Stellenbosch T. 021 887 2256www.dorpstraatgalery.co.za

Red Black and White30 Jul-29 Aug, Beesboude en Blom-potte, by Johann Slee5a Distillery Road, Bosman’s Cross-ing, Stellenbosch. T. 021 886 6281www.redblackandwhite.co.za

SMAC Art Gallery 25 Jun-1 Sep, On Skin, works by Ricky Benett; Abstract South African Art from the Isolation Years, part III; Collection 11 in the libraryDe Wet Centre, Church Street, Stel-lenbosch T. 021 887 3607www.smacgallery.com

Stellenbosch Art GalleryPermanent exhibition of Conrad Theys, John Kramer, Gregoire Boonzaier, Adriaan Boshoff and other artists.34 Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch T. 021-8878343www.stellenboschartgallery.co.za

University of Stellenbosch Art Gallery4 Aug-25 Aug, Propositions, works by Postgraduate students of the Department of Visual Arts, Univer-sity of Stellenbosch. Participating artists include Lunga Kama, Larita Engelbrecht, John Henry Foster, Corlia Harmsen, Niel Vosloo, Berry Meyer, Gina Heyer, Lara Kruger, Gussie van der Merwe, Wessel Sny-man, Zahn Rust, Rachael Colette, Ferdinand Kidd, Hendrick L. Coe-tzee, Doret Ferreira, Janienke van Zyl, and De Villiers Venter. cnr Dorp & Bird Street, Stellen-bosch T.021 808-3524/3489Email: [email protected]

Knysna

Knysna Fine Art20 Aug-1 Sep, Decade, 10 Years of Collecting for the Sanlam Art Col-lection8 Grey Street Knysna, T.044 382 5107www.fi nearts.co.za

Elgin

Oudebrug GalleryShowcasing oil paintings, pastels and sculptures in the sculpture gardenGrabouw, Elgin T. 021 859 2595 www.ridley.co.za

Hermanus

Abalone Gallery8 Jul-31 Aug, Uitkyk – Outlook, etchings and collages by Titia Ballot and sculptures by Susanna Swart2 Harbour Rd, The Courtyard, Hermanus. T. 028 313 2935www.abalonegallery.co.za

The Old Harbour GalleryWorks including sculpture by Col-leen MadamombeNo.4 Warrington Place, Harbour Road, Hermanus T. 028 313 2751 / 0822595515 www.oldharbourgallery.co.za

Philip Harper GalleriesSpecialising in South African old masters and select contemporary artists.Oudehof Mall, 167 Main Rod, Hermanus T. 028 312 4836 www.philipharpergalleries.co.za

Colleen Alborough, Francki Burger, Maja Marx, Anthea Moys, Richard Penn, Mary Wafer and Amy Watson.31-37 Orange st, Gardens, Cape TownT. 021 480 7147

Raw Vision GalleryNew digital prints by Mike Fisher available for viewing. Upcoming show: Athol Lewis89 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock. T. 076 581 9468 fi [email protected]

Rose KorberFor Aug, Prints from the Graphic Drawer48 Sedgemoor Road, Camps Bay, Cape Town T. 021 438 9152e-mail: [email protected]

Rust-en-Vrede4-20 Aug, Through my Eyes, an in-spired mosaic exhibition. 25 Aug-17 Sep, Judy Woodborne, Paul Birchall and Chris Diedericks10 Wellington Road, Durbanville. T. 021 976 4691www.rust-en-vrede.com

Salon91 Contemporary12-29 Aug, Fate Amenable to Change, a solo exhibition of paint-ings by Shui-Lyn White91 Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town 021 424 6930 www.salon91art.co.za

South African Museum25 Jul-Mar 2010, Subtle Thresholds, the representational taxonomies of disease, a mixed media show curated by Fritha Langerman.25 Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town T. 021 481 3800http://www.iziko.org.za/sam/index.html

South GalleryShowcasing creativity from Kwazulu-Natal including Ardmore Ceramic Art.Fairweather House, 176 Sir Lowry Road Woodstock, Ground Floor. T. 021 465 [email protected]

These Four Walls Fine Art Gallery14 Aug-5 Sep, an exhibition of sculptures and paintings by P L Anderson169 Lower Main Road, Observatory, T. 021 447 7393. www.thesefour-walls.co.za

The South African Print GalleryUntil 26 Sep, prints by gallery art-ists. 27 Aug-28 Sep, ArtThrob Print Editions Exhibition, works by Jane Alexander, Willem Boshoff, Lisa Brice, Nontsikelelo ‘Lolo’ Veleko, Guy Tillim, Mikhael Subotzky, Peet Pienaar, Penny Siopis, David Goldb-latt, Hentie vd Merwe, Tracey Rose, William Kentridge and Zwelethu Mthethwa, as well as a new Robert Hodgins print, hot off the press.107 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock, Cape Town, T. 021 462 6851www.printgallery.co.za

UCA Gallery29 Jul-21 Aug, Voight-Kampff, curated by Chatherine Ocholla, will feature works by Shani Nel, David Scadden, Justin Allart, Niklas Wit-tenberg, Catherine Ocholla, Linda Stupart and Andrew Lamprecht. 26 Aug-18 Sep, Elysian Fields, group show.46 Lower Main Road, Observatory, Cape Town T. 021 447 4132 www.ucagallery.co.za

VEO GalleryFrom 1 Sep, The Concept, group exhibitionJarvis Road, De Waterkant, Cape Town. T. 021 421 3278www.veo.co.za

What if the World… 5-29 Aug, solo show by Athi-Patra Ruga. First fl oor, 208 Albert Road Woodstock T. 021 448 1438 www.whatiftheworld.com

Worldart27 Jul-22 Aug, The Plot Thickens, paintings by Michael Taylor. 54 Church Street Cape Town CBD, T. 021 423 3075www.worldart.co.za

Franschoek Galerie L’ ArtA permanent exhibition of old mastersShop no 3, The Ivy, Krugerstreet, Franschoek T. 021 876 2497www.galart.co.za

