BUSINESS ART AUGUST 2010 | E-mail: subs@arttimes.co.

za | Member of the Global Art Information Group

Great find: Stephan Welz and Vanessa Phillips from Strauss & Co
(Fine Art Auctioneers and Consultants) chat about the untitled paint-
ing depicting the Union Buildings by Pieter Wenning (about 1914-
1915). The painting belongs to a private collector and was valued at
between R1million and R1.3million. In the background is Terry Flynn
from the Ann Bryant Art Gallery. Picture: Alan Eason

Rare art find in East London

maybe worth more than 1m
By Michelle Solomon from The Daily Herald

Art auctioneer Stephan Welz made a stunning announcement at the

Ann Bryant Art Gallery when he valued a painting brought in by a
private collector at R1.3million. “He (Welz) was joking with me,
and asked me how much it was worth,” Terry Flynn, of the East
London gallery, said.
“Off the top of my head I said it was worth R70000.”
Welz then revealed the value of the piece, surprising the socks
off Flynn. Even more astounding, according to Welz, was that he
found another rare painting by the same artist in Grahamstown on
Wednesday which he valued conservatively at R600 000.
“(These works) are very, very rare,” Welz said. “It is highly unusual
to find more than one or two in a year.” Flynn spoke to the Dispatch
on behalf of the owner of the East London artwork, who asked to
remain anonymous. “The collector is quite knowledgeable about
artwork,” he explained, “but the painting is worth at least three
times more than she thought she would get for it.” The artist, Pieter
Willem Frederick Wenning, died in 1921 and is considered a South
African master. The untitled painting depicts the Pretoria landscape,
including a representation of the iconic Union Buildings in the
distant background. The painting is thought to have been completed
in 1915, as it is not dated. It was appraised at the Ann Bryant gallery
by Welz, a renowned art critic of Strauss and Company fine art
auctioneers. Welz and his colleague Vanessa Phillips have been trav-
elling across the province in order to appraise private collectors’ art,
as well as take in entries for the Strauss and Co auction in Johannes-
burg later this year. Welz said this year’s trip had been particularly
successful due to the discovery of the two Wennings.
Wenning’s work is a foremost example of Cape impressionist paint-
ings, characterised by a “preoccupation with denoting the landscape
rather than light on the landscape”, Flynn explained.
Additionally, the use of broad, bold brushstrokes representing tonal
changes in colour, rather than fine detail, also indicate the work of a
Cape impressionist. The painting will be auctioned by Strauss and
Dylan Lewis expands his work to the human form in his latest work, on show at the ‘Untamed’ exhibition at Kirstenbosch. Co in Johannesburg on November 1. “Maybe it will sell for more
Read a rare exclusive interview with the reclusive Dylan Lewis by Steve Kretzmann on page 2 Photo: Steve Kretzmann than R1 million,” Welz speculated.

DONALD GREIG
BRONZE FOUNDRY & GALLERY

O������ 25 th A����� 2010

Tel: + 27 21 418 4515

email: greig@intekom.co.za
Website: www.donaldgreig.com
West Quay Rd, V & A Waterfront

Published monthly by Global Art Information Editor: Gabriel Clark-Brown editor@arttimes.co.za News: news@arttimes.co.za Newspaper rights: The newspaper reserves the right to reject any material that could be found offensive by its
PO Box 15881 Vlaeberg, 8018 Advertising: Eugene Fisher sales@arttimes.co.za Shows: show@arttimes.co.za readers. Opinions and views expressed in the SA Art Times do not necessarily represent the offi cial viewpoint of the
Tel. 021 424 7733 Fax. 021 424 7732 Subscriptions: Bastienne Klein subs@arttimes.co.za Artwork: art@arttimes.co.za editor, staff or publisher, while inclusion of advertising features does not imply the newspaper’s endorsement of any
business, product or service. Copyright of the enclosed material in this publication is reserved.
PAGE 02
Dylan Lewis who is one of the most successful SA contemporary sculptors, chats to Steve Kretzmann in Kalk Bay
Dylan Lewis: “success is a double edge sword”
Dylan Lewis appears to have the uncanny ability to freeze motion and
energy in bronze. Work at Kirstenbosch Gardens Photo: Steve Kretzmann
By Steve Kretzmann
If there was any doubt that contemporary South African sculpture could
hold its own in the international art market, it was blown out of the water
by the spectacular prices Dylan Lewis’s works fetched at Christies three
years ago.
A 2007 auction of 75 bronze sculptures of wild cats and animals by the
Stellenbosch-based artist sold out, fetching an astonishing R28 million in
90 minutes, an achievement that made the art world sit up and take new
notice of a sculptor who might have been derided by critics as little more
than a wildlife artist with an interesting technique.
But whatever purists might have had to say, the public pockets applauded
the way his rough, masculine, raw application of clay translated in bronze
ARTIST’S PROFILE
and complemented the way he seems to sometimes defy the laws of
physics to freeze the kinetic energy contained in the movement of his
beasts.
Though he is among the most sought-after sculptors in South Africa and
abroad, he is rather modest about it. “I’ve been fortunate to have ‘some’
success,” he says. “I had no idea the Christies auction would be so suc-
cessful.” And while the fortune and attendant fame is not rejected, he’s
ambivalent about it.
“It (commercial success) is a double edge sword. It gives me the re-
sources to pursue dreams and ideas that I might otherwise not be able to.
But the shadow side of that success is that what makes you successful
becomes difficult to break away from, it becomes difficult to pursue ideas
which might not be so successful or well received.”
But he appears to have dealt with that shadow. His latest, and growing,
body of work, as seen in his latest exhibiton Untamted at Kirstenbosch is
a departure from the animal form that has dominated his output, toward
representing the human figure.
This “probably had something to do with wanting to express things at a
deeper level which couldn’t be expressed through the animal form alone”.
It is not a hasty move. Just because he made millions and commands
high prices does not mean Lewis is going to indulge in misguided flights
of fancy. But neither is he sticking to the tried and tested, and attempting
to milk the market for all it’s worth.
In fact everything about Lewis, excepting the wildness contained in
his sculptures, suggests a thoughtful person. His commercial success,
and how art and the business of art interact, is certainly something he’s
pondered. Art as a good investment is something he feels the recent and
ongoing economic crisis has highlighted.
“Investors are not so sure about investments that once seemed very
secure, and art, in comparison, seems a more secure thing than it might
have once appeared.”
He believes that although art was not insulated from the economic crisis,
it is surviving with a better track record than many traditional investments.
BUSINESSART | AUGUST 2010
“High quality, flagship work”, particularly, has held its value, he believes,
and there are still buyers who are willing to pay for it, although less of
them perhaps than previously.
And sculpture has also benefited from an increase in popularity – al-
though the reason for its popularity he cannot account for – that “certainly
has lifted the prices it fetches, not by 100 percent, but by about 30
percent or so”.
He has also thought on the philosophy of what is popularly viewed to be
art’s nemesis: the commercial realm. On the one hand, he says, there’s
the “fairytale ideal” that art is an expression of true freedom, and that
business is it’s polar opposite. But the reality is that life consists of “push
and pull” factors and one has to continually balance opposing forces.
Finding the balance between the need to sell in order to survive, and not
let that need affect your creativity, is not the sole province of art either, he
says, it exists in many fields of endeavour to a greater or lesser degree.
And the commercial imperative is important, “it imparts its own energy
and offers a reward, it makes things possible”.
“The art world would like to see commercialisation as a pariah, full stop.
But I think some of the greatest art work occupies the middle space
between the commercial imperative and artistic expression… even
Michelangelo, he had his arse kicked because the client (the church) had
a deadline.”
An example of how expression can lie idle if there is no deadline or
rumbling stomach demanding to be filled, is the changing attitude to state
support for artists in the Netherlands.
He said his interest was piqued by an article he read while in Holland
“about four years ago”, which stated the government were thinking of
scrapping the grants and social support provided to artists to relieve them
of commercial pressures in the belief they’d create better art. Instead,
they weren’t producing much art at all.
“The commercial imperative is necessary but too much of it also takes
away the integrity and passion of the artist, but alternatively, without it, the
artist lacks the resources to work. You’ve got to walk that line.”
 BUSINESSART | AUGUST 2010 ART LEADER PROFILE Page 03

Art Leader:

Charles Shields and David Tripp

Cape Town’s Everard Read Gallery
Hazel Friedman

If sport is the opiate of the masses then culture is their social currency.
And if there are any lessons to be learnt from football, it is that the team
which cannot adapt, falls; and that one must always keep an eye on the
ball. So what does this Fifa-esque homily have to do with the successful
operation of an art gallery? On a prima facie basis, not much, apart from
the fact that at the Everard Read Gallery in Cape Town the polite tones
so typical of the sanctified art spaces are being violated by the collective
trumpet of the vuvuzela brigade outside.
These unexpected punctuation marks in the otherwise staid syntax of the
art gallery provide the Cape Town ER with a refreshingly serendipitous
identity. And in the fifteen years that the Cape Town gallery has been
open for business, the art of dribbling and handling curved balls are
skills Charles Shields and David Tripp have obviously acquired.
Launched in September 1996, the gallery was established as a satel-
lite version of its Johannesburg counterpart — occupying a small shop
window at the V&A Waterfront.
“We were little more than a cave,” recalls Shields. “We had no pristine
white cube in which to work, no mailing list. And, quite frankly, our com-
petitors were cynical about our chances of success.”

Adds Tripp: “The art world in Cape Town was much more parochial and
conservative than it is now. But despite the odds, by 1999, when we
moved to our current premises, we had evolved from shop window mode
into a dynamic art destination with a separate identity and life of its own.”

Bordering the V&A Waterfront, in Portswood Road, the gallery still

maintains a synergy with the Johannesburg ER, while embracing the
motley constituencies of tourists thronging the area and a client-base that
includes blue chip collectors.
“We provide a niche service to a buying public who enjoy coming here
and like what we do. These collectors sustain the gallery. We also try to
demystify the aloof, sometimes alienating environment of the art gallery
by making it accessible to everyone and encouraging visitors to feel
comfortable in the space.”
“Make no mistake,” cautions Tripp, “art buyers are generally sophisti-
cated creatures with their own opinions, who choose to be guided by our
authority. We adopt a temperate, measured approach, providing a gauge
of what the market will pay. “
While the Cape Town ER’s principal mandate of showcasing figurative
contemporary art hasn’t shifted, Tripp and Shields don’t suffer from risk
aversion when it comes to artists they believe in. Although they “inherited”
a substantial stable of established and emerging contemporary artists,
they are always seeking new talent.
“We look at images all day” says Tripp. “We hate to discourage any artist
who crosses our threshold, even those whose work we cannot exhibit. “
Adds Shields: “Both of us have an emotional response to the art. We
want to be moved by great work and move others in turn. And we will go
out on a limb for artists in whom we believe, even if they are commer-
cially risky.”
Included on their belt of recent risky ventures are curated shows like
the quirkily titled ‘Sex, Power, Money’ — a satirical riposte against the
excessive consumption that precipitated the global economic recession.
The exhibition’s press release reads: If ‘Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n Roll’ typified
the 60s and 70s, then it is fair to say that more recent decades will be
David Tripp and Charles Shields at their Cape Town Everard Read Gallery Photo: Jenny Altschuler
remembered as the time of ‘Sex, Power & Money’.”
Despite a bearish economy Sex, Power and Money enjoyed a bullish
response. but constantly seek out and showcase individual works by both new and while Shields earned his art stripes by literally licking stamps for exhibition
“The show reinforced the fact that in a recession we have to survive established names - even those who do not exhibit regularly.” invitations at the Joburg Everard Read, and trawling the townships in
on the success of local sales”, says Tripp, “and that our sustainability He adds: “The relationship between the artist and dealer is tantamount to search of undiscovered talent. Tripp provides business acumen; Shields
depends on our ability to adapt to the times.” a marriage and it is predicated on compromise and sometimes an impressive understanding of art history.
serendipity.” The marriage metaphor is apt because, while they might “We’ve had occasional disagreements but generally we’re pretty much in
And nowhere is the symbiosis between art and economy more delicately not exactly complete each other’s sentences, the synergy between Tripp sync in our choices and vision for the gallery, Tripp insists. “This is a no-
negotiated than through the complex relationship between art-makers and Shields is unmistakable. Theirs is clearly a partnership spawned in ego zone and neither of our names will ever be exclusively on the door.”
— the artists — clients and the intermediaries who close the deals. gallerists’ heaven. They jokingly refer to themselves as Laurel and Hardy Adds Shields: “ There is no single model for success. But doing it right
“We stock a wide repertoire of artists and works because our clients’ and share an office, probably spending more time together than with their entails attaining a balance between diplomacy and guidance,
tastes change,” explains Shields, “and as dealers we have to be more respective spouses. mollycoddling and maintaining a firm grip on artistic reins.”
fluid than traditional gallerists. We don’t simply market exhibiting artists Tripp is the gregarious, jocular corporate lawyer-turned-dealer, Not to mention juggling, dribbling and catching curved balls.

