UCT Irma Stern Museum

Pamela SilverThe Colour of Light

Pamela SilverThe Colour of Light

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The Colour of LightAn exhibition of prints and watercolour paintings

The University of Cape Town’s Irma Stern Museum is delighted

to present Pamela Silver’s ‘The Colour of Light’. Pamela, born in

Johannesburg and a graduate of the University of Cape Town, is an

internationally acclaimed artist. She has exhibited in museums and

galleries throughout the world. Her artworks are in the collections

of Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Ben Uri Museum of Art,

London; Tama Art Museum, Tokyo; Israel Museum; Tel Aviv Museum

of Art; and National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington.

In her own words, Pamela is ‘an intuitive artist painting my dreams

and inner world’. She ‘is inspired by nature and the colourful

Jerusalem garden which surrounds our house and my studio.’ She

adds, ‘My travels and the countries I have visited have inspired me

too.’ Her paintings, ‘always start in nature, but transcend to different

worlds, different levels of consciousness, memories, feelings, hopes,

dreams, moments in time that keep returning.’

The exhibition features watercolours, etchings and monotypes

spanning memories of more than fifty years: from her early childhood

in Zimbabwe to her latest travels to Kolkata, Lithuania (home of

her grandmother who sailed to Cape Town in the late 1880s) and

“My paintings always begin in nature, but rise to other worlds, worlds on various levels of consciousness, memories, hopes , dreams, moments in time, that return repeatedly”

(Pamela Silver, 1994)

Field Flowers from near Vilnius | 2017 | watercolour | 26x36

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Provence in France. The monotypes inspired by Zimbabwean hills,

bushveld and Bushmen Rock Art, are placed in the small middle

room of the exhibition. The space, for Pamela is a sanctuary ‘like a

little cave’. The titles – ‘Carvings in Motobo Hills’ and ‘Drawings in

Bushmen Caves’– crystallize the African memories.

Two larger rooms adjoin the ‘cave’. One room is filled with flower

paintings – many from her personal collection have not been

exhibited before. Series of large, vivid abstract watercolours fill the

other room. Gideon Ofrat, veteran art historian, when he viewed her

paintings in her Jerusalem exhibition, exclaimed ‘I’m astounded [by]

this burst of colourist joie de vivre and emanation of happiness.’*

Almost every aspect of her work – from the smallest details such

as spots of colour to the larger rhythms of brush strokes, patterns,

changing colours and symbols – is marshalled to the same end:

the surfacing of joy, memories, dreams and moments of time. We

delight in her wide-ranging stylistic inflections as in the aquatints

and in her flower paintings.

Flowers for Pamela, ‘have always been part of my creativity from a

very early age … they gave me my sense of colour.’

The kaleidoscope of flower paintings – garden flowers, bright

meadow flowers, bouquets – are tied together by sensuous colour,

shapes, textures and light. Colour and light create and enhance the

joyous ambience of the exhibition. Pamela Silver has the rare ability

to ‘express such an abundance of happiness.’*

Susan Buchanan

Acknowledgement: I would like to thank Pamela Silver for so generously

sharing ‘The Colour of Light’ with me.

*From the monograph by Gideon Ofrat “In the Shade of the Jacaranda”

Kolkata Flower Market | 2017 | sugar lift aquatint | 50x50

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Early Morning Bouquet | 1995 | watercolour | 53.3x56Purple Silk Chiffon | 2017 | sugar lift aquatint | 50x50

<< Memories of Kolkata | 2017 | watercolour | 56x76

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A Dance in the Hills, Jerusalem | 2016 | watercolour | 56.5x77Gladioli and Spring Flowers | 2000 | watercolour | 56x76

Wild Flowers from the Hills nearby, Motza | 2016 | watercolour | 23x31 <<

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A Summer Day, Vilnius | 2017 | watercolour | 76x56Flowers from Fields near where my Granny Lived, Vilnius | 2017 | watercolour | 36x26

House Built in the Jacaranda Tree | 2017 | watercolour | 56x76 <<

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Wood Carvings in the Motobo Hills | 2013 | monotype | 57x78Liesbeek Park Fields | 2017 | watercolour | 56x76

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Primrose Hill as the Sun Goes Down | 2016 | watercolour | 26x36Sunshine on Primrose Hill | 2016 | watercolour | 26x36

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A Celebration of Life | 2017 | watercolour | 56x76Jerusalem Hills at Sunset | 2016 | watercolour | 26x36

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Biographical Notes

1948 Pamela Segal was born in Johannesburg, South Africa

1952 Moved with her family to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

1973 Immigrated to Israel

1985 Member of the Israel Association of Painters and Sculptors

Lives and works in Jerusalem

Education

1965-69 BA in History and African languages, University of Cape Town

1971 Post-graduate certificate of education, Goldsmith's College, University of London

1982-83 Studied at the Art Students' League, New York

Selected Solo Exhibitions

1984 "Faces from New York," Alon Gallery, Jerusalem

1988 The Artists' House, Jerusalem

Ben Uri, The London Jewish Museum of Art

1989 "Watercolors," Mabat Gallery, Tel Aviv (two-person exhibition)

1992 "Childhood Memories," Nora Art Gallery, Jerusalem

1993 "The Sea," Jerusalem Theatre Gallery, Jerusalem

1995 "A Journey Home to Zimbabwe," Mabat Gallery, Tel Aviv (cat.)