Gallery Grande Provence From 9 Aug, new works by Guy du Toit and Pacual Tarazana, jewellery by Boezaart & BauermeisterMain Road Franschoek, T. 021 876 8600www.grandeprovence.co.za

SOUTH AFRICAN ART GALLERY SHOW LISTINGS AUGUST 2009

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Brenda, The Mexican Sports Bar, Hill-

brow, 2006. Photo from Marc Shoul’s

show entitled ”Flatlands” to be seen at

the AVA Gallery, CT 18 of August -

04 September 2009

A Better World is Possible, by Lisa Brice in her exhibition entitled: More wood for the fi re Until 01 August 09 at The Goodman Gallery, Jhb

The backyard picture by Robert Sloon,

part of the “Syndrome” exhibition

featuring Charles Maggs and Robert

Sloon at the Whatiftheworld Gallery,

Cape Town

see www.whatiftheworld.com

for more details

Rorschach (After Velázquez), Lino-print, by Wim Botha in his show Joburg Altarpiece & Amazing Things from Other Places6 August - 26 September 2009 at The Michael Stevenson Gallery

COLUMNISTS & RECOMMENDED UPCOMING SHOWS AUGUST 09 | BUSINESS ART 05

Peter Machen

A few Wednesdays ago marked the fi rst time that I missed an event because I wasn’t on Facebook. Well, kind of, almost, missed. I was actually next door to the event in question – at Bean Bag Bohemia, having a drink – when the owner, Guy Wood, dragged me along to some random function a few metres away at St. Mary’s church, one of Durban’s most beautiful and fl exible spaces where religious dogma hasn’t excluded a good spread of fairly risqué entertainment over the years.

The function happened to be Durban’s inaugural Pecha Kucha event, another global phenomenon spread by the web, where creative people get up and talk for 400 seconds (that’s 6 minutes and forty seconds) while they show 20 im-ages, each for twenty seconds. We arrived as people were fl ooding out into the courtyard for the inter-val. A small army of cigarettes lit themselves up into the evening air – a brisk winter night for Durban but still warmer than nearly ev-erywhere else in the country – and after a few minutes, everyone was herded back inside.

And I was so glad I joined them. Not for the whole Pecha Kucha ticked-that-done-that thing but for the presentation which fol-lowed from Garth Walker. Walker, who is widely acknowledged as one of the kings of global graphic design, has also always been a rabid documenter of the idiosyn-crasies of local design language and iconography, something which has never been separate from his design work and his appreciation

of culture in the broadest possible sense of the word. In fact his doc-umentary photography is seldom presented as such – with Walker, content is king – the things he photographs are so intriguing and fascinating – that you don’t even see the photograph. Which is, I suppose the sign of a good documenter.

And one of the things that Walker has been obsessed with documenting is burial sites. For more than forty years, he has been photographing grave sites in Southern Africa. “I’ve got millions of these”, he said, and I’m sure he was only slightly exaggerating.

But if you’re thinking neoclas-sical tombstones and doves and angels think again. In South Africa – where for all our embrace of the West, we tend to do things on our own terms - grave sites are often, as Walker pointed out, more about life than death. And so the headstones included such graphic elements as guitars, turntables and motorbikes, all of which can now be constructed with digital assistance. And while Durban might not have got the Picasso

exhibition or Africa Remix, we’ve got Chatsworth cemetery. These things even out in the end.

The motorbikes were par-ticularly great, encased in joyful, deadly irony. There was one image in particular, which was one of the most beautiful, amazing things I’d ever seen. It didn’t just make my night but made me glad I’d lived to see it. The photograph was of fi ve bikers astride their machines, riding towards the viewer, two in front, three behind; riding on for all eternity, perhaps as Walker suggested, on their morning run. It wasn’t just me who fell in love with the image; the whole room cooed and aahed like fi ve-years-olds watching bubbles being blown, before breaking into fi ts of laughter.

It makes sense that Walker lives in Durban. The biker image I loved so much wasn’t – as far as I can remember – from a Durban cemetery, but it is exactly the kind of deeply human craziness you fi nd in the streets of eThekwini. Just spend an afternoon read-ing the taxis and marvelling at the graphic design of the city’s

buses (those few that are left on Durban’s streets at the moment since our municipal service have kind of evaporated - but that’s another story). On a good day, I fi nd myself in awe of the chaotic visual expression that is exercised in the Durban’s public spaces even though we ain’t got much public art. Even the city’s bridges and walls which retain freeways have images etched into them. Check out the architectural drawings, from Zulu huts to Cape Dutch gables, on Essex Terrace in Westville, or the animated draw-ings on the Umgeni Road freeway interchange.

In the more formalised space of the KZNSA, where the Penny Siopis survey show Red was about to take hold of the city, Siopis spoke about how important this freedom was to her during the time she spent in Durban. It was in Durban, she said that she found the confi dence to be experimental, and where she found that experi-mentalism to be encouraged and accepted; when she subsequently moved to Jo’burg her experimen-tal cake paintings weren’t nearly as eagerly received, and it was some time before she re-embraced her now seminal exploration of the material nature of painting.

If Siopis gave Durban a compli-ment, the city more than repaid her. I don’t remember a show that has had such an overwhelmingly emo-tional response from the public. Durbanites are often reticent about darker work but Siopis’ blend of terror and tenderness seemed to cut through that reluctance. A col-league who is particularly wither-ing about most of modernity, said “it restored her faith in art.” Me, I don’t need no faith.

Finally, I must bid a sweet and teary-eyed farewell to talented painter and former gallerist Aidan Walsh, one of Durban’s sweetest souls, who died last month. He is deeply, deeply missed.

Cape Views this month – Some to venture out for...