Join Joshua Miles for a refreshing Woodblock Printmaking Class, Prince Albert
Join Joshua Miles for a two day colour reduction block woodcut workshop from
Sat 07 to Sunday 08 August at the famous 7 Arches Gallery in Prince Albert.
Contact Brent Phillips-White 0827492128, karoogallery@intekom.co.za or The
Prince Albert tourist office at 023 5411 366 for more information on prices and
what to bring, as well as the many beautiful places you can stay in this
exquisite part of the Klein Karoo.
PAGE 04 FREE STATE, GAUTENG AND MPUMALANGA GALLERY LISTINGS FOR AUGUST 2010 BUSINESSART | AUGUST 2010

David Krut Projects Museum Africa

Free State During August, works by Stephen Hobbs.
140 Jan Smuts Ave., Parkwood, Johannesburg
Until 31 August, “Insurrections – sense of invisible footprints in
moments of complexity” by Pitika Ntuli.
T. 011 447 0627 www.davidkrutpublishing.com Until 24 Dec 2010, “l’Afrique: A Tribute to Maria Stein-Lessing
Bloemfontein Everard Read Gallery Jhb
and Leopold Spiegel” co-curated by Nessa Leibhammer and
Natalie Knight.
05-20 August, “A World Without Collisions” oil painting by 121 Bree Str., Newtown, Johannesburg T. 011 833 5624
Oliewenhuis Art Museum
Nicola Taylor. www.knightgalleries.net
10 June-08 August, Group exhibition by Dystopia.
19 August-05 September, Works by Haneke Benade.
5 and 6 August, Professional Practice Seminar presented by
20 July - 5 August Curiosities Nirox Sculpture Park
Les Cohn, Taryn Cohn and Teresa Lizamore
9 September - 3 October, Pastel on paper by Haneke Benade, Until 15 August: South African Sculpture of the last two decades.
17 - 31 August, Nellie Bristley Art School Exhibition in the
oil paintings by Rina Strutzer.
Reservoir. Nellie Bristley Art School Exhibition in the Reservoir
07 - 31 October, mixed Media on paper often earth or Rabbi Cyril Harris Community Centre (RCHCC)
The Annual Sophia Grey Lecture and Exhibition: The architect
pastel by Thea Soggot. Leon Vermeulen. 25 July-15 August, “Textured Moments”,
selected by the staff of the Department of Architecture at the
04 - 25 November, Oil on canvas by Paul Augustinus. paintings and sculpture by Alida Taylor.
University of the Free State for the 2010 annual lecture and
6 Jellicoe Ave., Rosebank, Johannesburg Cnr Glenhove Rd & 4th Street Houghton.
exhibition is Jaco Wasserfall from Wasserfall Munting
T. 011 788 4805 www.everard-read.co.za Hazel or René (011 728 8088/8378) After Hours (011 728 8378)
Architects in Namibia.
hazelc@greatpark.co.za renes@greatpark.co.za
16 Harry Smith Street, Bloemfontein
Gallery 2
T.051 447 9609
11 September-02 October, “Position in Space” by Karin Daymond. Resolution Gallery
140 Jan Smuts Ave, Parkwood. 03 August-23 October 2010, “Public Perception” a poster show
Clarens T. 011 447 0155/98 gots@mweb.co.za www.gallery2.co.za by Andy Robertson.
142 Jan Smuts Ave., Parkwood, Johannesburg
Gallery AOP T. 011 880 4054 www.resolutiongallery.com
Johan Smith Art Gallery
12 August-04 September, “Dislocated Landscapes” by Kim Berman
From 25 September, Johan Smith presents his
44 Stanley Ave., Braamfontein Werf (Milpark) Seippel Gallery
16th Annual Exhibition.
T. 011 726 2234 www.artonpaper.co.za 16 May-08 August, “A gentle invasion” by Auke de Vries.
Windmill Centre Main Street Clarens
14 August-09 October, Recent Works by Mbongeni Buthelezi.
T. 058 256 1620 www.johansmith.co.za
Gallery MOMO Auke de Vries.
15 July-07 August, “New African Photography” featuring Siemon From 10 October, Water paintings by Jill Trappler.
Blou Donki Art Gallery
Allen, Sammy Baloji, Patricia Driscoll, Ayana Vellissia Jackson, Arts on Main, Cnr of Fox and Berea, Johannesburg
07-31 August, Art Extravaganza featuring Free State Artists:
George Mahashe and Andrew Tshabangu. T. 011 401 1421 www.seippel-gallery.com
Wim Rautenbach, Thelmi Bekker, Annette Dannhauser,
12 August-06 September, “The Young Ones”
Sonja Mitton-Barnard and Free State Photographers: Ian van
by Theresa-Anne Mackintosh. Spaza Art Gallery
Straaten, Danie van Niekerk, Mark van der Wal and Ruan Smit.
30 September-25 October, “Urban Africa” by David Adjaye Until 31 August, “Football Mania” an exhibition of sculpture,
Guest Speaker: Laurika Rauch
52 7th Avenue, Parktown North mosaic, drawings and paintings.
Windmill Centre Main Street Clarens
T. 011 327 3247 www.gallerymomo.com 19 Wilhelmina Street, Troyville. T. 011 614 9354
T. 058 256 1757 www.bloudonki.co.za
C. 082 494 3275
Gertrude Posel Gallery
This gallery has a permanent exhibition of traditional Southern, Standard Bank Gallery
Gauteng Central and West African art. 03 August-18 September, “A Vigil of Departure”
Address: University of the Witwatersrand, Senate House, by Louis Maqubela.
Jorissen Street, Braamfontein Cnr of Simmonds & Frederick Str.’s, Johannesburg
Johannesburg T: 011 717 1365 julia.charlton@wits.ac.za T. 011 631 1889
www.standardbankgallery.co.za
Goethe on Main
Artist Proof Studio
25 June-04 August, “LooObyHy no 50” by Pascale Marthine Tayo. Stephan Welz & Company
17 July-21 August, Works by Dumisani Mabaso.
245 Main Street, Johannesburg. 17 & 18 August 2010: Art Auction
28 August-09 October, Works by Bronwen Findlay.
13 Biermann Avenue
The Bus Factory, 3 President Street, West Entrance,
Goodman Gallery Rosebank, Jhb T: 011 880-3125 www.swelco.co.za
Newtown Cultural Precinct, Newtown.
15 July-21 August, “In Other Words” Group exhibition.
T. 011 492 1278 artistp@mweb.co.za
24 July-28 August, The Gugulective / Ityala aliboli / Debt don’t rot’ Thompson Gallery
www.artistproofstudio.org.za
Opening Saturday 24 July @ 12am. 18 July-18 August, “Interpret” by Elaine Hirschowitz.
163 Jan Smuts Ave., Parkwood, Johannesburg Elaine Hirschowitz completed a Diploma in Occupational
Artspace –Jhb
T. 011 788 1113 www.goodman-gallery.com Therapy, Masters in Clinical Psychology and an Advanced
17 July-07 August, “Dreamsweepers” by Nomusa Makhubu, the
Diploma in Fine Arts at Wits University. Her dedication to a
first solo exhibition by a past mentee from the 2007
Henry Taylor Gallery psychoanalytic model of psychotherapy and a lifetime
Mentorship Programme.
The Henry Taylor Gallery specializes in South African Investment commitment to both her patients and making art, informs her work.
10-17 August, a solo exhibition and intervention by Murray Turpin.
art; hence, it is not uncommon to find Old Master paintings by 78, 3rd Avenue Melville, Johannesburg
1 Chester Court, 142 Jan Smuts Ave., Parkwood, Johannesburg
Errol Boyley and J.H. Pienreff, hanging alongside up and coming T. 011 482 2039 or 011 482 9719
T. 011 880 8802
artists such as Claire Denaire or Gian. P. Garizio. info@thompsongallery.co.za www.thompsongallery.co.za
artspace@wol.co.za www.artspace-jhb.co.za
Shop No G 7.2 Cnr. Cedar Rd. and Witkoppen Rd. Fourways
Artspace Warehouse
T. 011 70-53194 www.henrytaylor gallery.co.za Unity Gallery
01-28 August, “Fine Line” a solo exhibition by Estie Serfontein.
During August, a variety of new work, including paintings
1 August @4:30pm, Opening speaker Prof Elfriede Dreyer
Johannesburg Art Gallery by Nkosinathi Thomas Ngulube, monoprints by Sam Macholo,
3 Hetty Ave, Fairlands, Jhb. T. 011 880 8802
Until 01 August, “I am not me, the horse is not mine” by prints by Senzo Shabangu, craft by Patrick Mabena,
artspace@wol.co.za www.artspace-jhb.co.za
William Kentridge. drawings by Ramarutha Makoba and more
09 August-December, “Transformations: woman’s art from the late 3 President Street, Newtown, Jhb.
The Bag Factory
19th century to 2010” artists taken from JAG’s Collection. T. 072 119 5004 www.unitydesign.co.za
22 July-22 August, “May Contain Nuts” a group exhibition featur-
22 June-26 September, “Borders” an exhibition from the 8th
ing Lester Adams, Reshma Chhiba, Nadine Hutton, Diana Hyslop,
Bamako Encounters, The African Photographic Biennale.Until 29 University of Johannesburg Art Gallery
David Koloane, Kagiso Pat Matloa, Sam Nglengethwa, Thenjiwe
August, “Without Masks” 31 July-28 August, “Rooftop II” a Group exhibition.
Nkosi, Richard Penn, Lerato Shadi, Myer Taub, Mary Wafer
06 June-04 September, “Deep Play” by Harun Farocki Auckland Park Kingsway, Campus Cnr. Kingsway and
10 Mahlatini Street, Fordburg, JHB.
King George Str., Joubert Park, Johannesburg Universiteids Rd., Auckland. T. 011 559 2099/2556
T. 011 834 9181 info@bagfactoryart.org.za
T. 011 725 3130 www.joburg.org.za www.uj.ac.za/artsacademy
www.bagfactoryart.org.za
Jozi Art Lab Zietsies
Brodie/Stevenson
Until 29 August, “Remotewords” by Achim Monhé and Uta Kopp. 13 August-03 September, “Roadtrip” by Alex Hamilton an
05 August-18 September, “Furies” Solo exhibition of new paintings
Arts On Main, corner of Main and Berea Streets, Doornfontein, exhibition about memory, adventure, landscape and the car
and a video installation by Penny Siopis.
Johannesburg. T. 076 501 4291 www.jozi-artlab.co.za that always broke down on the side of the road.
05 August-18 September, “Project 008” by Lunga Kama.
No 1. Beverley Road, Aucklandpark.
373 Jan Smuts Ave., Johannesburg T. 011 326 0034
Main Street life T. 021 447 2396 www.alexhamilton.co.za
www.brodiestevenson.com
Until 15 August, “Maboneng-Place of Light”
German artists Detlef Hartung and Georg Trenz will be present-
CIRCA on Jellicoe
15 July - 2 August, Bera Award winners Carmen Sober and
ing a light installation dealing with the Maboneng precinct, which Pretoria
translated means the place of light.
Gabrielle Goliath. Mixed media, photography, installation,
Main Street Life Entrance Gallery (one block from Arts on Main)
performance.
T. 011 3345023 Project in cooperation with the Seippel Gallery Alette Wessels Kunskamer
9 September - 3 October, Mixed media by Gavin Younge.
Johannesburg: www.seippel.eu/johannesburg/index.php Exhibition of Old Masters and selected leading
7 - 31 October, Mixed Media with wood by Enric Pladevall.
mainstreetlife@gmail.com www.mainstreetlife.co.za contemporary artists.
4 November - 16 Dec, Mixed media, bronze sculpture by
Maroelana Centre, Maroelana.
Deborah Bell. 2 Jellicoe Ave. T. 011 788 4805
Manor Gallery GPS : S25º 46.748 EO28º 15.615
gallery@circaonjellicoe.co.za
01 August- 05 September, “The 7th annual Black Like US exhibi- T. 012 346 0728 C. 084 589 0711
tion” Guest Artists Sam Maduna, Makiwa and Daniel Novela alette@artwessels.co.za www.artwessels.co.za
CO-OP
exhibiting together with other Black Like Us artists including Abe
Until 04 September, “Greener on the Other Side” by Kudzanai
Mathabe, Chenjerai Kadzinga, Edward Selematsela, Mind Shana, Alliance Française of Pretoria
Chiurai. Kudzanai Chuirai’s third poster series in collaboration with
Fungai and Stanley Mawelela. Exhibition opening Sunday 1st During August, “Fleshy wasteland” by Retha Ferguson
Dokter and Misses. The show explores the franchise of democracy.
August @ 11am. 99 Rivier Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria.
68 Juta Street, Braamfontein T. 011 023 0336
Norscot Manor Centre, Penguin Drive. T. 011 465 7934 T. 0 12 343 6563 / 0263
info@co-opjoburg.com www.co-opjoburg.com
gallery@wssa.org.za www.wssa.org.za pretoria@alliance.org.za www.alliance.org.za
 BUSINESSART | AUGUST 2010 FREE STATE, GAUTENG AND MPUMALANGA GALLERY LISTINGS FOR AUGUST 2010 Page 05

Association of Arts Pretoria

16 July-04 August, Stillife Objects by Elna Venter.
01-17 August, ‘ES(CAPE)” Featuring work by Hanneke Benade,
Lien Botha, Franci Cronje, Chris Diedericks, Nicola Grobler,
Lenie Harley, Anton Karstel, Marlise Keith, Kai Lossgott, MJ
Lourens, Nomphunzi Mashalaba, Henk Serfontein, Lionel Smith,
Barbara Wildenboer, Carine Zaayman and Elsabe Milandri.
Opening Sunday 01 August 5:30pm for 6pm.
173 Mackie Street, Nieuw Muckleneuk, Pretoria. T. 012 346-3100
artspta@mweb.co.za www.artsassociationpta.co.za