"A Journey Home to Zimbabwe," The National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare; the National Gallery in Bulawayo

1997 "Falling from the Stars," The Artists' House, Jerusalem

1998 "In Every Color there is Light," Municipal Gallery, Jerusalem Drawings in Bushmen Caves | 2013 | monotype | 57x75

A Face I Remember | 2017 | watercolour | 56x76 <<

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1999 "Magic Earth," Leighton House Museum, London

"A Watercolor Diary," The Art Gallery, Beit Gabriel on the Kinneret, Israel

2000 "A Watercolor Diary," Saka Gallery, Tokyo

2002 "Magical Dreams" Galleri Sct. Gertrud, Copenhagen

2003 "Images Fleeting Past," The Khan Museum, Ashkelon, Israel (cat.)

2004 "Circles in the Sand," The Artists' House, Jerusalem

"Circles in the Sand," Galerie am Park, Vienna

"Circles of My Soul," Museu Da Água da EPAL, Lisbon

2006 "Secret Symbols," Nora Art Gallery, Jerusalem (cat.)

2008 "Sensing the Other," The Jerusalem Art Center, Jerusalem (cat.)

2009 "Cape Town, How I Love You and All Your Secrets," Spier, Stellenbosch

"A Summer Evening," Galleri Sulegaarden, Assens, Denmark (cat.)

2012 "I See You," The Art House Gallery, Mevasseret, Jerusalem (cat.)

2013 “The Horizon is Here” The Zaritsky Artists’ House Tel Aviv (cat.)

Selected Group Exhibitions

1987-89 "National Society," Smith's Gallery, Covent Garden, London

1989/91 Grand prix international d'arts plastiques, Nice, France

"Twelve Jerusalem Artists," Alexandra Palace, London

1996 "Jerusalem-Moscow," Central Exhibition Hall, Moscow

1997 "Osaka Print Triennial," International Art Competition, Osaka

"Dialogue," International Exhibition, Manege, St. Petersburg

1998 Tokyo International Mini-Print Triennial, Tama Art University Museum

"50 Years to Israel," Galeria d'Art Zero, Barcelona

"Watercolors," Galleri Sulegaarden, Assens, Denmark

2001 "Riimfaxe," Gallery M, Berlin

"Tokyo International Mini-Print Triennial," Tama Art University Museum

2002 "Jerusalem Lions," street exhibition, Jerusalem

2003 "Israeli Contemporary," Robert Sandelson Gallery, London

"Seven Artists in One Season," Mabat Gallery, Tel Aviv

2004 "Riimfaxe," The Round Tower, Copenhagen

2005 "2nd Beijing International Art Biennale," Beijing

"2nd Triennial of Contemporary Art," Mauritius

2006 "Awakening," Wilfrid Israel Museum, Kibbutz Hazorea, Israel

2007 "Traces III: The 3rd Biennale for Drawing in Israel," The Artists' House, Jerusalem

"The 7th Watercolor Biennial," Gallery Savremena, Serbia

2008 "Olympic Fine Arts Exhibition," China International Exhibition Centre, Beijing, Beijing Working People's Cultural Palace

"Jerusalem, Surface Fractures," The Artists' House, Jerusalem

2010 "Traces IV: the 4th Biennale for Drawing in Israel," The Artists' House, Jerusalem

2014 “The 1st International Art Biennale,” Qingdao, China (cat.)

2015 "The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition," London (cat.)

2015 "The Original Print Show" curated by Norman Ackroyd CBE RA, Zillah Bell Gallery, Thirsk UK

"The Masters- Etching", Royal Society of Painters and Printmakers, Bankside Gallery, London (cat.)

2016 "Green Earth", Kalakshatra Museum Gallery,Kalakshatra, Guwahati, India (cat.)

“17th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh” National Art Gallery Dhaka (cat.)

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Collections

National Museum of Women in the Arts Washington, DC

Tel Aviv Museum of Art

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Museu Da Água da Epal, Lisbon

Tama Art University Museum, Tokyo

National Gallery in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum, Vilnius

National Art Gallery, Dhaka

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Ben Uri, The London Jewish Museum of Art

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Summer in Motza | 2016 | watercolour | 23x31

Acknowledgments: I want to thank Christopher Peter for his friendship and support and everyone at the Irma Stern Museum, especially Mary Van Blommestein. I also want to thank

Susan Buchanan, for writing so insightfully about my art. Pamela Silver, February 2018

Measurements are given in centimeters, height x width

Catalogue Design: Dafna Graif | Photography: Avi Amsalem | Printing: A.R Printing Ltd.

UCT Irma Stern Museum21, Cecil Road, Rosebank, Cape Town Tel: 27-21-6855686

Tuesday – Friday 10.00 – 17.00, Saturday 10.00 – 2.00www.irmasternmuseum.org.za

Whatsapp: +972507383450 | www.pamelasilver.com

Bedarieux, Provence | 2016 | watercolour | 23x31