On Show in Durbanin August

What to watch out for in August

The young and the talented are in our sights this month – such as students in their sprint stage towards becom-ing artists (or whatever they become). In Stellenbosch, some 20 of thelocal art school’s postgraduates have gone public with theirPropositions in the cute university art gallery (until August 25). Special about this show is that students, under a scheme they call MA|X09, work completely independently in managing the project.In the city, at the Michaelis Art Gal-lery, the curiously-named Anaphora is an exhibition by seven fi ne art masters students from Wits (until August 18). While at Michaelis, don’t miss the wonderful collection of prints from the university’s famous Katrine Harries print cabinet now on show (until August 21). Talking of prints, Dianne Victor’s masterly series The Disasters of Peace is in the groups show at the old wine cellar at Spier in Stellenbosch (until August 14).And even more about prints: Not to be missed is Wim Botha’s enor-mous lino-prints, part of his Joburg Altarpiece, at Michael Stevenson (until September). Then there’s Fritha

Langerman’s installation Subtle Thresholds at the Iziko SA Museum in the Gardens (until March).Prints, of a very different kind, are also part of talented Michael Taylor’s portfolio of work. His solo show at World Art in Church street, called The Plot Thickens, is long anticipated (until August 22).Most artists-on-show this month seem to be the youthfully talented. One such is the bright Kudzanai Chiurai, originally from Zim-babwe, whose Dying to be Men is at the Goodman Gallery Cape (until August 15).The equally sharp Hentie van der Merwe follows him here (until September). In a similar vein of challenge and fl ash isAthi-Patra Ruga’s art - on show at Whatiftheworld (until August 29).At Blank Projects, Black: theantithesis of the fraudulentsensuality of culture’s façade – an experiment in voluntary asceticism sounds a top-notch conceptual show (until August 28). Another such fresh group show is Voight-Kampff at the UCA in Observatory (until August 21).If these are more of the pretty young things, an oldie (he’s 60this year) can also catch plenty of attention. Ricky Burnett’s OnSkin at the small Smac spacein Stellenbosch is teasing the ma-tronly locals by their Twombly-esque outrage (until August 14). Nice.Finally, the one thing that is sure to be a gallery hit, is Zineb Sedira’s new fi lm at Michael Stevenson as part of the Forex series. If MiddleSea (2008) ) is as stunning as Saphir, shown in 2007, we’re in for a treat. Enjoy.

Heath Family Retrospectiveat the Tatham Art Gallery

Although their work has not been fully acknow ledged, The Heaths are one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most infl uential artistic families. Between them, they taught in the Fine ArtDepartment at the University of Natal (now University of KZN) for more than 70 years. Jack Heath was the head of department for many years, while his wife Jane, taught there until her retirement, as did their daughter Bronwen, who has restored much of her late parent’s work for this exhibition. Regarded as artists’ artists, the Heaths’ talents have thus far been recognized only by colleagues, their students, the South African art museums and a handful of private art collectors. This Family Retrospective is an excellent place to start for everyone else.Closes 13 September.

Penny Siopisat the KZNSA

Siopis, who taught at DUT (then the Natal Technikon) for several years in the 80s, returns to Durban for

her fi rst show here in many years. ‘Red’, subtitled ‘the Icono graphy of Colour in the Work of Penny Siopis’ is curated by KZNSA director Bren-ton Maart. The exhibiton includes many of Siopis’ most seminal works from her Cake painting to ‘Mel-ancholia’ to the Pinky Pinky and Shame series, and even includes a reconstruction of her 1997 video in-stallation, My Lovely Day, complete with the original mini-cinema and plush red seats. Closes 19 July.

Roger Ballenat the Durban Art Gallery

In ‘Boarding House’, Ballen contin-ues to zoom in on the physical and psychological details of hisartistic landscape. Although it is clear to anyone who has been fol-lowing the arc of Ballen’s career that‘Boarding House’ evolves directly from his earlier work, at the same time the work recalls the dadaism, primitivism and surrealism thatfueled the western art world in the late 20s and early 30s. When looking at Ballen’s images it easy to forget that photography is consid-ered by many to be a fi gurative art form. Closes 19 July.

Johannesburg Cape Town

Durban

Furniture designer and chef Lientjie Wessels and her husband Robert Denton of the cult Pretoria eaterie and homegrown design outlet, Libel, have recently taken to regular Facebook postings on the theme of winter to drawpeople’s attention to the hearty cuisine on offer at their establish-ment. The one that seemed to most aptly summarise the dusty and gusty spirit of late July on theHighveld was a nugget by Ameri-can author and billiard’s cham-pion player Robert Byrne, who quipped: ‘Winter is nature’s way of saying “Up yours”.’

Among the myriad events clustering in my inbox, like kindling for a fi re to ward off the decimations of winter, was an email subtitled: ‘This presentation will address the shifting curatorial practices affected by the current economic crisis.’ The terms ‘cura-torial practice’ and ‘current eco-nomic crisis’ seem to be in such urgent circulation at the moment,I couldn’t resist contending with the parking crisis at Wits Univer-sity to make my way to the School of the Arts for this Diva Talk by Tumelo Mosaka.

Mosaka graduated from Wits with a BA Fine Arts and com-pleted his Masters in Curatorial Practices at Bard College in New York. He is currently the curator of contemporary art at the Kran-nert Art Museum at the Univer-sity of Illinois, after working as associate curator at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, where he curated the exhibition, Infi nite Is-lands: Contemporary Carribbean Art (2007), among others. He was most recently in town in April as a guest curator at this year’s Joburg Art Fair, for which he curated Here a nd Now, an exhibition of DVD work by artists from around the globe.

I was drawn to Mosaka’s easy going unpretentious manner, which stood out against the atti-tude of that other ‘blue-chip’ (a term Mosaka applied to art-ists) curator Simon Njami, who succeeded in alienating several local audiences at public events surrounding Africa Remix with his stand offi sh pop star shades and his supercilious one liners.

Mosaka judiciously hedged his bets when one audience member asked him to comment on the stereotyping effect of Njami and Fernando Alvim’s Africa Pavil-lion at the 2007 Venice Biennale, which agglomerated the art of a continent, whilst the rest of the world was represented on country-by-country basis. But he did stake his claim by expressing a degree of skepticism in rela-tion to ‘mega-shows’, which are ‘driven by political ideology’, and asserting that he was more drawn to the ‘complexities of specifi city’ that lie in smaller, more nuanced exhibitions. But his presentation was sadly lacking in specifi city. Although he did present slides of a few works from shows he has curated, he didn’t mention any art-ists’ names or offer much insight into their conceptual motivations.