Brooklyn Theatre in association with Trent Gallery

Until 22 August, “Battiss 5”, a Battiss family art exhibition.
T. 012 460 6033

Fried Contemporary
22 July-22 August, “Cities in transition” by Titus Matiyane.
430 Charles St, Brooklyn, Pretoria. T. 012 346 0158
art@friedcontemporary.com www.friedcontemporary.com

Gallery Michael Heyns

27 July-21 August, A collection of Heyns’s work on canvas,
board and paper.
31 August-18 September, “Clay” a long-awaited exhibition of
new plates, tiles and sculptures by the versatile Michael Heyns.
Opening 29 August @ 11am.
New works from the studio of Michael Heyns can now be viewed
by appointment in Johannesburg at 16 Halifax Street, Bryanston.
Dana MacFarlane 082 784 6695 dana@michaelheyns.co.za
351 Lynnwood Road Menlo Park Pretoria Penny Siopis: Spirit, 2009, Ink and glue on canvas. Siopis’s show entitled: Furies runs from 5 August - 18 September 2010 at The Brodie- Stevenson
T.012 460 3698, Cell.082 451 5584 www.michaelheyns.co.za Gallery Jhb, comprises new paintings and a video installation. See more at www.brodiestevenson.com

Pretoria Art Museum

Until December, A selection of ceramics, representing the
development of studio ceramics and the work of traditional rural
potters of South Africa over the past thirty years, is on display.
A selection of artworks from the permanent collection of the Mu-
seum tells a brief story of South African art from the time of the
first San artists.
North Gallery and Preiss Hall, T.012 344 1807/8
art.museum@tshwane.gov.za www.pretoriaartmuseum.co.za

St Lorient Fashion and Art Gallery

31 July-18 September, “Celebrating Pretoria” a group mixed
media exhibition featuring mostly paintings.stlorient@iafrica.com
17 The Ring 02-09 August, “On the Table” by Marina Louw. Phillemon Hlungwani. Xilo xi n wana ni n wana xi ni nkoka eka nw winyi
17 Ring Rd, Lynwood 082 414 3638 wa xona. 2010. Linocut. Part of the 9 Linocuts show at Gallery AOP

The Tina Skukan Gallery

01-26 August, Mixed Media exhibition by Wanda Haarhoff, Nola
Straus and Braam van Wyk. Opening 01 August at 11:30am by
Prof. Marinus Wiechers (artist and former rector Unisa)
6 Koedoeberg Rd, Faerie Glen, Pretoria.
T. 012 991 1733 www.tinaskukangallery.co.za

Trent Gallery
17 July-05 August, Group exhibition featuring Lien Botha, Ros-
souw van der Walt and Berco Wilsenach. Opening 17 July between
9:00 and 12:30. Curated by Basie Botha.
198 Long Street, Waterkloof, Pretoria.
T. 012 460 5497. Trent.art@gmail.com www.trent-art.co.za
Work to be seen on the New African Photography
Gallery Momo until 7 August 2010
Colbert Mashile. Mma waka Montedi. 2010. Linocut
Part of the 9 Linocuts show at Gallery AOP

Mpumalanga

White River
The Loop Art Foundry & Sculpture Gallery
Casterbridge Complex Corner R40 and Numbi Roads White River
T. 013 751 2435
www.tlafoundry.co.za

White River Gallery

17 July-04 August, “Eyrie” a solo exhibition of drawings and
paintings by Cecilia Ferreira. The exhibition is based on an inten-
sive collaboration with Dutch poet Joop Bersee and consists of a
body of visual projections of Bersee’s book of poetry Eyrie (2009)
which was dedicated to Francis Bacon.
Online catalogue www.eyriecollab.blogspot.com
Casterbridge centre, R40 cnr Numbi gate rd and R 40 to Hazyveiw.
White River , Mpumalanga
Gavin Smitsdorp - Cell: 082 55 38 919 gsdorp@gmail.com www.
whiterivergallery.co.za

Send your gallery listings and events

to show@arttimes.co.za

Deadline: 15 of each month prior to publication

Listings in this publication are free

Sculpture at the Nirox Sculpture Park, Part of Twenty: South African Sculpture of the last two decades show see: www.niroxarts.com for more details
PAGE 06
Eastern Cape
East London
Ann Bryant Gallery
The Main Gallery
21 July-03 August, “Santam Child Art exhibition.” This annual
competition is open to all schools, with a calendar produced at the
end of the competition featuring the winning entries and a
travelling exhibition.
05 August-12 September, “Diesel & Dust” selected works by Obie
Oberholzer. Opening Thursday 05 August @ 6:30pm. Invitation
includes a cocktail evening, a walkabout by Obie himself plus a
raffle of one of his books and a book signing on Thursday the
05 August. At R50 a ticket. Tickets available at the door.
The Coach House
19 August-05 September, “The Peep Show” An exhibition of
works in miniature. Opening Thursday 19 August @ 6:30 p.m.
For this exhibition artists are invited to submit artworks that must
measure not more than A5 format (148mm x 210mm) or prefer-
ably smaller Closing date for entries is Tuesday 17 August 2010.
All works must be properly framed with eye screws attached ready
to be hung. A maximum of ten entries are allowed per artist. Entry
forms can be collected from the gallery at a cost of R10.00 per
painting for a non-member and R5.00 per entry for a member and
double the fee for works that are Not for Sale.
9 St. Marks Rd, Southernwood, East London. T. 043 722 4044
annbryan@intekom.co.za www.annbryant.co.za
Port Elizabeth
Epsac Gallery
16 – 27 August – “Down Memory Lane in Port Elizabeth”
a solo Exhibition by Villia Offerman. (Lower Gallery)
23 August – 17 September, “Love This Place – Buy it Take it”
a mixed medium group exhibition. (Upper Gallery)
30 August – 15 September, “EPSAC Annual – Group Exhibition”
Mixed Medium (Lower Gallery)
36 Bird Street, P.E. T. 041 585 3641
Montage Gallery
10-24 August, Works by Nonnie Roodt.
59 Main Road, Walmer, Port Elizabeth. T. 041-5812893
montage1@iafrica.com www.montagegallery.co.za
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum
Permanent exhibition, “Art in Mind”
Until 10 October, “Ubuhle bentsimbi: The beauty of beads”
Until 09 August, “Gateway to Africa”
An exhibition of contemporary African art.
1 Park Drive, Port Elizabeth. T. 041 506 2000
www.artmuseum.co.za
Ron Belling Art Gallery
03-29 August, “Eastern Cape Vignettes” a photographic
exhibition by John Riordan.
30 Park drive, Port Elizabeth. T. 041-586 3973
ronbelling@mweb.co.za www.ronbelling.co.za
Western Cape
Cape Town
Alliance Française of Cape Town
10-29 August, “Echoes” by Maurice Hermes Mbikayi.
155 Loop Street, Cape Town
/A Word Of Art
Currently running until 14 August, During the world cup A Word
of Art and Adidas hosted “Three Stories” and in the Woodstock
industrial centre Every week we introduced a new exhibition to
the art space.
The T- shirt show-14 designers created limited edition T shirts One
night only-Unlikely collaboration canvas artworks The letter a in
the color blue -Graffiti art exhibition Papergirl-SA-In the style of
American paper boys this concept is about gifting art to the public.
see http://www.papergirl-sa.com/ Chapter two:”friends”: 5 paint-
ings and a video installation exhibited at focus off as part of Art
Basel now returned to a word of art art space The Bin R250 Show-
Over 400 artworks for sale at the affordable price of R250
The “Three Stories” exhibition is now open Thursday to Saturday
10:30am to 4:30pm
66 Albert rd, Woodstock Industrial Centre. T. 021 448 7889
rickylee@writeonafrica.com www.a-word-of-art.co.za
Ashbey’s Galleries
12 August: Art Auction @10am
43-51 Church Street, Cape Town T. 021 423 8060
info@ashbeys.co.za www.ashbeysgalleries.co.za
EASTERN AND WESTERN CAPE GALLERY LISTINGS FOR AUGUST 2010
The Arts Association of Bellville
14 July-04 August, “Voyages of Discovery Fibre Works IV”
Featuring Joy Savage and Ingrid de Haast.
25 August - 15 September, The Vuleka 2010 Competion.
29 September- 21 October, a solo exhibition by Johan Coetzee,
and a Jewellery exhibition by Marlize Meyer, Jolene Kritzinger,
Isabel Pfaff, Liz Dunstan- Deacon, Nadja Bossmann
and Diana Ferreira.
The Arts Association of Bellville, The Library centre, Carel van
Aswegan Street, Bellville. T. 021 918 2301 info@artb.co.za
www.artb.co.za/gallery.htm
Atlantic Art Gallery
A permanent display showcasing leading contemporary South
African artists.
25 Wale Street, Cape Town. T. 021 423 5775
AVA
26 July-20 August, works by Erika Elk, Nike Romano
and David Rossouw.
23 August-17 September: MINI ME, AVA’s ArtReach Fundraiser.
Opening @ 6pm on Monday 23 August,
Closes Friday 17 September @9pm.
Association for Visual Arts, 35 Church Street, Cape Town.
T.021 424 7436 art@ava.co.za www.ava.co.za
Barnard Gallery
26 July- 15 September, “Beyond Boundaries” by
Rachelle Bomberg.
55 Main Street, Newlands. Fiona@luxurybrands.co.za
Blank Projects
29 July-01 September, “High Violet” by Mary Wafer & “Nomadic
Structures Digest” by Kerim Seiler.
113-115 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock, Cape Town. T.072 1989 221
info@blankprojects.com www.blankprojects.com
Cape Gallery
22 August-02 October, “Borders” a Wildlife Exhibition.
60 Church Street, Cape Town. T. 021 423 5309.
web@capegallery.co.za www.capegallery.co.za
Carmel Art
Dealers in Fine art, exclusive distributers of
Pieter van der Westhuizen etchings.
Constantia Village Shopping Centre, Main Rd., Constantia
T. 021 794 6262
Cape Quarter Square, 27 Somerset Road Green Point
T. 021 4213333
carmel@global.co.za www.carmelart.co.za
Casa Labia
14 August-30 September, “White Painting” new works by
Hermann Niebuhr. Opening 14 August @ 2:30pm.
192 Main Rd, Muizenberg. T. 021 788 6067
info@casalabia.co.za www.casalabia.co.za
Cedar Tree Gallery
Until 11 August, “World Cup Fever” one, which has work that will
remind our visitors of the beautiful game and of our
beautiful country.
17 August-30 September, “The Palette and the Palate” A wine-
centric exhibition, with works of vineyards, events inspired by
wine, perhaps works while under the influence of wine and works
using wine as a medium.
Rodwell House, Rodwell Road, St James, Cape Town.
T. 021 787 9880 cedartreegallery@gmail.com
www.cedartreegallery.co.za
David Porter Antiques
Buyers and sellers of South African art.
T. 021 6830580/083 452 5862
david@davidporterantiques.com
David Krut Art
DKA opens their outlet at Shop 116, Clock Tower Shopping
Centre, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town on 3 June.
David Krut Publishing and Bookstore - proud to be the official
distributor in South Africa of the FIFA 2010 Official Art Posters
Edition series in association with the European publisher of the
posters – will be running a store at the V & A Waterfront for a six
week period, from 3 June to 15 July 2010, to make these special
posters accessible to locals and visitors alike.
The Donald Greig Bronze Foundry and Gallery
Opens on 25th August 2010 at West Quay Road, V & A
Waterfront, Cape Town. Donald Greig is a specialized wildlife
sculptor and his sculptures ranging in size from life-size to pa-
perweights will be on display at the gallery. The foundry will do a
bronze pour on most days and the entire ‘Lost Wax Casting
Process’ can be viewed by the public through special glass
windows.
The Nautilus Building, No.14 West Quay Road, V&A Waterfront,
Cape Town T. 021 418 4515
greig@intekom.co.za www.donaldgreig.com
Erdmann Contemporary /Photographers Gallery Glenday, Clemintina van der Walt, John Newdigate, Christina Bryer,
31 July-07 August, “Conceptual Matter.” Opening Wednesday
4 August @ 6pm.
11-28 August, a solo exhibition of new paintings and drawings by
BUSINESSART | AUGUST 2010
Manfred Zylla. Opening Wednesday 11 August at 6pm.
63 Shortmarket Str., Cape Town T. 021 422 2762
galleryinfo@mweb.co.za
www.erdmanncontemporary.co.za
Everard Read Gallery
Until 31 Jan 2011, “Untamed”, an installation by
Dylan Lewis at Kirstenbosch Gardens.
02-17 September, “Sight”, an exhibition by Arabella Caccia &
Deborah da Silva. “Sight” is the product of a collaboration
between Arabella Caccia (a painter and a sculptor) and
Deborah da Silva (a photographer).
3 Portswood Road, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town.
T. 021 418 4527 ctgallery@everard.co.za
www.everard-read-capetown.co.za
34 Fine Art
26 May-17 August, Gallery Closed.
All Works available online at
www.vgallery.co.za / www.34fineart.com C. 082 354 1500
Focus Contemporary
During August, Special winter menu of fine African art including
works by Karin Miller, Christian Diedericks and Simon Annand.
11 September-15 October, “The Feather Room”
by Christiaan Diedericks.
16 October-12 November, “Spot” by Helen Sear.
67 Long Street, Cape Town. T. 021 419 8888
info@focuscontemporary.co.za www.focuscontemporary.co.za
The Framery Art Gallery
05-28 August, Line work by Miche and photographic work
by Amin. Opening 05 August at 7pm.
02-30 September, Patrick Makuane exhibiting with
Timothy Zantsi.
67g Regent Road, Sea Point. T. 021 4345022
Galleria Gibello Cape Quarter
Until end of August, “Heaven and Earth” by Caroline Gibello
Shop 31, Cape Quarter Square, 27 Somerset Road, Green Point.
T. 021 425 0439
Gallery F
Contemporary and archival South African Art.
221 Long Str., Cape Town T. 021 422 5246
info@galleryf.co.za www.galleryf.co.za
Goodman Gallery, Cape
Until 03 August, The Gallery will be closed.
07-28 August, “Winter Show”
3rd Floor, Fairweather House, 176 Sir Lowry Rd., Woodstock,
Cape Town T. 021 462 7573/4,
www.goodmangallerycape.com
iArt Gallery
11June-16 July, “The Mechanics and Mysteries of Perception”,
a group exhibition.
71 Loop Street, Cape Town. T. 021 424 5150
www.iart.co.za
iArt Gallery Wembley
04-28 August, “Sondeval” by Sandra Hanekom
01-25 September, “Blight” by Marlise Keith.
Wembley Square, Gardens, Cape Town T. 021 424 5150
www.iart.co.za
Infin Art Gallery
A gallery of work by local artists.
Wolfe Street Chelsea Wynberg T. 021 761 2816 and
Buitengracht Str. Cape Town T. 021 423 2090 www.infinart.co.za
Irma Stern Gallery
03-24 August, “Portraits” Works by Daniel Popper and
Janet (Meintjes) Jankes.
Cecil Rd, Rosebank, Cape Town. T. 021 685 5686
www.irmastern.co.za
Iziko SA National Gallery
Until 03 October, “1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective” a
re-hang of the entire gallery is being curated to showcase the very
best of South African art.
30 May-15 August, “Umtshotsho” by Nicholas Hlobo.
25 Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town 021 481 3934
Iziko SA National Gallery-Old Town House
10 June-12 July, “The lie of the land: Representations of the
South African landscape”
25 Queen Victoria street, Cape Town 021 481 3934
gwilson@iziko.org.za
Joao Ferreira Gallery
02 August-04 September, “Works on Paper” by Beezy Bailey
70 Loop Street, Cape Town. T. 021 4235403
info@joaoferreiragallery.com www.joaoferreiragallery.com
Kalk Bay Modern
04-22 August, Celebrating Ceramics, Christo Giles, Katherine
Lisa Firer, John Bauer and Ardmore.
1st Floor, Olympia Buildings, 136 Main Rd, Kalk Bay.
T.021 788 6571 kbmodern@iafrica.com www.kalkbaymodern.com
 BUSINESSART | AUGUST 2010 EASTERN AND WESTERN CAPE GALLERY LISTINGS FOR AUGUST 2010 Page 07

