Opening Night - Art on Paper IV

In this exhibition Kalk Bay Modern brings together some of the best of South Africa’s talent in the print making arena. Print making is enjoying a wide resurgence as artists and collectors enjoy the accessible medium in terms of production and pricing. The accessibility of print making has allowed artists to easily produce work through either established Print Studios such as David Krut, The Artists Press and Tim Foulds, or even from their own working-home studios such as Judy Woodborne and Jane Eppel.

This show is a collection comprising all varieties of printmaking as well as traditional drawing and painting on paper. There is the fine tongue in cheek etchings of Claire Gavronsky which are contrasted with the frenetic energy of David Koloanes Township and city scenes. Walter Oltmann, Claudette Schreuders and Sam Nhlengethwa reveal detailed colour lithographs in contrast to Andrew Lords “Haemoglobin” rust marks on paper and Arlene Amaler-Raviv’s mixed media on ‘media’ billboards. This is show talks about the fragility of life, from cells to skulls to life’s delicate and darker elements from faces to traces of flowers.

Andrew Lord in front of his Haemoglobin I & II prints (left).

 Haemoglobin I & II (left) by Andrew Lord, and Eternity (top right) and Chimera (bottom right) by Deborah Bell

Sam Nhlengethwa prints from his Goat Series

Africa Reinvented (Large, top, Medium, bottom) by Keri Muller
 

Yvette Stephen (KBM manager) delivering the exhibtion's opening speech

Art on Paper IV: Sam Nhlengethwa, Conrad Botes and Claire Gavronsky

Sam Nhlengethwa:
Once seen as one of South Africa’s leading resistance artists, Nhlengethwa has grown from this and adjusted the style and content of his works to explore other themes such as music, specifically jazz and the mechanics of everyday living. He works with found printed images from posters and magazines, including his recollections of township life in his imagery.

In his prints and paintings Sam Nhlengethwa uses overlays of techniques such as collage painting, drawing and photography. His fine sense of colour and form lend an abstract quality to his work.

Let's Go II by Sam Nhlengethwa

Let's Go I by Sam Nhlengethwa

Left Alone by Sam Nhlengethwa

Conrad Botes:
Conrad Botes was born in 1969 in the Western Cape. Part of his childhood was spent living in a Department of Water Affairs prefab house on the edge of the Theewaters Dam. His father was a teacher at the local school. Listening to Conrad Botes tell stories of the characters that peopled his childhood world one can see how he has been able to develop his eye for targeting the soft underbelly of Afrikaanerdom and by extension South African culture. It does not take much to imagine Botes out on Commando during the Boer War and it is this dichotomy between who he physically is and his mental space that makes his work so powerful. 

Botes says, "The paintings I make are much more personal. I can explain them if I have to - but I'd much rather not. It is difficult to explain something that you are meant to feel. People can formulate their own ideas about the work, the viewers reaction is more important than my own explanation".

Masters Voice by Conrad Botes

Haunted by Conrad Botes

  
Claire Gavronsky:
Gavronsky addresses topics such as racism, memory, violence against woman and children and economic injustice in her artworks. Considering these themes she bridges the past and present. Gavronsky enjoys the contradictory nature that is inherent in overlaid images. “The fact that there are clear lines, but that they cannot easily be read; lines, saying something, yet inaudible – too many people speaking at once – unless you trace a single outline before it slips into an interchange of place or limb. This is a complex narrative that defies linearity, although made of line and one that refutes hierarchy.” (Gavronsky 2006)

Evolutionary Choice by Claire Gavronsky

Run with the Hare and Hunt with the Hound by Claire Gavronsky

  

Art on Paper IV - opening this WED 17th April

Kalk Bay Modern is looking forward to our upcoming exhibition, Art on Paper IV.  A group show opening on Wed 17th April at 18:00.  See you all there.

Art on Paper IV: David Koloane, Colbert Mashile and Claudette Shreuders

Works by David Koloane, Colbert Mashile and Claudette Shreuders will all be showcased next week.

David Koloane:
David Koloane's creative activities have been diverse. He has always combined his own artwork with his social involvement. He says: "My concern in socio-political matters and contributions to the furtherance of disadvantaged black South African artists during and after the apartheid era is evident. My work can be said to reflect the socio-political landscape of South Africa both past and present. The socio political conditions created by the apartheid system of government have to a large extent transfixed the human condition as the axis around which my work evolves. The human figure has become the icon of creative expression".

City Traffic I by David Koloane

Facade by David Koloane

Township Dogs by David Koloane

Colbert Mashile:
Colbert Mashile explores the psychological impact of traditional circumcision and initiation rituals on initiates. He also explores the often-problematic narratives of collective cultural determinants within these communities. As Colbert Mashile has matured, the psychological underpinnings are still evident, but his imagery has transgressed these limitations to begin addressing issues such as home, language and the natural landscape.
This artist has an uncanny ability to "tune into" universal psychological archetypes in his work. These images are completely based in his African identity and yet they link up with the universal. His horned figures that loom over men, coffin-like vehicles and vast landscapes fill his prints. Mashile's fine sense of colour compliments his forms, which seem to celebrate a connection to the earth. 

Satani Tshaba Tseleng by Colbert Mashile

Tsongoana by Colbert Mashile

Claudette Schreuders:
 Schreuders has worked in a variety of artistic media. She is best known for her sculpture, She has been associated with Bitter Comix since its inception and is familiar with comics as an art form. She is also well known as a sculptor. Besides her sculpture, Schreuders creates line drawings in sketchbooks. Hardground etching was therefore a very direct process for her to use with Payne.
Schreuders describes herself as something of a perfectionist, working slowly and indulging in her labour-intensive process, which she sees is quite revelatory in terms of understanding one’s intentions and desires.

Anna by Claudette Shreuders

Abba by Claudette Shreuders

Two Hands by Claudette Shreuders