That said, his time was limited and his focus was on emerging curatorial strategies in the light (or should I say the gloom?) of the current global crunch. Giving us a sense of the New York climate, he said ‘about 20 galleries had shut down in Chelsea in the past month or two, with about 30 hav-ing closed before that’ and that the Brooklyn Museum, where he used work, had recently laid off about 70 people. He said that, in this tight climate, institutions are tending to turn inwards, showing work from their established collec-tions and opting for exhibitions of master works, which guarantee an audience. More artists are working as collectives and, in the absence of gallery spaces, are redirecting their energies away from com-mercial pursuits, using available materials and occupying vacant lots and empty buildings. The picture he painted signaled the rise

of a new conservativism in the arts, with less new commissions and less institutions being willing to go out on a limb for the sake of something fresh and dangerous.

My spirit was renewed by a visit to a collaborative installation by Bronwyn Lace and Vaughn Sadie at the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre, which shed a bright new light on the fertile possibilities of re-examining the kinds of objects and spaces that lie dormant in existing institutions. This project, Unit for Measure, presents a challenge to rigorously explore spatial practices in ways that reinvent the architec-tures of museums, presenting new landscapes and possibilities for displaying objects that trigger fresh thoughts and associations. Lace and Sadie’s immaculately rendered installation was forged in tandem with a workshop process that en-couraged the education offi cers of local museums to think about new experiential modes of exhibiting.

Practising what they preach, Lace and Sadie, uncovered a rub-ble-strewn storage area in the cool depths of the Sci Bono building, and transformed it into a sparsely sensual space of wonder. The project’s other manifestation will take place at the Durban Art Gal-lery in November where the exact same materials will be applied to a completely different space.

Using 6 000m fi shing line, 3mm of perspex, 2 000 fi shing fl ies and an African Monarch butterfl y, Lace

climbed up and down a ladder 1 850 times to create two lumines-cent blocks of delicate, almost invisible chord that catches the light in the most ephemeral ways. In one structure a suspended mass of feathered fi shing fl ies resembles a swarm of insects caught for one fl eeting moment in time, or a hand-ful of dandelions thrown up at the sky. A solitary African Monarch Butterfl y has been pinned to the Perspex base of the other structure in a way that subtly calls for aninterrogation of outmoded Vic-torian modes of collection and display.

Meanwhile Sadie walked 30km within the small block of space contained within the room to install 1 000m of galvanized steel wire rope. The suspended trails of wire start to resemble the electrici-ty cables that run along the sides of freeways evoking vast landscapes in a way that makes you wonder about scale and about the kinds of distances and vastness that can be traveled in one enclosed room.

The project arose out of ongo-ing conversations between Lace and Sadie around the creation of platforms in South Africa for ex-perimental and experiential work. To me it was a blazing affi rmation of the fact that some South African artists are rising to the challenges of the reduced and strapped art context described by Mosaka in the most fabulously future-minded ways.

Alex Dodd Melvyn Minnaar

Black, Michael Taylor

The winner of this year’s ABSA L’Atelier competition is an un-likely suspect. Thirty-four year old Stephen Rosin runs a family pie-making business, and lives in a rural area near Plett, where, until last September, he had no elec-tricity. Winning the award, held at Gauteng’s ABSA gallery on the 23rd July came as something of a surprise to the artist too. “I wasn’t even supposed to be going,” says Rosin, “it was completely unex-pected!”

Rosin, who studied painting at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Museum in Port Elizabeth (though he never painted a single canvas in his fi nal year), has entered the competition for the previous two years in a row, making the list of

top ten fi nalists last year. This year however, was third time lucky for the Rosin, the artist taking home the winning prize of R110 000, and a six month tenure at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. It’s dream come true for Rosin, who living as he does in a rural area, says he doesn’t get much exposure.

Rosin’s winning work is the eponymously titled, “The devil makes his Christmas pie out of politician’s tongues and banker’s fi ngers”, a low relief group portrait shot of a suited group of men. Worked up with layers of pinstripe, bespoke suiting, fake suede and velvet, the men might be “a govern-ment cabinet or a corporation’s board”, but for their heads, which

have been replaced by devil horns.A subtle jibe at corporations,

it is perhaps a brave choice for ABSA, a sign perhaps that the organisation is open to laughing at itself. Rosin, for his part, is in-terested in contemporary geopoli-tics and globalism, and is highly critical of the power held by a small number of individuals at the heads of such businesses. He is currently working on a piece using hundreds of bank bags, one of the few items, which, Rosin points out, one can still get for free from banks. “Soon they’ll be charging a cover charge just to enter”, jokes Rosin, who has seen the effects of the recession hit the small town of Plett.

Rosin is also fascinated by

Winner of the ABSA l’Atelier Awardthe American political situation at the moment. He is horrifi ed by the apparent neo-colonial project with which the country is occupied,“working on the strategy for a new American century”, as politicians claim to be.

The pie season being what it is, Rosin says he will only be able to head to Paris after December, possibly in January of 2010. He is however, thrilled at the prospect. “It’s incredible,” says Rosin, “amazing”, to be afforded the opportunity not only to travel to Paris, but to receive so much exposure. Until then, he plans to set up a proper portfolio, fram-ing the works he hasn’t had funds to frame, and saving up for his European sojourn.

Nurturing the real thing

At least we can’t fault the brand-new CEO of the National Arts Council, Annabell Lebethe, on noisy enthusiasm. Unlike the previ-ous (useless) lot, she can speak (well) in public, it seems - and laugh chirpily. This she did in an interview with Nancy Richards on SAFM shortly after taking on the job last month.

What is worrying is that Ms Leb-ethe, in chatting to Ms Richards, was using the usual (bureaucratic) jargon which throws out words like ‘facilitate’, ‘economics’, ‘opportu-nity’, ‘empower’, ‘community’ and the like.