Lindy van Niekerk Art Gallery These Four Walls Fine Art Glen Carlou Estate
During August, A solo exhibition by Zerk de Villiers. 05-14 August, “We/edition” a group exhibition of student work. On exhibition is The Hess Art Collection, including works by
31 Kommandeur Road, Welgemoed, Bellville. T. 021 913 7204/5 169 Lower Main Road, Observatory Deryck Healey, Ouattara Watts and Andy Goldsworthy.
www.artpro.co.za T. 021 447 7393 Cell. 079 302 8073 Simondium Rd, Klapmuts T. 021 875 5314
janet@thesefourwalls.co.za www.thesefourwalls.co.za www.glencarlou.co.za
Martin Osner Fine Art Photography
A new Gallery Opens. Waterkant Gallery Sasol Art Museum
Currently on show, Panoramic Landscapes by Koos van der Lende, 04 June- 04 August, “Dreams & Goals, Twenty years of global 07 June-31 August, “Johannes Meintjes: A Tribute 1923 – 1980”
Photomontage by Sandy Mclea, Fine Art Collection by Kim Le football photography” by Alastair Berg. Ryneveldstraat 52 Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch.
Roux, Clazaro/Space by Jan Thomas Gibson, Lens-Light-Landscape 29 July-08 September, “Bollywood!” Bollywood! captures the truly T. 021 808 3691/3/5
by Eugene van der Merwe also an extensive display of unique spirit of Bollywood past through its iconic and instantly
Martin Osners personal imagery. recognisable poster art. Bollywood! revisits the true film greats from SMAC Art Gallery
1 Harbour Road, HoutBay. T. 021 7906494 the 50s to the 70s through a series of original, vintage posters. 05 June-31 August, “Divisions” Aspects of
info@martinosner.com www.martinosner.com/ 123 Waterkant Street, Cape Town. T. 021 421 1505 Southern African Art 1945-2010.
info@waterkantgallery.com www.waterkantgallery.com De Wet centre, Church Street, Stellenbosch.
Michael Stevenson Contemporary T. 021 887 3607 www.smacgallery.com
29 July-04 September, “Permanent Error” photographs by Pieter Wessel Snyman Creative
Hugo; “The Eclipse Will Not Be Visible to the Naked Eye” video, 09-21 August, solo exhibition of drawings and paintings by Cecilia Tokara
installation and prints by Dineo Seshee Bopape; “Noreturn” a film Ferreira. The exhibition is based on an intensive collaboration with 05 June-25 August, “Hats off! 25 Year of Linocuts from
by Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster as part of the Forex Series. Dutch poet Joop Bersee and consists of a body of visual projections The Caversham Press.”
Opening Thursday 29 July, 6-8pm of Bersee’s book of poetry Eyrie (2009) which was dedicated to Crest of Helshoogte pass on the R310 between Stellenbosch
Ground Floor, Buchanan Building, 160 Sir Lowry Rd, Cape Town. Francis Bacon. Online catalogue www.eyriecollab.blogspot.com and Franschoek. T. 021 808 5900
T. 021 462 1500 info@michaelstevenson.com 17 Bree Street, Cape Town. T. 021 418 0980. www.tokara.com
www.michaelstevenson.com wesselsnymancreative@gmail.com

Michaelis Art Gallery What if the World… Oudtshoorn

27 July-03 September, “reGeneration 2” 07 July-22 August, Works by Dan Halter.
Tomorrow’s Photographers Today First floor, 208 Albert Rd, Woodstock, T.021448 1438 Artkaroo Gallery
University of Cape Town, 31-35 Orange Street, Gardens. www.whatiftheworld.com From 05 August, “Woman” by artists from the Klein Karoo region,
Cell: 083 367 7168 www.michaelis.uct.ac.za such as Janet Dixon, Hannelie Taute, Ramona Van Stavel, Ina Marx,
Worldart Gallery Mariette De Villiers, supported by a collection of Francois Tiran’s
Raw Vision Gallery 26 August-12 September, “The lion’s Den” by Michael Taylor. female nudes. Exhibition opens on Thursday 5 August @7pm.
11 Feb-14 Sep 2010, “African Odyssey” 18 October–08 November, “Un-mute my tongue” 26 September-03 October, “Maak Jouself Tuis” an expression of the
20 Internationally acclaimed photographers exhibiting. A solo exhibition of new paintings by Ayanda Mabulu artistic soul through the medium of the chair; functional & funky art
89 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock, 54 Church Street, Cape Town. T. 021 423 3075 by Karoo artists. Also featuring fine Karoo art in landscapes,
info@rawvisiongallery.com www.rawvisiongallery.com charl@worldart.co.za figurative and abstract. Exhibition opens 26 September @ 4 PM.
www.worldart.co.za This exhibition coincides with Klein Karoo Klassique Festival.
Rose Korber Art 107 Baron van Reede, Oudtshoorn, T. 044 2791093
During August, “Abstraction and Meaning” by J P Meyer. Youngblackman Gallery janet@artkaroo.co.za www.artkaroo.co.za
48 Sedgemoor Rd, Camps Bay, Cape Town T. 021 438 9152 22 July-22 August, “Stealing the Words” by Belinda Blignaut.
roskorb@icon.co.za www.rosekorberart.com 69 Roeland Street, Cape Town. T. 083 383 0656
www.youngblackman69.com
Rust-en-Vrede Gallery
13 July-05 August, Works by Koos de Wet, Sam Brown, Glen Tong,
Mariette Brown and Anastasia of “Open Art Studios” Franschhoek
10 August - 02 September, Works by Heidi Ansley of Piet-my-Vrou
Mosaic studio, Elizabeth Miller-Vermeulen presents a series of Galerie L’ Art
works in oil. In THE CUBE in the Clay Museum well-known A permanent exhibition of old masters.
potters from the Eastern Cape exhibit “Wildly Colours” Shop no 3, The Ivy, Kruger Str., Franschhoek T. 021 876 2497
07-30 September, Cristiaan Diedericks, Judy Woodborne and Corlie www.galart.co.za
de Kock, in 3 solo exhibitions, exhibit works in mixed media.
10 Wellington Rd, Durbanville.T.021 976 4692 The Gallery at Grande Provence
www.rust-en-vrede.com 01-26 August, “Where” contemporary Landscapes. The second of a
trilogy of exhibitions entitled “Who?”, “Where?” + “andWhatnow?”
Salon 91 Until 26 August, “Baiting Tree” a photographic installation by
During August, “Winter Salon” a selection of the gallery’s artists. Lise Hanssen.
91 Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town. T 021 424 6930. Main Road, Franschoek. T. 021 876 8600. Gavin Calf: Redhead, to be seen with many leading Cape Artists at The
info@salon91art.co.za www.salon91.co.za gallery@grandeprovence.co.za www.grandeprovence.co.za Hout Street Gallery’s “The Winter Gala” 29 July - 30 September

South African Museum

Until end July, “Subtle Thresholds, the representational taxonomies Hermanus
of disease”, a mixed media show curated by Fritha Langerman.
25 Queen Victoria Str., Cape Town T. 021 481 3800 Abalone Gallery
www.iziko.org.za/sam/index.html 03 July-21 August, El Loko (Togo) In Search of Traces-Woodcuts Paarl
and sculptures.
South Gallery 2 Harbour Rd, The Courtyard, Hermanus. T.028 313 2935 Hout Street Gallery
Showcasing creativity from KwaZulu-Natal including info@abalonegallery.co.za www.abalonegallery.co.za 29 July-30 September, “The Winter Gala”
Ardmore Ceramic Art. 270 Main Street, Paarl. T. 021 872 5030
Ground Floor, Fairweather House, 176 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock zetler@icon.co.za www.houtstreetgallery.co.za
T. 021 465 4672 info@southgallery.co.za Stellenbosch
South African Print Gallery Art on 5 Piketberg
26 June-31 July, “Reflections” new work by Sharon Sampson. Permanent exhibition of paintings and ceramics by Maryna de Witt,
107 Sir Lowry Rd, Woodstock, Cape Town. T. 021 462 6851 Pera Schillings, and Karen Kieviet. AntheA Delmotte Gallery
info@printgallery.co.za www.printgallery.co.za 7b Andringa Str., Stellenbosch T. 021 887 7234 Until end June, “Historical buildings of Piketberg” a group show.
Feathers Inn, 1 Church Str, Piketberg 073 281 7273,
anthea@lantic.net

NEW from print matters…

Sandra McGregor – ‘Onse artist’ in District Six
Sandra Mc Gregor
‘O N S E A R T I S T’ I N D I S T R I C T S I X
Dolores Fleischer

T he destruction of District Six was a tragedy, but here it is recorded in

remarkable and individual form. The individual spirit and its artistic
expression can never be destroyed. Principally a portrait painter, Sandra
found a small studio in Kloof Street and began to paint the people and
places in District Six. For a young unaccompanied yet headstrong white
woman, this was considered a highly dangerous if not foolhardy pastime,
but the community – skollies included – welcomed and protected her,
calling her ‘onse artist’.
Three Editions: Collectors, Subscribers and Standard soft cover
ISBN: 978 0 981 4417 2 6 • Size: 300 x 230
224 pages • 120 full colour & halftone images
RELEASE AUGUST 2010
available from all good bookstores and direct from
www.printmatters.co.za
Print Matters publishes South African art and craft books focusing Sandra Hanekom’s most recent works contain images of a disjointed human existence, like modern-day
on those artists and craftspeople who have been overlooked by
the artocracy, yet have inspiring stories to tell and vision to share.
Bruegels – “filled to the brim with symbols, questions, mysteries, life and sometimes death.” Her show
entitled: “Sondeval” runs from 04-28 August, see more at www.iart.co.za
print Publishing Print Matters (Pty) Ltd.,
P O Box 640, Noordhoek 7979 D O L O R E S F L E I S C H E R

matters 0(27) 21 789 0155 • 083 280 0237

info@printmatters.co.za
print
matters

art & craft

PAGE 08
Head of a Young Boy, Frans Oerder, Signed,
oil on canvas, 39cm R200 000 – R300 000
Stephan Welz honoured for
giving gallery new life
A special ceremony was held on 22 July 2010 at East London’s
Ann Bryant Art Gallery to honour Stephan Welz, Managing
Director of Strauss & Co.
In achieving a top price for one masterpiece, Welz, South Africa’s
leading fine art auctioneer, ensured the survival of many others
in the gallery’s prestigious collection. The gallery, which needed
urgent renovations to stop leaks and damp damaging its prized
collection of art that is estimated at R40-million, lacked the funds
to pay for repairs until assistant curator Terry Flynn had a
brainwave.
Flynn, who is also the chairman of the East London Fine Arts
Society, decided the society would sacrifice a painting entitled
Portrait of a Boy by Dutch-born, South African artist Frans Oerder
in order to pay contractors’ bills.
“The renovations were necessary because this beautiful Edwardian
building is a national monument, yet the beautiful woodwork on
the balconies was rotting, the roof was leaking and there was so
much damp in two rooms that we could not display art in them,”
said Flynn.
He explained that although Buffalo City Municipality had patched
up the odd bit of damage, a more comprehensive repair job had
become increasingly necessary.
“It was all meetings (with the municipality) and no action, so
when auctioneer Stephan Welz was at the gallery last year and
expressed interest in auctioning the Frans Oerder piece for us, we
decided to go for it,” said Flynn. watched in anguish, as his paintings, done over the past decade go
Welz achieved R320 000 for the Oerder painting at a Strauss & Co
auction held in Cape Town in October 2009. According to Flynn,
“the piece sold above its estimated value, plus Stephan Welz did
not charge us commission for selling it, so it was very exciting”.
Flynn said it was vital to preserve the Ann Bryant Gallery and its
valuable contents because the gallery was one of “the top five”
galleries in South Africa.
The gracious double-storey building, which was built in 1905 and
which was bequeathed to the City of East London by art lover
Ann Bryant in 1946, has had its rusty roof repaired and gutters
fixed, exterior woodwork restored and a new coat of paint applied
throughout.
The proceeds of Portrait of a Boy have also been used to add a
stair lift so that disabled visitors can access art on the top floor.
And, now that precious works by artists like George Pemba, Irma
Stern, Pieter Hugo Naudé and J H Pierneef are safe from water
damage, pride of place has been given to a copy of Oerder’s work
that saved them and their stately home.
Article based on a report by Barbara Holland in the Weekend Post.
Winter Warmer Subscription Special : R260
Beat the cold and mould this winter and subscribe to our colourful, thrilling and leading SA monthly art publication
Subscribe to The SA Art Times and get SA Business Art and Art Life publications for free.
R 260 for an annual subscription. Just click onto “Subscription” at www.arttimes.co.za and go from there. Special ends end August 2010
ART NEWS FROM THE EASTERN CAPE
Pharoah Gallery in Wilderness was destroyed in a raging fire Tuesday 22 June. (Photo: Sollie van Wyk) (Top) The Gallery’s kitchen, (Below left) Terence
Pharoah at one of the rondawels that was razed to the ground (Below right) The raging fire that burnt the gallery complex and contents to the ground.
Landmark Pharoah Gallery in Wilderness destroyed by fire
Published in the George News, June
By Pauline Lourens
A blazing fire ravaged the Pharoah Gallery last night. It complete-
ly destroyed, the old thatched building which housed the priceless
art collection of well-loved artist, Peter Pharoah.
Arriving shortly after being informed of the fire, at 20:30, Peter
and his wife Tracy, his father Hugh Pharoah and mother Anne
up in smoke. The George Fire Brigade arrived soon and shortly
afterward villagers who could see the towering flames reach up
into the skies came to offer help and watch helplessly.
The family is devastated, as the gallery was in effect their
inheritance of pioneer pilot Victor Smith (Peter’s grandfather).
Fortunately none of the photos of Smith, used in the book “Flying
in an open cockpit over Africa”, were kept there.
Anne Pharoah said the family was particularly distressed by the
incident as the building was not insured against fire. “Being retired
we could not afford to insure both our own home and that of my
father.”
One of the first things that Peter tried to do was to save the com-
puter. “Our computer had very important data on it, a record of all
my paintings.” It was also used by his wife Tracy Pharoah who
works from the gallery as a website designer. “Saving anything at
all was an impossible mission because when he got there the fire
was totally out of control.”
Surveying the damage the following morning, the twisted metal,
BUSINESSART | AUGUST 2010
roof rafts burnt to a cinder, piles of thatch still smouldering away,
Peter said: “Its the end of an era.” He was referring both to his
grandfather’s old home and his painting style. He had decided to
move in a different direction from his current painting style and
was working towards a new one, but needed the paintings as a
record of his artistic evolvement. “One of the policemen said I
should just repaint them, but that is not possible. One often works
on an inspiration, a theme and with a particular energy at the time
of creating a painting. I had stocked the gallery well in anticipa-
tion of the Soccer 2010 World Cup with the aim of catching some
passing trade. It was probably the most stock I have ever carried at
the gallery.” Peter said his “Purple Lady” painting which had been
sent to Cape Town where it was being reproduced into prints, was
the only painting saved. The George Herald featured the works of
Peter in an article last year, and published a photo of a soccer play-
ing township boy. It aptly illustrated the far reaching joy of being
the South African hosts of the World Cup. Peter entered a painting
for a World Cup exhibition.
Historic rondawels
Anne Pharoah said the house was built in 1962 by her father, Vic-
tor Smith, but the core of the three cottages date back to the early
beginnings of the Wilderness probably to as far back as 1911,
when the rondawels served as staff quarters for the Wilderness
Hotel. It was his clever design engineering that enabled him to
retire whilst in his 50’s.
A quote on Peter’s website reads: “A painting is like a good piece
of music, it must be something special, something memorable and
unique…” - Peter Pharoah, fine artist. It sums up how sentimental
Peter felt about his paintings.
 BUSINESSART | AUGUST 2010
Absa 2010 overall winner - Ilka Van Schalkwyk
Winner of The Gerard Sekoto award - Bongumenzi Ngobese
Merit winners - (Top) Philiswa Lila, Collen Maswanganyi, (Below) Abri de Swardt (Below right) Hanje Whitehead
ABSA 2010 AWARD WINNERS Page 09
Winner of The Gerard Sekoto award - Bongumenzi Ngobese
2010 Absa L’Atelier Art Award Winners
South Africa’s young artists have once again proved their mettle in a sterling display of homegrown
creativity in the prestigious Absa L’Atelier Art Awards competition, which this year celebrates its
historic 25th year anniversary as the longest-running competition of its kind on the continent.
Unlike the previous years, this year’s pool of submissions was undoubtedly about identity and how
they experience the country we are living in.
Much of the selected work seems to have subversive strategies, not in loud and shocking ways, but
rather in strangely guarded tones.
Ilka van Schalkwyk and Bongumenzi Ngobese have been named the respective first and second place
winners out of more than 100 finalists, which were chosen by a national selection panel led by Gwen
Miller. Merit Awards were awarded to Abri de Swardt, Philiswa Lila, Collen Maswanganyi and Hanje
Whitehead.
Pretoria-based Van Schalkwyk scooped the coveted top prize for her new media installation, Reading
colour. The judges described the piece as “a cerebral affair reflecting intellectual games of texts that
in themselves rebel against prescriptive institutions. Like the referenced songs and literary texts that
were defiant in their strategies, this visual text becomes subversive of the social body. The work is a
marvellous example of an open text with multi-layered meaning.”
Durbanite Ngobese was awarded the Gerard Sekoto Award for the most promising artist with an
income of less than R60 000 per annum, for his mixed media piece Kwa-Mamkhize. The panel said
Ngobese’s hidden parcels under the table signified secrecy, a lifestyle of makeshift storage systems of
a society in flux. “This is a social order of migrants, who have to take up their belongings and make
them fit into any vehicle or, metaphorically, any culture, to be able to move on. The work holds so
many possibilities of engagement in relation to our current society,” the panel said.
As part of her prize, Van Schalkwyk wins R110 000 in cash and a six-month sabbatical at the Cité
Internationale des Arts in Paris, courtesy of Absa. Ngobese wins a three-month sabbatical at the
Cité, French language classes and nationwide touring exhibitions sponsored by the French Embassy,
French Institute and the Alliance Française. Both prizes include airfare and free access to galleries and
museums in Paris.
All four merit award winners receive R25 000 and each of the top ten finalists, including Van Schalk-
wyk, Ngobese, the four runner-ups as well as Vincent Bezuidenhout, Sibusiso Duma, Maja Marx and
Lyle van Schalkwyk, receive a R2 000 bonus prize.
The Absa L’Atelier Art Awards is Africa’s pre-eminent annual art competition. It has earned itself
the reputation for being the most influential art competition on the continent, not only because of the
incredible opportunities afforded by the main prizes, but also because of the unrivalled exposure the
artists receive.
“This really is a special year in the history of the Absa L’Atelier
Art Awards. We’ve celebrated our 25th anniversary with the most
amazing creative expression from South Africa’s most talented
young artists. The standard of work is excellent; this year’s pool of
submissions was undoubtedly about identity and how they experi-
ence the country we are living in. I want to pay tribute to them as
they change our ordinary world into a creative one,” said Cecile
Loedolff
The competition is open to young artists between the ages of 21
and 35, and attracts entries from across the country, which are
open to public viewing during the regional judging rounds
PAGE 10
What’s on in KwaZulu - Natal
Durban
The African Art Centre Durban
09-23 August, Women’s Month Art Exhibition featuring works
by four artists. 94 Florida, Durban. T. 31 312 3804/5
africanartcentre@afri-art.co.za www.afriart.org.za
ArtSPACE Durban
02-21 August, Young Artists Unite, a group show.
3 Millar Road, Stamford Hill, Durban. T.031 312 0793
info@artspace-durban.com www.artspace-durban.com
Durban Art Gallery
Until 01 August, “The Interactive Street Child Experience”
01 June -01 August, “Art of the Ball”
Until 01 August, “Conflicting Interests” This exhibition, curated
by Vaughn Sadie, explores the conflicts inherent within the
collection of the Durban Art Gallery.
2nd Floor City Hall, Anton Lembede St (former Smith St) Durban
T. 031 311 2264 strettonj@durban.gov.za
Elizabeth Gordon Gallery
A variety of new South African artworks, including paintings by
Hugh Mbayiwa, Nora Newton, Wheildon and Hussein Salim.
120 Florida Rd., Durban. T. 031 303 8133 eqqart@iafrica.com
www.elizabethgordon.co.za
KZNSA Gallery
27 July-15 August, “Lingua Franca” by Richard Hart.( Main Gal-
lery) “Masuga” a photographic exhibition by Caroline Birch, De-
borah van Niekerk and Rogan Ward.( Mezzanine Gallery) “Urban
– Vermin” oil, collage and found objects on board by
Michele Silk. (Park Gallery)
14 September-09 October, all galleries: MTN new contemporar-
ies award nominated artists are Donna Kukama, Kemang Wa
Luhelere, Stuart Bird and Mohau Modisakeng with appointed
curator Nontobeko Ntombela.
12- 31 October, Works by Conrad Botes
(Main, mezzanine, and park galleries)
166 Bulwer Rd., Glenwood. T. 031 2023686
www.kznsagallery.co.za
Margate
Margate Art Museum
Museums art collection on display.
T.039 312 8392 C.072 316 8094 huey@hcm.gov.za
Peter Machen
The Life and Times in Durban Art Scene
I am standing, swaying, listening to the rhythmic, haunting
sound of a vast army of vuvuzelas having the time of their
lives. In the distance is a goalpost, and all around a sea of bod-
ies and faces are looking towards the pitch. Well, most of them
are – some are distracted by other things. And at once end of
the pitch, a wildebeest appears to be grazing in the presence of
two lions.
I’m in the Durban Art Gallery. The vuvuzelas are a three dimen-
sional audio recording, courtesy of sound artist and musician
Dean Henning. The pitch is Gallery 3, which has been marked in
white vinyl with the layout of a soccer pitch, and the goals posts
are pretty much goal posts, although, there is no net. The sea of
faces have emerged from the DAG’s remarkably diverse perma-
nent collection, and the occasion is an intersection of the launch
of the multimedia exhibition Time_Frame – of which Henning’s
piece forms a part – and Art of the Ball, the exhibition which is
currently occupying the room was such vigour. The animals are
stuffed, and the wildebeest is not nervous.
Henning’s piece was remarkable. While I rather like sound pieces
on the whole (although I don’t know if I’d ever buy one as a
non-investor), I often find that they feel more like clever little
interventions rather than proper works, relying on charm and a
broad smile. The vuvuzela piece felt like a substantial work of art
in the classical fine art sense. It occupied my body not just with its
soundwaves but with its beauty which was conceptual, experien-
tial and – yes – visual.
‘Visual’ might seem like a bit of a stretch, but the way in which
the artist reconstructed and reinterpreted an actual reality – ficti-
tious or not – and moved it to another location, my body felt like it
was seeing something. The piece contained so much that if I start
to deconstruct it, it feels like it contained the world itself, and not
just the world during soccer madness. As I write this, in a room in
a house on the end of Durban’s ridge at dusk, I am surrounded by
the sound of the azaan coming from three different mosques. It is
deeply beautiful and nearly always moves me a little, despite my
KZ- NATAL GALLERY LISTINGS, CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Pietermaritzburg
The Blue Caterpillar Art Gallery
01 – 15 August, oil paintings of South Africa’s beautiful land-
scapes by Jocelyn Boyley.
01 – 30 September, oil paintings and lithographs by international
Spanish artist- Didier Lorenco.
01 -30 October, oil paintings of Midlands farms and rural
settings by Charmaine Eastment.
The Blue Caterpillar art gallery at Butterflies for Africa
37 Willowton Road, Pietermaritzburg. T. 033 387 1356
art@butterflies.co.za www.artsales.co.za
Tatham Art Gallery
08 June-26 September, “Jabulisa 2010 The art and craft of
Kwazulu-Natal.”
Until 26 September, First floor Exhibition Rooms:
The Whitwell Collection 1923-1926.
Until 26 September, Perimeter Gallery: Gallery Permanent Collec-
tion 1903-1974-works that are part of the Storm in the
Wheatfield-an anthology of the Gallery history.
Cnr of Chief Albert Luthuli (Commercial) Rd. and Church Str.
(Opposite City Hall) Pietermaritzburg
T. 033 342 1804 www.tatham.org.za
Jane Oliver : Sweet Dreams from her show entitled Under the surface at
the KZNSA Gallery, Durban until 25 July
lack of faith. Hennig’s piece felt more real and more moving than
my actual world.
Synesthesia and hyperbole aside, I have written before about the
general openmindedness of the Durban Art Gallery as an institu-
tion. Although I don’t mind a bit of high-brow formality every
now and then (although I usually damage the atmosphere by trip-
ping or spilling my drink), I love the way that the DAG, located in
a building that is so palatial, baroque and deeply colonial, opens
itself to the streets and interfaces with Durban’s reality to such an
extent.
Of course, not all galleries are stuffy white cubes in which behav-
iour of a non-archival kind is permitted. The KZNSA didn’t seem
to mind when Steven Cohen shat a painted enema all over their
beautifully screeded floor (the stain stated for months, an artwork
of residuality) or when master choreographer Jay Pather filled half
the gallery with red sand for a performance from Siwela Sonke.
But the Durban Art Gallery is a municipal building (that is also a
national monument) which very often features work that challeng-
es local and national policy. I imagine that much of the gallery’s
openminded doubt stems from a reaction to the constraints of the
apartheid administration within the double confines of the last
outpost of colonial Natal. And I probably also think much of this
because of the presence of the hugely successful Red Eye event
which has impacted not just on people’s relationship to the gallery,
but to the city itself.
Jenny Stretton, who curated the very wonderful Art of the Ball,
has been acting director at the DAG for the last three and a half
years (in addition to her job as curator of collections), since former
director Carol Brown, who was similarly inclusive, moved on to
a more freelance existence. She is stepping down from the post
for the moment, while council goes about the task of filling the
permanent position. I hope Stretton applies. And I hope she gets
the job. I love the way that the gallery continues to opens itself up
to the city under her direction and functions as a truly inclusive
social space. I’d hate for any of that to change.
BUSINESSART | AUGUST 2010
Britz sale:
Battiss the redeeming
feature of long-delayed
Britz auction results
By Michael Coulson
Just what credibility auction results can have that take almost two
months to publish is moot. And while we were told that one reason
for the delay in releasing Graham Britz’s May 18 sale results was
that they were being audited, no audit details have, in the event,
been provided.
Gossip in the trade was that sales were so poor that the house was
trying to boost the total by moving unsold lots by private treaty.
While a couple of reported prices are suspiciously round numbers
(buyer’s premium and other add-ons to the hammer price usually
preclude this), if this was indeed the ploy it had little success.
Overall, only 132 of the 281 lots, or 47%, were sold, for a gross
(including buyer’s premium at al) of R11.95m, just 34.7% of the
low estimate of R34.47m. Not only were sales slow, the low gross
indicates that estimates had been pitched too high. Indeed, average
price of the lots sold was R90 500, against the low estimate of
R123 000. If there was a positive feature, it was the confirmation
of the surge of interest in works by the iconic Walter Battiss.
The tone was set in the first SA art session (actually the second
session of four), of minor work, where 72 of 127 lots (56.7%)
were sold, realising just R1m, 34.5% of the low estimate of
R2.9m. Average realisation was R13 980, against the low estimate
of R22 970. The only prices above R50 000 were R108 000 for
Pieter van der Westhuizen’s Group of Women (estimate R80 000-
R120 000) and R51 000 for an Errol Boyley landscape (est R60
000-R80 000).
Items passed included the session’s top estimate, Tretchikoff’s
Birds (est R350 000-R400 000), and two other R60 000-R80 000
estimates: another Boyley and Adriaan Boshoff ’s Waves.
The next session contained the most important works, and was
also the most disappointing. While 24 of the 69 lots (34.8%) sold,
a gross of R5.18m was only 26.1% of the low estimate of R19.7m.
Top price was a below-estimate R1.71m for Irma Stern’s Flight
(est R1.8m-R2.8m); a Pierneef landscape, at R978 000 (est R900
000-R1.m) almost broke the R1m barrier.
A Ruth Everard-Haden still life fetched R455 000 (est R400 000-
R600 000) and another Pierneef landscape R409 000 (est R400
000-R650 000), but casualties included yet more Pierneefs (est
R650 000-R850 000 and R800 000-R1.2m), a Stern genre scene
(at R2.5m-R3.5m, the highest estimate of the sale), two Maggie
Laubser landscapes (est R650 000-R950 000 and R600 000- R800
000), a Maud Sumner religious scene (est R700 000-R900 000)
and an Adolf Jentsch landscape (est R500 000-R800 000). The
session’s average sale price of R216 000 compared with a low
estimate of R286 000.
The final session, which could be described as comprising major
minor work, saw 36 of 85 lots (42.4%) sold for R4.77m, 40.7% of
the low estimate of R11.73m. The average R132 600 realised was
the closest of any session to the low estimate of R138 000.
Highlight of this session was R921 000 for Tretchikoff’s Balinese
Girl (est R900 000-R1.3m), followed by an excellent R432 000
for Battiss’s Reflections (est R120 000-R160 000), R409 000 for
both another Battiss (est R400 000-R600 000) and Lucas Sithole’s
sculpture Mother & Child (est R400 000-R600 000) and R398 000
for yet another Battiss (Camilla with Giraffe, est R400 000-R600
000).
However, the top estimate Battiss (African Traders, est R600 000-
R900 000) was passed, as were an Edoardo Villa bronze (est R500
000-R700 000), and two Alexis Prellers (Ritual Bull, est R1m-
R1.5m) and Constellation, est R500 000-R700 000).
SA ART TIMES
CATCH OUR DAILY SA ART NEWS ON
WWW.ARTTIMES.CO.ZA
BECAUSE AMAZING ART AND ART NEWS
HAPPENS ALL DAY AND EVERY DAY
A Vigil of Departure –
LOUIS KHEHLA MAQHUBELA
a retrospective 1960 - 2010
Standard Bank Gallery 4 August to 18 September 2010
Monday to Friday: 8am – 4.30pm Saturday: 9am –1pm
Tel: 011 631 1889 www.standardbankarts.co.za