The subtext of this kind of talk is that the land is inhabited by mil-lions of creative people, who only needs to be shown the way to fame and fortune. A fresh-faced CEO, not yet untainted by the wear-’n-

tear of real life and art politics, no doubt would tackle this in an academically-designed, scientifi c way. (May the force be with her.)

Only towards the end of their conversation, did the word ‘creativ-ity’ appear; the word ‘artist’ never did. For all her gusto, the new CEO showed little appreciation that real, good art and real, talented artists are rarities. Which is exactly why it and they need the pampering which an fully-effective NAC would provide.

Not every one is an artist. (Even though some art schools, numbed in their postmodern haze, would like to teach that hackneyed con-cept. And Cape Town has a solid gang of youngsters who believe that of themselves.)

Making paintings or videos, or staging performances, or weaving wire, doesn’t make you an artist, nor is a painting, video, perfor-mance or wire toy per se an art-work. True invention is measured against expectation and something a little higher tuned. A good artist kicks butt; good art re-wires audi-ence minds; the excited reviewer revels in that originality.

A lot has happened in South Africa’s dynamic art world since democracy fi fteen years ago. Plenty of that has been very exciting, but

a great deal has been falsely pam-pered and promoted. Some of that had to do with political correctness, some with the usual buddy-buddy-ness in the fragile world of artists, and much of it with incompetence or lack of knowledge, not to men-tion expertise.

(If the grumblings of ‘elitism’ sounds up against this notion, it’s simply insulting to those who have worked hard to encourage real tal-ent the last decade or two. One or two curators and perhaps a couple of local galleries can take a bow.)

When, at the beginning of the 1990s, the battle cry was about breaking down the boundary between so-called ‘high’ and ‘low’ art - and the ‘art-versus-craft’ thingy kept museum curators oh-so busy - it was a legitimate, liberating move. But, two decades down the line, it is not obvious that we’ve managed to nurture the real thing - true creativity, great invention - properly. Mediocrity abounds.

Artists (not crafters who can paint, make videos or wire cars - they have another kind of job) have a vital role to play in the culture and well-being of society. It is not only a matter of money and oppor-tunity, as those NAC people (and, for that matter, the Western Cape’s relevant provincial department who

has just again embarked on some such calling-all-artists scheme) seem to believe.

One needs only to take a look at the nonsense that goes for art on the fringe of art festivals like last month’s in Grahamstown, to know that art-making or craft in the bread-and-butter stratagem delivers little. You may feel a little less guilty after buying a piece, but nothing more will come from that bought object. Of course, what you paid will make a welcome differ-ence to the economic status of the crafter. But that is not the point.

It is time that the NAC and the useless offi cial department of arts and culture step out from this way of thinking. It is on the one hand paralysing genuine invention - and great art-making. On the other, it is creating expectation that a town-ship scheme painted for and sold to gullible tourists will put you on a great career path. By all means encourage as many crafters as you like. Polish their skills and excel-lence; give them opportunities. But let’s not forget about the precious-ness of the real thing.

If these offi cials did, we’d have had a brilliant presence at the cur-rent Venice Biennale - with all the positive spin-offs.

Johans Borman will be celebrating ten years in their Upper Buiten-gracht Street Gallery, and twenty years in the business with a “10-20 Anniversary exhibition”. Opening on the 15th of August, the exhibi-tion will deal with

notions of heroism in art making.“The concept of ‘heroism’ fi rst

surfaced during my research of the early Sekoto painting, ‘Family with candle’”, says gallery director, Johans Borman. “Barbara Lindop describes how Sekoto managed to successfully capture ‘the heroism revealed in ordinary human life’ in most of his early works. It required a talented artist, an ‘art hero’ in his own right, to identify this and com-municate it truthfully.”

The more research Borman undertook, the more the concept seemed appropriate; “it became the golden thread throughout this collection of work which was produced over more than a century - from 1906 to 2009”.

Many of the masters included on the show had to overcome adversity to produce their work, says Borman. Pieter Wenning, whose early life was plagued by malaria, also suffered bad health and poverty during the last

years of his short life. Despite this, he managed to produce a respected body of work, infl uenc-ing the work of second generation Cape Impressionists such as Gre-goire Boonzaier, Terence McCaw, Piet van Heerden and David Botha.

Gerard Sekoto is another inspira-tional artist included on the show. “He progressed from a rural, Pedi background to become a Modernist painter with dogged determina-tion - leaving the relative comfort of early fame and the repressive political situation in South Africa to brave a new beginning in Paris, the ‘centre of the art universe’ at the time, in spite of the handicaps of being black, poor and not know-ing the language or culture.” Works

from both before and after Sekoto’s exile are included on the show.

Maggie Laubser is another artist on the show. “Laubser grew up on a farm at the end of the 19th cen-tury, but liberated herself through her studies of German Expression-ism at a time when it was most unusual for an Afrikaner woman to have such dreams.”

Work by contemporary artists such as Susqya Williams, Jaco Sieberhagen, Jacobus Kloppers, Ben Coutouvidis and Walter Meyer are also included on the show, which comprises 72 works overall. Though the challenges facing art-ists today are somewhat different to those faced by our early masters, artist today still require a measure of heroism to succeed. Says Bor-man

“The art world today is more competitive than ever... it has become far more challenging to be unique and authentic in the creative process”.

10-20 Borman Birthday exhibitioncelebrates the artist as hero

The gallerist who spent ten years dealing in Pretoria, Stellenbosch and Onrus with his wife, prior to opening his Cape Town space, puts his success down to relation-ships. “The success of any gallery business depends on maintaining a healthy equilibrium between the three groups participating in such an enterprise -the artists, the art lovers or clients, and the gallery.”

The opening is on Sat 15 August at 12h00. Dr Elza Miles will be the opening speaker. Show runs until until 12th September.