Louis Maqhubela, Composition, 1972, Oil on paper, 51,7cm x 58,7cm. Collection: Johannesburg Art Gallery SBSA 49201
PAGE 12
Clare McAndrew speaks about current international art-investment
The art-investment expert runs the Dublin-based research and consulting firm Arts Economics. She has done studies of the art market for the European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) and in
2007 published “The Art Economy: An Investor’s Guide to the Art Market” (Liffey Press). Sarah Douglas spoke with McAndrew about why drops in art sales aren’t the end of the world.
Published in The Art Newspaper. By Sarah Douglas
In the report you did in 2008 for the European Fine Art Fair (TE-
FAF), you discussed the Internet database Artprice’s finding that
China had become the world’s third-largest art market, in terms
of sales at auction, surpassing France. Your most recent report,
released in March, states that China has continued to grow while
other areas have slowed. Why does China interest you so much?
China slapped France in the face when it moved into third place
worldwide. The government is really behind the art trade. It’s
going to be a very important industry for them. But it’s driven by a
tiny portion of the population; only a handful of wealthy Chinese
are buying art.
In 2009, according to your study, auction houses were more af-
fected by the recession than dealers. Why?
People didn’t want to be seen spending a lot of money or selling
off their stuff. That’s a basic explanation, but I think it’s one of the
factors that worked in favor of dealers. The serious collectors are
still there, waiting for the best pieces to become available. The
speculators have been shaken out.
Was the contraction in the art market more dramatic than you
expected?
Overall there was a 35 percent drop in aggregate sales, but some
markets had 60 percent drops. Although huge, those are statisti-
cal drops. It’s only because the market went so high in 2007 and
2008. If you go back to the 1990s, we are still at a very high point
historically. That’s what people miss. Because when you see big
numbers being thrown out, like a 60 percent drop, you think, “My
God, the whole thing’s being wiped out.” A slump in the market is
about fewer good works coming onto the market or fewer buyers.
It’s not about the prices of good things falling.
Why would people turn to art during this recession in particular?
People are afraid of the banks, and it’s been a recession with low
interest rates. In previous recessions, all the ultrawealthy left their
money sitting in the banks because there were high interest rates.
In this recession, they’ve realized they have to get investments that
ART INVESTMENT NEWS
Photo by Kip Carroll
hold value and work for them. Art is a long-term, slightly safe-
haven investment.
You are looking more at collectors now.
The buy side of the market is very interesting. I’m doing a more
formal survey of collectors, in both the U.S. and Europe. You have
BUSINESSART | AUGUST 2010
to figure out people’s motivations and what their view is of work-
ing with dealers versus auction houses.
Has the type of art that people are buying changed?
There are many trends at work that are moving people to older
things. People are looking at history a bit more. Dealers are
finding younger people buying antique furniture, whereas before
they’d never seen people under 60 coming in. That’s the wonderful
thing about the art market. You can sit there plugging in numbers,
planning the economic forecast, but it is also very fashion- and
trend-driven.
What have you learned from talking with dealers?
Many of them are leaving shop fronts and working privately. And
they are realizing that if they are going to compete with the mar-
keting power of the auction houses, they are going to need to work
together more, instead of being fragmented.
What does the future hold?
I’m very interested in looking at the modern and contemporary
sector to see how it survived the storm. And [I’m] looking at
resale rights in Europe. There are real worries in Europe. New
markets like China emerging is very good for the market overall
but difficult for countries, like the U.K. and France, that have been
hampered by regulations and taxes. They have to compete not only
against the U.S., which has fewer regulations, but also against
countries, like China, that don’t have resale royalties.
What have been the lessons of this recession?
I firmly believe that art is a long-term investment. That’s why some
of the art funds have gone under. The liquidity is too low to run
a fund with a huge cost base. The most serious collectors, those
who don’t worry so much about returns, are continuing to do well.
We’ve left behind a kind of bubbly behavior where people buy
something just because they can sell it at a higher price. What
everyone wants now is slow, steady upward progress. The boom
years turned off long-term collectors, who don’t buy in that kind of
market. They sat and waited for things to calm down a bit. I think
it’s returning to a better place
 BUSINESSART | AUGUST 2010 SWELCO NEXT SALE AUGUST 2010, JOHANNESBURG Page 13

Lot 314, François Krige. Peach blossoms in vineyard, signed, oil on canvas, 61 by 75cm. R 350 000 - 450 000