Pop in See more Daily News at www.arttimes.co.za

Photo: Guy Wood

JH Pierneef - ‘Bushveld’ Cecil Skotnes - ‘Head’

Ben Coutouvidis - ‘The windmill’

GALLERY BUZZ06 BUSINESS ART | AUGUST 09

left to right: Indira Munthree, Taryn Coleman, Taryn Koekemoer, Sean Leipoldt, Chantell Wehmeyer with Romela Mudaly in front of her, Christy-Ann Bestwick with Lusanda Mgugudo in front of her, Jadi Clark with Nomfundo Cebekhulu in front of her, S’bhekile Lukhele and Chris de Beer

artSPACE durban 13 July – 1 August 2009‘Flavours’ – Emerging Jewellery Designers from Durban

Mad Bad MonkBy Sean O’Toole

All that survives, at least with any fi delity, are his recordings, those paper-thin slivers of Cape Town’s unlovely and unloved. Of the man who made these photographs, a man whose fam-ily name recalls an exuberant American jazz pianist of the same name, all we have is legend.

This we know: Billy Monk was born William John Monk on January 11, 1937. Since his death 27 years ago, on July 31 1982, the biography of this skollie with an artistic eye has taken on the character of myth. Meaning, there are a lot of gaps in the life story of this one-time nightclub bouncer whose balled fi st also sensitively wielded a camera.

In the imagination of the editors of Revue Noire, that posh Parisian poodle of an art journal who in 1999 released 432-page anthology of African photography, Monk was killed in Johannesburg, “struck down by two bullets in the heart”. The mental image this conjures is of Billy Monk as Saint Sebastian, the Christian martyr whose body was treated like a pincushion by Roman bowmen.

The truth about this chiselled Capetonian with a big bust nose planted between his dark eyes is far less gilded. Monk was neither a model Christian nor a saint. His unwritten autobiography could easily have been titled Chipped Nails and Worn Heals.

My colleague Lin Sampson tells the story of Monk’s death in a house with turquoise-blue walls with great aplomb. She origi-nally did it in 1982, her article on Monk for this paper later deliver-ing the title for her 2005 book, Now You’ve Gone ‘n Killed Me.

“Now you’ve gone and killed me.” It is what Monk exclaimed after two bullets from .22 pistol felled him on a rainy Saturday evening off Somerset Road in Cape Town (not Johannesburg).

Two men, one of them a friend of Monk, were embroiled in an ar-gument over furniture. Someone was at fault for not showing up to help move the stuff. A gun was produced. Monk leaped to save a life, in the process sacrifi cing his own.

Monk was 45 when he died – at least according to Sampson and Revue Noire who correctly give his birth date as 1937. When I meet photographer Jac de Villiers, who in 1979 stumbled on Monk’s unpublished archive when he took over a photograph-ic studio on the corner of Hope and Wesley streets in Cape Town, he categorically states that the big bruiser died aged 50. Details.

Let’s agree that Monk lived, a very hard and sexually rampant life by all accounts, and then he died. All that survives are his recordings, crisp black and white photographs that read like spare, uncompromising short stories.

Which prompts a thought. Amongst his many vocational attributes – add petty criminal, jailbird and gentleman to those not already mentioned – I would add another, storyteller. Monk used his Pentax like Hemingway did his Royal typewriter, beauti-fully rendering brutal stories.

To quote the “dark-haired Frenchman” from Revue Noire who visited De Villiers, Monk “brought a tragic but in no way indulgent sensibility to bear on the nocturnal world” of Cape Town’s foreshore.

It was here, near the harbour, that dodgy nightclubs like the Catacombs and Navigator’s Den mushroomed, selling booze to foreign sailors. Since their pa-trons represented all nationalities, these establishments tended to be exempt from the strict separate amenities laws of the day. Not that this social context was im-portant to Monk.

“I think he was a documentary photographer without the ideals of a documentary photographer,”

says De Villiers, who together with friend Andrew Meintjes put together Monk’s fi rst exhibition of his Catacombs pictures. Held at Johannesburg’s Market Gallery in 1982, Monk died without see-ing the outcome; he was trying to hustle a lift up north at the time.

“He documented by default,” adds De Villiers. “He was there to make money from his pic-tures.”

In between bouncing rowdy customers, a little too roughly it is generally agreed, he made pictures of bleached blonds high on brandy and gaunt hipsters with pointy shoes. Jollers seeking reprieve in imagined republics, which is what nightclubs often

were in an embattled apartheid society. Ever the schemer, Monk sold his photographs back to his subjects.

“I think he just saw it as a job,” ventures De Villiers. “But he was genuinely interested in photogra-phy. He worked as an assistant for a commercial photographer, a guy called Leslie Dektor.” Monk even accompanied Dektor, now a big name in moving images the US, on a shoot abroad.

“He was very disciplined,” in-sists De Villiers of the seemingly dissolute fi gure whose work he is the custodian of. When he fi rst discovered Monk’s photographs, he says they were carefully archived, everything annotated in

a neat script.For those who have never see

Monk’s social snapshots from the late 1960s, they are currently on view at the South African National Gallery. Titled Jol, the exhibition features a selection of work by painters Gerard Sekoto and Johannes Phokela and pho-tographers David Wise, Graeme Goddard and Michael Wyeth that collectively depict a society at ease, a nation carousing. Monk is the star act.

“I love the grittiness of his photographs,” says Pam Warne, a curator of photography and new media at the National Gallery. “It’s not only what is the immedi-ate focus of the image, but also

their sole author?“I think when an artist dies

there are always these myths about the person,” responds De Villiers. “We’ve had four exhibi-tions. No-one has come forward and claimed any of the pictures.” Case closed.

It bears stating that Monk wasn’t a longsuffering shutter-bug.

“In 1969 Monk stopped taking pictures in the Catacombs,” wrote De Villiers in a 1991 article for Vrye Weekblad. “He later com-plained to me that Polaroid fi lm had become the vogue for social photographers and he had no feeling for this instant product.”

It wasn’t the end of Monk. In

what you see on the periphery – the broken bottles underfoot, the faces of other club-goers in the background – that tells a story, the darker side of jolling.”

Like De Villiers, Warne is in-trigued by the rapport Monk had with his subjects.