Preview of Stephan Welz & Co’s 17 & 18 August Johannesburg Sale line up

Lot 296, Gregoire Johannes Boonzaier. Still life with apples, signed and
dated 1929, oil on board, 29 by 34cm. R 60 000 - 90 000
Lot 275, Jacob Hendrik Pierneef . Landscape with river, signed and dated 45,
oil on canvas laid down on board, 44,5 by 59cm. R 1 200 000 - 1 600 000
Lot 300, Walter Whall Battiss.
Umpundulu birds (Detail)
tapestry, 195 by 242cm
executed by Marguerite Stephens.
R 200 000 - 300 000
Stephan Welz and Company will be holding their Johannesburg
winter auction at their Rosebank salesroom on 17th and 18th
August. With recent successes in the art market from our Cape
Town office’s June auction, accomplishing both South African and
World Records, we anticipate the two day, four session sale, will
follow suit.
At 14h00 on Tuesday 17 August, the first session of the sale com-
mences with Books, Maps, Africana Pictures, Prints and Memo-
rabilia and then moves onto the Painting section of approximately
110 lots. The session begins with a selection of international
pieces featuring artists such as Frank Brangwyn, Henry Moore and
John Piper, to name a few. In the South African section a wide
selection of artists are represented, including Erich Mayer, Dor-
othy Kay, Maggie Laubser, W H Coetzer, May Hillhouse, Anthony
Strickland, Ted Hoefsloot, Walter Battiss, Herman van Nazareth
and Mike Parsons. Two works of particular interest in this session
are a hand-coloured etching by W H Coetzer, ‘Collecting fire
wood’, at an estimate of R 4 000 – 6 000 and Mike Parsons ‘At the
water’s edge’, with an estimate of R 6 000 – 9 000. The session
ends with a selection of good quality works by African artists:
Durant Sihlali, Louis Maqhubela and John Muafangejo, to name
but a few.
The evening session of approximately 150 pieces, commenc-
ing at 18h30, is a full-bodied selection of quality pieces by the
likes of Frederick I’Ons, Cathcart Methven, Frans Oerder, Erich
Mayer, Pranas Domsaitis, Maud Sumner, Irma Stern, J H Pierneef,
Freida Lock, John Koenakeefe-Mohl, Gregoire Boonzaier, Alexis
Preller, Walter Battiss, Francois Krige, Bettie Cilliers-Barnard,
Sidney Goldblatt, Christo Coetzee, Dino Paravano, Pieter van der
Westhuizen, Conrad Theys, Hennie Niemann (Snr & Jnr), Cecil
Skotnes and George Pemba.
A prime example of an I’Ons oil work is lot 255, ‘Cattle and herd-
ers on a river bank’ (R 50 000 – 80 000); his work is hard to come
by and not often seen at auction. Frans Oerder is represented by
two stunning still life’s, Lot 264, ‘Waterlilies in a jar’ (R 200 000
– 300 000) and Lot 265, ‘Still - life of chrysanthemums and a kon-
foor’ (R 300 000 – 500 000). Two somewhat later works by Mag-
gie Laubser can be seen in Lot 269, ‘Landscape with harvester’
and Lot 270, ‘Figures and houses in a landscape’ (also known as
‘Duck pond’), both with an estimate of R 400 000 – 600 000. A
work full of tranquillity is the secluded landscape by J H Pierneef,
Lot 275, ‘Landscape with river’(R 1 200 000 – 1 600 000). Two
top quality Francois Krige oils in this section deserves mention,
Lot 313, ‘A view of the city bowl’ (R 200 000 – 250 000) and Lot
314, ‘Peach blossoms in vinyard’ (R 350 000 – 450 000), the latter
possibly a view from the artist’s studio.
(R 100 000 – 150 000). An item that might draw a lot of attention,
is Lot 300, an interesting Walter Battiss tapestry, titled ‘Umpun-
dulu birds’ (R 200 000 – 300 000). Another remarkable work is
the diptych carved and incised wood panels by Cecil Skotnes
-these two freestanding panels can be seen in Lot 367, ‘Abstract
composition’ (R 300 000 – 500 000) followed by another bold
carved and incised wood panel in Lot 368, ‘Icon XII’ (R 180 000
– 240 000). Two works of equal vibrancy and colour are Lot 375,
‘Unemployed’ (R 180 000 – 240 000) and Lot 376, ‘Get out!!! ‘
(R 150 000 – 200 000), both by George Pemba.
The evening session comes to an end with works by contemporary
artists like Fred Page, Marlene Dumas, William Kentridge and
Kim Berman. Included in this section is a work donated by Wil-
liam Kentridge - Lot 399, ‘Dancing nose’ (R 30 000 – 50 000)- to
The South African Ballet Theatre. All proceeds received from the
sale of this lot will help ensure the continuation of the SABT.
Exhibition:
Friday 13 August 10h00 – 17h00
Saturday 14 August 10h00 – 14h00
Sunday 15 August 10h00 – 17h00
(Jewellery, Watches & Silver viewing will close half hour prior)
Auction:
Tuesday 17 August 2010
Session 1 | 14h00 | Lots 1 – 250 | Books & Maps | Paintings
Session 2 | 18h30 | Lots 251 – 500 | Paintings & Sculptures
Wednesday 18 August 2010
Session 3 | 10h00 | Lots 501 – 790 | A Piano | Furniture | Clocks |
Carpets & Rugs | Ceramics | Silver
Session 4 | 14h00 | Lots 791 – 933 | Watches | Jewellery
All auction sessions and pre-auction viewings will take place at:-
Stephan Welz & Company
13 Biermann Avenue (cnr Oxford Road)
Rosebank, Johannesburg
For enquiries: 011 880 3125 jhb@swelco.co.za