“He wasn’t a spectator, he was a participant,” states De Vil-liers. This gave Monk license to push the boundaries and show his subjects in less than fl atter-ing scenarios. “He took some pictures that he could probably never have sold to anybody,” states De Villiers.

What about the widespread rumours that Monk didn’t take the pictures, or that he wasn’t

the mid-1970s he cashed in on his notoriety and opened up a small leather shop on Long Street called Mad Monk. A decade later he found a modicum of respect-ability as a diamond dive r. Two bullets ended it all.

Sean O’Toole is a journalist and editor of Art South Africa

The following article waspublished in an abridged form in Sunday Times Lifestyle, July 5, 2009

Jol is on at Iziko South African National Gallery until October

Artists Mbongeni Buthelezi and Paul Emmanuel together on the island of Sylt. They were both (individually) invited and their trips co-incided to the Founda-tion, The Kunst: Raum Sylt Quelle The Sylt-Quelle Foundation is located on the island of Sylt in the North Sea, off the coast of Germany. The Kunst:Raum Sylt-Quelle Foundation is for artists interested in multiple areas of interaction and co-operation. The Kunst:Raum Sylt-Quelle Foundation is intended as a place of beginnings: of ideas, of creative projects throughout the year. Artists, actors, musicians and writers come to this foundation to work on projects, to participate in events, and to exchange ideas. Its South African branch, Jozi Art:Lab, works much the same way – the setting up of cultural projects with local artists, actors, musicians and writers and has coordinated projects in Kliptown and Johannesburg CBD.

Artb Gallery, Cape Town July exhibition openings of ‘Peripheral Vision’participating 4 artists Sean Cameron, Stasa Hlava, Miona Janeke and Yolanda Warnich.

National Arts Festival Rhodes Art School student exhibition wherestudents from First year through to the Honours year exhibit at a National level.

Zizamele ceramics and artists Sisanda Mbana, Eignoria Eononisi, Vuyelwa Khatswa and Joyce Mfene.

SOUTH AFRICAN ART AUCTIONS AUGUST 09 | BUSINESS ART 07

UpcomingSouthAfrican

art auctions

4 & 5 August 2009 – Johannesburg Stephan Welz & Co.In Association with Sotheby’sFine & Decorative Arts, Furniture, Silver, Ceramics & Jewellery Venue: 13 Biermann Avenue, Rosebank

7 September 2009 – JohannesburgStrauss & CoImportant South African Paintings, Watercolours and Sculpture(Entries open till 3 July 2009)Venue: Country Club, Johannesburg, Woodmead at 8 pm 8 October 2009 – Cape Town, 8pmStrauss & Co(Entries open till 15 July 2009)Venue: The Vineyard Hotel, Newlands 13 & 14 October 2009 – LondonBonhamsThe South African Sale 20 & 21 October 2009 – Cape TownStephan Welz & Co.In Association with Sotheby’sFine & Decorative Arts, Furniture, Silver, Ceramics & Jewellery Venue: Kirstenbosch 1 February 2010 – Cape Town, 8pmStrauss & Co Important Paintings, Furniture, Silver and Ceramics(Entries open till 10 December 2009)Venue: The Vineyard Hotel, Newlands Auction Houses Contact details

Ashbey’s Galleries ccAntique & Fine Art Auctioneers-Valuers & AppraisersFor an appointment please contact:Inge Beck43 Church Street Cape TownTel: 021 423-8060 Fax: 021 423-3047email: [email protected] BonhamsContact for SA Artwork:Hannah O’ [email protected]/southafrica+44 (0) 20 7468 8213 Stephan Welz & Co.In Association with Sotheby’s

Johannesburg13 Biermann Avenue, Rosebank,JohannesburgTelephone: +27 (11) 880-3125 Fax: +27 (11) 880-2656Email: [email protected] Town The Great Cellar, The Alphen Hotel, Alphen Farm Estate, Alphen Drive, Constantia 7808Tel: +27 (21) 794-6461Fax: +27 (21) 794-6621Email: [email protected] Strauss & Co

Johannesburg89 Central Street, Houghton, Gauteng, 2198Tel: +27 11 728 8246Fax: +27 11 728 8247General Information [email protected] TownThe Oval, 1st Floor Colinton House,1 Oakdale Road, Newlands, 7700General Information [email protected]: +27 87 806 8780Fax: +27 86 654 6100

Gregoire Johannes Boonzaier SALDANHA BAYR300 000 - R500 000

Edoardo Villa is one of South Africa’s most enigmatic sculptors who, in both in style and personal-ity, indelibly stamped his African Vision onto his works and into our consciousness over a period of more than 50 years. The thirteen Villas in our upcoming sale are remarkable in that they represent a range of stylistic diversity and evolution not usually seen except in a specifi cally curated exhibi-tion.

Strauss & Co AuctionImportant British, Continental and South African Paintings, Drawings,

Prints and Sculpture

7 September 2009 Country Club, Johannesburg, Woodmead

Corner Lincoln Road & Woodlands Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg

It is indeed surprising to see so many works by the prolifi c Italian-born sculptor Edoardo Villa on auction. This leads one to surmise that they might have belonged to a single collector, as the pieces cover a wide range of Villa’s oeu-vre. The “Masai Warrior” of 1963 attests to his masterful use of pre-fabricated mechanical metal parts, which he blends in iconic fi gures, standing proudly tall and assertive. This verticality, which embodies the mammal who stood up, i.e. the human, is characteristic of much of Villa’s work, as can be seen in subsequent sculptures of Lot 100, The Sentinel,1970, Lot 102, Conversation, 1971, and Lot 104, Figure,1993, where the formal language changes, but the vertical core remains.

Ever exploring, however, Villa may swing from works that are bursting with fecund energy in their massive rotundity, as does the bronze Lot 60, Figure of 1970, to the slender, almost disembodied

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South African ArtistJacob Hendrik Pierneef’s

Royal Pictureson Sale at Bonhams

Three Pierneef paintings, which once belonged to Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, will be sold at Bonhams South African sale on October 14th in New Bond Street, London.