The cover lot, Lot 296, is a vibrant work from Gregoire Boonza- For further information,
ier’s younger days, ‘Still -life with apples’ (R 60 000 – 90 000) online catalogue and absentee bid forms,
followed by a work by Alexis Preller, Lot 299, ‘Study of a shell’ please visit www.swelco.co.za
PAGE 14
In an era of austerity, reasons to fund the arts Culture
is a social language that we would be dumb without
John Maynard Keynes: The cultured economist, and his wife,
the ballerina Lydia Lopokova
Published in The Art Newspaper. By Robert Hewison
It is 70 years since a British government last had to take the arts
seriously. In December 1939, in a world darkened by war, winter
and blackout, a small group of civil servants and educators met
to discuss the crisis in the arts. Great museums and galleries were
empty, their contents packed off to safety from bombing. The
theatres were shut, orchestras about to disband. The committee
agreed that it was essential “to show publicly and unmistakably
that the Government cares about the cultural life of the country.
This country is supposed to be fighting for civilisation.”
In 1940, with an initial budget of £50,000 (about £2 million in
today’s values) the Council for the Encouragement of Music and
the Arts, mother to today’s Arts Council, was born. The Daily
Express thundered: “What madness is this? There is no such thing
as culture in wartime.”
No one pretends we are back in 1940. Our museums are jammed
with visitors from all over the world. The West End has had its
best year ever. London has too many orchestras. In 1940 there
were civic museums and concert halls outside London, but now
Britain enjoys a cultural infrastructure second to none, thanks to a
National Lottery whose receipts have risen since the recession.
Yet the arts feel under siege. The Department for Culture, Media
and Sport (DCMS) has to cut £88 million from this year’s spend-
ing. Deeper cuts are expected after the comprehensive spending
review in the autumn. No wonder the Arts Council England (ACE)
is desperate for help in making its case. After decades of public
and private initiatives, reports, conference and consultations, we
are still looking for a “rational” argument for funding the arts.
Perfect storm
One rational reason for not decimating cultural funding is that
we are heading into a perfect storm. The strength of the British
cultural economy is its well-balanced mix of private and public
money. In 2008/09 the average earnings profile of an organisation
regularly funded by the ACE was 47% box office, 31% from the
arts council, 12% from local authority sources and other public
funding, and 9% from trusts, foundations, donors and business
sponsorship. National museums and galleries on average manage
on one-third government money, one-third earned income and
one-third fundraising and sponsorship.
This balanced economy gives organisations security to plan, but
they have to be responsive to their public. And now things are
beginning to wobble. Recession reduces disposable incomes, the
assets of trusts and foundations shrink, business sponsorship dwin-
dles, local authorities have to cut back, and the Treasury demands
savings from the DCMS. Rationally, the resource with the longest
purse—the government—should not withdraw support when oth-
ers begin to fail.
But this is a short-term argument. There needs to be a case that
stands up in good times or bad. Since the 1980s we have become
used to hearing about the economic importance of the arts: they
create employment, stimulate expenditure, attract tourists. Con-
sultants have become adept at showing that a cultural facility has
a “multiplier effect”: the money spent on it spreads its sweetness
and light far out into the local economy. In the 1990s the “creative
industries” were invented, a benign penumbra of business activi-
ties such as advertising that use cultural means to achieve com-
mercial ends. The DCMS claims that the field of its responsibili-
ties (including sport) accounts for 10% of gross domestic product.
INTERNATIONAL ART NEWS
There is no doubt that the arts have economic effects. Cultural
investment is an important driver of urban regeneration. Glas-
gow’s year as European capital of culture in 1990, and Liverpool’s
in 2008, are headline examples. But the Treasury doesn’t buy it.
They can see through the “multiplier” calculations of the cultural
boosters. They understand the meaning of “opportunity cost”. The
money spent on artistic steel and glass could have been spent on
an arms factory—and created more employment.
It was to compensate for the increasingly threadbare nature of the
economic argument that in the 1990s a second line of advocacy
was developed. It too is essentially instrumental, except that this
time the benefits of arts funding are social. The New Labour
government liked this argument, and directed that the arts council
should use the arts “to combat social exclusion and support com-
munity developments”. The ACE found itself having to meet
targets for health, education, employment and the reduction of
crime—not truth, beauty or a sense of the sublime.
No one would deny that arts participation brings benefits. But they
are even harder to prove to the number crunchers at the Treas-
ury. It is difficult to demonstrate a value-chain between art and
social enhancement, and difficult to measure the social enhance-
ment itself. Ministers for culture became embarrassed by this,
and in 2008 commissioned Brian McMaster’s report, Supporting
Excellence in the Arts: From Measurement to Judgement, which
was intended to signal a move away from targets. Unfortunately
“excellence” is a concept without content. It may be judged in
relative terms, but it does not lend itself to the Treasury’s idea of
measurement.
To convince the public, and not just the government, an argument
has to be made that shows that the arts are worth funding, in and
for themselves. That calls for a more sophisticated form of cultural
economics than is currently recognised at the Treasury. There is
a market for culture, but culture does not depend on the market
for its existence. The experiences the arts offer—pleasure, terror,
insight, knowledge, release—are individual and hard to quantify,
and these intrinsic aspects come before any attempt to translate
them into economic terms.
To use the language of the 18th-century economist Adam Smith,
the value of the arts “in use” precedes their value “in exchange”.
Once something is deemed desirable, the market can indeed
establish its commercial price. But although the market can trade
in the products of culture, it cannot express the value of culture as
a process, or what it does.
A cultural economics that captures the value of the arts has to
understand value in use, and that involves broader ways of under-
standing ourselves and our world, for instance, anthropology and
environmentalism. The value in use of the arts is that they help a
society make sense of itself. They generate the symbols and rituals
that create a common identity—that is why art and religion are so
closely linked. Like religion, the arts give access to the spiritual.
Art is a link to previous generations, and anchors us to history.
Culture is a social language that we would be dumb without.
These anthropological arguments show why the government, as
guarantor of the public realm, should take responsibility for ensur-
ing that everyone has access to this language, and that it is both
preserved and developed. For, as the environmentalists argue, it
is necessary to intervene when a resource is at risk. The precau-
tionary principle tells us we have a duty to future generations
to ensure that our cultural assets are passed on to them. We also
have a selfish interest in sustaining the richness and diversity of
those assets. Creativity occurs through the interaction of different
forms—life forms, or art forms.
When the market fails
Culture creates social capital, expressed as trust generated by a
shared understanding of the symbols that the arts generate, and a
commitment to the values they represent. It sustains the legiti-
macy of social institutions by ensuring that they are accepted, not
imposed. Societies with an equitable distribution of cultural assets
will be more cohesive, and more creative. Wellbeing, which is the
true end of economic activity, depends on the quality of life that
culture sustains. The word “culture”, after all, means “growth”.
Social capital—like economic capital—requires both regulation
and investment. That the educated and well-off have greater ac-
cess to the arts is not an argument for abandoning intervention to
secure a more equitable distribution of cultural experience. Ration-
ally, the government should be putting more funding into the
arts because of the social capital they generate. There is a sound
economic argument that when the market fails to provide certain
kinds of goods thought useful, then it is necessary to intervene—
health and education are the usual examples. The economics of
the arts are particularly prone to market failure, for it is not easy
to make the advances in productivity that technology facilitates
in manufacturing. A symphony played on a synthesiser is not an
BUSINESSART | AUGUST 2010
efficiency gain.
It seems particularly ironic, then, that the creator and first
chairman of the post-war Arts Council was the economist John
Maynard Keynes. He believed that in a recession, governments
should stimulate the economy. He also understood the use value of
the arts. The decision taken in 1940 that led to long-term funding
of the arts was not taken on economic grounds, or for reasons of
health, social inclusion or the prevention of crime. But it was a ra-
tional decision, based on a rational argument: that we are supposed
to be fighting for civilisation.
The writer is professor of cultural policy and leadership studies
at City University London
Vatican prepares to open
room devoted to Matisse
Museum to show large-scale drawings for works in the Chapel of
the Rosary in Vence, on public display for the first time
Published in The Art Newspaper
By Francesca Romana Morelli and Gareth Harris
Rome. The Vatican Museums in Rome are set to open a room
devoted to the works of Matisse later this year. The move is de-
signed to further boost the profile of its modern and contemporary
religious art department. Large-scale preparatory sketches by the
French artist, relating to items adorning the Chapel of the Rosary
in Vence on the Cote d’Azur, will go on public display for the first
time. The works were donated to the Vatican by the artist’s son
Pierre in 1980.
From 1948 to 1951, Matisse created Stations of the Cross, wall
decorations, furniture, stained-glass windows, even the vestments
and altarcloths, for the Dominican chapel in Vence. Three large-
scale drawings, all more than five metres high and drawn to scale,
form the basis for the Tree of Life stained glass behind the altar
and the Virgin and Child depiction created on ceramic panels in
the chapel’s presbytery. The works are currently in conservation,
as glue used to attach backing panels pre-1980 has seeped through
to the surface of the drawings.
Five silk chasubles (the outer vestments worn by clergy during
Mass) in a variety of colours, and a belltower bronze cross, all
made by Matisse, will also go on view at the Vatican in a display
costing E350,000. A stone Madonna sculpture by Lucio Fontana
(1956), which is too heavy to move, will remain in the same room.
Micol Forti, director of the Vatican Museums’ modern and con-
temporary art department, says that lighting the Matisse objects
has been an issue: “The 16th-century room where the sketches
will be on show has no windows. This could not be more different
from the Chapel of the Rosary, which is flooded with dazzling
sunlight. I eventually opted for lighting that will combine with the
style and colour of the works to evoke a solar explosion.”
Forti also revealed the challenges behind showing modern and
contemporary art at the Vatican: “I’m trying to show the new
‘face’ of the department that was launched in 1973. The collection
has since been enriched with other gifts and acquisitions that make
it strong in works of the 1960s. Chagall, Gauguin, Leger, Ernst,
Nolde and Bacon are among the artists represented. Unfortunately,
we are not always able to acquire art so I decided to make the
conservation and development of our artistic heritage a priority.”
She hopes to establish a new research centre that will strengthen
the “relationship with contemporary art”. The Vatican is also
building an archive of works donated by artists of the 19th and
20th centuries, made up of pieces by Cesare Fracassini and the
Futurist artist Bruno Corra.
The Vatican plans to launch a pavilion at the Venice Biennale in
2011, while its first contemporary art commission under Pope
Benedict XVI was awarded to Claudio Parmiggiani in 2007.
 BUSINESSART | AUGUST 2010
Caravaggio: how he influenced my art
From Martin Scorsese to Peter Doig, film-makers, photographers and artists
explain how Caravaggio’s prophetically cinematic paintings inspired them
By Imogen Carter
Published in The Observer
David LaChapelle – Photographer and film director
Caravaggio is often called the most modern of the old masters
– there’s a newness, a contemporary feel to his work that paint-
ing prior to him just didn’t have. It’s like when [fashion designer
Alexander] McQueen came on the scene, everything else [in the
fashion world] suddenly looked old. Caravaggio used light like a
photographer and his pictures are cropped like photographs. One
that sticks in my mind is Boy Bitten By a Lizard. That’s a beauti-
ful example of the one-source light that we identify Caravaggio
with, that he pioneered, but it’s also a wonderful captured moment,
this boy’s sort of feminine reaction to the lizard’s bite. It’s a
photograph before photography.
The flower in the boy’s hair and the blouse coming off his
shoulders I think signify that the boy is a male prostitute. But in
no sense does Caravaggio judge the boy. He didn’t strive to paint
the court and the aristocracy – he was painting the courtesans and
the street people, the hookers and the hustlers. That’s who he felt
comfortable with, empathised with. Back then that was considered
blasphemous but actually that’s where Jesus pulled his disciples
from – the street people and the marginalised. That’s why in [my
photography series] Jesus Is My Homeboy I had people from the
street dressed in modern clothing, in modern settings, with Christ,
because that’s who Jesus would be with if there was a second
coming.
It’s through one of my contemporary art heroes, Derek Jarman,
that I got really turned on to the artist. I’m really good friends with
John Maybury whose mentor was Jarman and when Jarman’s film
Caravaggio came out in the 80s I was living in London. It had a
really big impact on me, I wanted to learn more about Caravaggio,
I just loved his aesthetic. While Michelangelo was aspirational,
using bodies at the height of perfection, Caravaggio was much
more of a realist. The kind of beauty he depicts isn’t in any sense
what we see traditionally in painting of that time. He always found
beauty in the unexpected, the ordinary – in the street urchin’s face,
the broken nose, and the heavy brow. That’s why Caravaggio is
a very sympathetic figure to me. I too try to find the beauty in
everyone that I photograph, whether it’s the kids in South Central
LA who invented the new dance form I documented in Rize, or the
transsexual Amanda Lepore who I’ve photographed a lot. People
think she is freakish but I don’t – I love her.
Today, if you took a photograph with the type of bodies
Michelangelo used it would look like a [Calvin Klein] Obsession
advert, whereas Caravaggio depicted the elderly, the imperfect,
even death. You never turn your head away from a Caravaggio
piece no matter how brutal it is because there’s such a balance
of horror, of unsightly bodies and violent scenes, with such great
beauty.
Martin Scorsese – Film-maker
I was instantly taken by the power of [Caravaggio’s] pictures.
Initially I related to them because of the moment that he chose to
illuminate in the story. The Conversion of St Paul, Judith Behead-
ing Holofernes: he was choosing a moment that was not the ab-
solute moment of the beginning of the action. You come upon the
scene midway and you’re immersed in it. It was different from the
composition of the paintings that preceded it. It was like modern
staging in film: it was so powerful and direct. He would have been
a great film-maker, there’s no doubt about it. I thought, I can use
this too...
So then he was there. He sort of pervaded the entirety of the bar
sequences in Mean Streets. He was there in the way I wanted the
camera movement, the choice of how to stage a scene. It’s basi-
cally people sitting in bars, people at tables, people getting up. The
Calling of St Matthew, but in New York! Making films with street
people was what it was really about, like he made paintings with
them. Then that extended into a much later film, The Last Tempta-
tion of Christ. The idea was to do Jesus like Caravaggio.
Taken from Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane by Andrew
Graham-Dixon (Allen Lane). Read our review of this book
INTERNATIONAL ART NEWS
Peter Doig – Painter
It’s always a challenge for a contemporary artist to be of their time
but when you look at Caravaggio’s paintings you can really im-
agine the context, because he used ordinary people and everyday
clothes. The paintings feel very real. Edward Hopper, for instance,
did the same. He was very aware of what people looked like in his
time, what people were wearing. Equally Caravaggio’s paintings
were obviously very brave when they were made and they con-
tinue to be viewed with that spirit, and that’s what’s so exciting.
The paintings are quite sinister – they have an air of menace, and
they’re obviously very sexual.
I first saw his work at the Royal Academy’s Painting in Naples
exhibition in the early 80s. I was in my early 20s then and I’d been
aware of his work before but I’d not really paid it much attention.
I found them immediately accessible, and quite different from
other Renaissance paintings.
Sometimes the paintings actually don’t seem quite right. I’m not
talking about the straight portraits, but works like The Seven Acts
of Mercy, where it looks as though he’s looked at seven different
incidents and then pieced together a picture out of these incidents.
So there’s no kind of logic to it in a realist way – it’s not pretend-
ing to be a scene that you would actually see. In it two grown-up
cherubs seem to be flying sideways. Initially you wonder what
they’re doing there because they seem very awkward. But when
you twist your head you see they’re obviously having sex. It’s
quite an extraordinary piece of painting in its own right within
the full painting. I was quite excited and very surprised when I
first saw that. It seemed very radical. I remember thinking that he
must’ve enjoyed himself when he was making his work.
Detail from Boy Bitten by a Lizard, c.1592-3 by Caravaggio.
Photograph: Longhi Collection, Florence, Italy/The Bridgeman Art Library
Polly Morgan – Taxidermist and artist
What I can see in a Caravaggio painting is as important as what is
hidden. I might painstakingly spend months making something,
only to light it in such a way that large parts of it are in shadow.
Shadows need light to exist and what I love about Caravag-
gio’s paintings are that the less he reveals, the more tactile and
sculptural his figures become. I could compare it to pornography;
show everything and it doesn’t work, allude to something and it’s
compelling.
In Sleeping Cupid, there is a weight to Cupid’s body that is absent
in most depictions of him mid-flight. Here he looks spent. When I
made my work To Every Seed his own Body, a blue tit collapsed
on a miniature prayer book, I wanted to convey a sense of heavi-
ness and fatigue through it’s posture.
Caravaggio’s elevation of the mundane and degenerate is what
Page 15
makes him unique for his time. He succeeds in bringing beauty
to subjects that are commonly dismissed. This is something I’ve
attempted in works where I’ve taken creatures that are typically
considered vermin and shaped them in appealing ways. To have
your take on beauty challenged is reinvigorating.
Polly Morgan’s latest show, Psychopomps, is at Haunch of
Venison, London W1, until 25 September.
Isaac Julien – Artist and film-maker
When I first saw Caravaggio’s paintings in Rome I remember hav-
ing what people call an art sickness. I was so in awe of the work,
its aura and mastery – it was like a rapture. Bacon’s works have
this same kind of aura but it seems to be something that’s missing
a bit from contemporary art, which has other aims, other questions
to pose.
I’ve always been interested in the use of lighting in Caravaggio’s
work. In the 80s I assistant-directed a film called Dreaming Rivers
which we lit entirely by candlelight, a specific reference to Car-
avaggio’s lighting. I even went with the cinematographer to look
at some Caravaggios. I’m struck by the way his paintings use the
architecture of light, its plasticity, how it forms the body, and I’ve
borrowed that in several of my works. These things have been so
astutely articulated in Caravaggio’s works that they’re almost, in a
prophetic sense, cinematic. Making my documentary about Derek
Jarman with Tilda Swinton I also saw this deliberate relationship
[to Caravaggio’s work] being made in Jarman’s films, where basi-
cally there’s an abandoning of sets as such. Instead he works with
light and dark.
One work I find striking is The Denial of St Peter. It’s a very
troubling scene with such accusatory positioning. It’s really about
how things are communicated through the intensity of the gazes.
But it’s also the portions, the framing, the lighting, the colour, all
of those aspects of communicating this particular moment. It’s so
cinematic.
Tom Hunter – Photographer and artist
For me, Caravaggio set the stage for what every contemporary
artist seems to be striving for – to live an authentic life and then to
talk about, to depict, that experience. Take Tracey Emin, sewing
the names of everyone she slept with in a tent, or photographers
like Nan Goldin and Sally Mann – their work is all about their
own lives. You initially think all of Caravaggio’s paintings are
about God and religion but they’re not, they’re actually about his
life and the times around him. They are living histories – that’s
why his work is so powerful for me.
There’s a Caravaggio painting at the National Gallery called The
Beheading of St John the Baptist, which I’ve returned to again and
again. In it John the Baptist is on the floor; he has just been killed
and Caravaggio gets the atmosphere totally right. Caravaggio was
involved in a sword fight, and he actually killed someone: that’s
what seems to be recreated here, and that’s why the morbid gravi-
tas of that situation really comes out of the painting.
Caravaggio is like the opposite of the rich and famous fashion
photographer of today, who would only be photographing Kate
Moss. He was one of the first people to look at the ordinary people
and tell their stories and that was really inspiring for me. In my
series Living in Hell and Other Stories [shown at the National Gal-
lery, 2005-2006] I wanted to talk about the everyday life around
Hackney. I found a headline in the local paper about a woman be-
ing attacked in front of her children outside her council flat, which
I depicted in Halloween Horror, a translation of Caravaggio’s The
Beheading of St John the Baptist. I wanted to record that horrific
scene so it wasn’t just a disposable headline, so that people would
look at it and think, “My god, this isn’t ordinary – a woman being
mugged on her doorstep, in one of the richest cities in the world,
in this day and age.”
Of course the way he used light has also been an influence on me.
The whole thing about photography is the painting of light – when
I was taught photography I was told, “You shouldn’t leave that
bit too black because there’s no detail there, you shouldn’t have
that bit too bright...”, that sort of thing. But in Caravaggio’s work
there are amazing light contrasts and your imagination is left to
explore the dark areas. His lighting has clearly been used in film
too. Take Blade Runner, with its amazingly lit scenes, dark areas
and beams of light through long corridors – that all seems to come
from Caravaggio.
 Irma Stern, Gladioli, Signed and dated 1939, Oil on canvas, 99 by 92,5cm, R5 000 000 – R7 000 000
Irma Stern Still Life poised to break auction records
Following Strauss and Co’s extraordinary success in selling Irma Stern’s Still Life
with Gladioli and Fruit for R7 575 200, another still life with Gladioli by Stern has
come to the market. Painted in 1939, five years after Stern produced the painting
that excited so much heated bidding at the Johannesburg auction on 24 May earlier
this year, this painting with estimates of R5 000 000 to R7 000 000 is sure to rouse
wide interest at Strauss &Co’s 11 October sale at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands.
By 1939 Irma Stern had garnered international recognition and local notoriety for
her remarkable paintings. She had enjoyed the success of several solo shows and
exhibited with a number of Europe’s leading Modernist artists, won the prestig-
ious Prix d’Honneur at the Bordeaux International Exhibition (1927) and travelled
widely on the African continent to places such as Dakar and Zanzibar.
This painting exemplifies the work of Irma Stern at the height of her powers. All
the elements are rendered with sure draughtsmanship and confident paint applica-
tion. Still life painting was one of the artist’s favourite genres, not least because it
offered her the opportunity to experiment with the medium of paint without being
tied down to mimesis as in a genre like portraiture.
Here the flowers appear to burst beyond the confines of the canvas. The pliable
leaves and the large soft petals painted with thick, impasto textures that catch and
reflect the light, contrast with hard ceramic surfaces. The orange Hubbard squash,
STRAUSS & CO NEXT SALE, CAPE TOWN
the bunch of grapes and the pomegranate spread across the red table, add richness
and depth of colour and become pivotal points in the balanced composition. Softer
colours seduce the eye while unexpected colour groupings create visual excitement
in a symphony of subtle and complementary colour combinations. Interestingly, the
Gladiolus genus was indigenous to the Cape and not found in Europe before 1700.
As a result of growing interest in Cape bulbs during the late eighteenth century,
foreign travellers took examples of the delicate Cape Gladioli back to Europe and
bred them into the large hybridised blooms that became very fashionable and are
now seeing a return in popularity.
The vase may well have been a locally made pot but the bowl laden with fruit is
quite possibly one of the celadon dishes which Stern is thought to have acquired in
Zanzibar. The oriental stoneware would probably have come to Turkey overland
via the Silk Road or by sea via the Spice Route and then been traded down the east
coast of Africa. Made in China around the early fifteenth century, this bowl is typi-
cal of the Sung Dynasty monochrome wares, when form was favoured in contrast
to the highly decorated Ming Dynasty porcelain. Its generous shape and luscious
grey-green glaze are the perfect complement for the warm tones of the fruit.
Stern’s love of flowers is given free rein in this unusually large canvas. The result
is a celebration of so much that she loved – fresh flowers, ripe fruits and vegetables
and favourite ceramics, brought together under her astute but loving gaze.
See: www.straussart.co.za for more details