Princess Alice accompanied her husband when he served as Governor-General of South Africa from 1924–1931. During their time in South Africa, Lord and Lady Athlone had a coastal beach house constructed at Muizenberg, a beach suburb of Cape Town, which still stands today and is one of South Africa’s national monu-ments. The Cape Town suburb of Athlone was named in honour of the Governor-General. Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (1883 – 1981) was the longest lived Princess of the Blood Royal of the British Royal Family and the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria.

Bonhams smashed the previous world record for a South African work of art with the sale of J.H. Pierneef’s ‘The Baobab Tree’ for £826,400 (ZAR 12,400,000) as part of their September 2008

auction, the biggest sale of South Africa art ever held, grossing over ZAR100million. These three paintings by Pierneef (1886-1957) include a scene of a sleepy town in the Cape, depicting a sun-drenched avenue with typical Cape Dutch cottages and Dutch Reformed Church beyond. It is estimated to sell for £80,000 to £120,000. It is signed and dated 1929, the same year Pierneef was commissioned to paint 32 panels for the Johannesburg railway station, which occupied most of his time over the next three years. Once owned by HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, it has been passed by direct descent to the current owner.

The second picture is a Karoo landscape with a rural dwelling, also oil on board, that is estimated to sell for £40,000-60,000.

The third picture is ‘Gov-ernment House, Pretoria’, oil on board, estimated to sell for £15,000-20,000. The Presidential Guesthouse, designed by Sir Her-bert Baker in 1902, was known as Government House when the work was painted, presumably as

a commission or gift to Princess Alice who would have lived there during her husband’s tenure as Governor-General.

It is not certain whether these pictures were gifts or works commissioned by Princess Alice. What is certain is that she was an admirer of Pierneef’s work. In October 1930 Pierneef held an exhibition of 47 paintings in Pretoria, which Princess Alice visited and where she selected two paintings for the Women’s Committee of Pretoria to present to her. The Princess chose `Karoo’ and `Bushveld Rustenberg’. Two months later she and the newly retired Governor General visited Pierneef’s studio and chose a large painting – a landscape of the northern Transvaal that they wished to donate to the museum in Cape Town, because they felt that South African artists were poorly represented in the museum. Today that work takes pride of place in the South African National Gal-lery, opened by the Athlones on 3rd November 1930.

Giles Peppiatt, Head of African Art at Bonhams comments: “This charming painting has the added interest and signifi cance of having once belonged to a British Royal married to the Governor Gen-eral of South Africa. Pierneef is artistic royalty in South Africa and painted a number of commissions for South Africa House in London. So this picture is a very potent link between Britain and South Africa.”

Also appearing on the market for the fi rst time is a rare land-scape by the grand dame of South African art, Irma Stern. Better-known for her exotic portraits and luscious still-lifes, this is an idyllic rural scene in early summer during the wheat harvest. Other sale high-lights include works by Maggie Laubser, Cecil Skotnes, Anton van Wouw, Gerard Sekoto and Alexis Preller among many others.

For further press information please contact Julian Roup on 0207 468 8259 [email protected] or [email protected]

HJ Pierneef, Cape Avenue

Irma Stern, Ripe Fields

Edoardo VillaSouth African 1915-Sentinelsigned and dated 1970painted steel111 by 22 by 22cmR120 000–150 000LITERATUREKarel Nel, ELizabeth Burroughs and Amalie von Maltitz, Villa at 90, Jonathan Ball, Johannesburg and Cape Town, 2005, illustrated on page 219.This maquette was submitted for a proposed monumental sculpture at the Jan Smuts Airport, the project, however, never came to fruition.

Edoardo VillaSouth African 1915-Figuresigned and dated 1993painted steel270 by 60 by 40cmR200 000–250 000

This impressive group of works has not come from one source as one might be tempted to assume but from various own-ers. The works span a period of thirty years, the earliest work dating from1963 and the most recent 1998. One seldom has the privilege of working with such a wonderful range of iconic pieces – not likely to appear again in one sale, and the fi nest examples I have dealt with in my career! Mary-Jane Darroll

On view: Friday 4 September, Saturday 5 September and Sunday 6 September10.00 am to 6.00 pm

Auction:Part I at 3.30pmSouth African Paintings, Drawings, Prints and SculptureLots 1-222

Part II at 8.00pm Important British, Continental and South African Paintings, Draw-ings, Prints and SculptureLots 1-143

forms of the highly polished steel Lot 102, Conversation, 1971.

Another venture into the lesser known, is his exp loration of the use of polystyrene packaging materials; this smaller “Abstract form” is a unique cast, as the original disappears during the mould-making process. Here again, he masterfully adapts mechanical geometrical formal elements in expressive combina-tions, while the expert casting by Mike Edwards retains the texture of the original material.

While Villa’s assistant Lu-cas Legode was on leave, Villa reverted to modelling for bronze, and in these works his gentler, more emotive side comes to the fore in small intimate groups. Earlier pieces were more fi gura-tive, later ones as these of 1998 and 1988 become more vegetable/animal, but no less expressive of gentle interrelationships. Amalie von Maltitz

Edoardo VillaSouth African 1915-Abstract Formstamped IMI (Mike Edwards Foundry,) dated 90 and numbered 37.17, mounted on a cylindrical steel plinthbonze with green patina50 by 20 by 24cm on a plinth with a total height of 163cmR60 000–90 000

For online catalogue see wwww.straussart.co.za

Edoardo VillaSouth African 1915-Massai Warriorsigned and dated 1963painted steel168 by 40 by 40cmR600 000–800 000

South African Print Gallery107 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock Cape Town.

Tel 021 462 6851 www.printgallery.co.za

The South African Print Gallery Presents

GABRIEL CLARK-BROWNMid Life Retrospective Exhibition

Work from 1990 – 2007runs until Thursday 25 August 09

ARTTHROB PRINT EDITION Opens Saturday 27 August 09 11h30 - 14h00

including a brand new Robert Hodgins Print.Artists include: Guy Tillim, Mikhael Subotzky, Penny Siopis, David Goldblatt, Willem Boshoff more.

Suburban house, Cape Town, etching, 1996

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