Norman Catherine, Requiem, 1994. Oilstick on paper. 130 x 112 cm. Private Collection

The Standard Bank Gallery exhibition, curated by Marion Dixon, seeks to bring home just how fragile and tenuous life on earth would be without sustainable water resources.

Thread of Life”]Water, the [Delicate} Thread of Life. Foreground: Karel Nel, Reflective Field, 2011. View of Water, the [Delicate

Penny Siopis, Still Waters, 2009, Ink and Glue on Canvas, 200 x 300 cm. Collection: Standard Bank Corporate Collection.

Deborah Bell, Crossing, 2005-9, Collection Goodman Gallery and Artist, foreground, with view of exhibition space

The exhibition comprises work by a host of artists, such as Deborah Bell, Penny Siopis, Simon Max Bannister, Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi, Jackson Hlungwani, Walter Oltmann, Norman Catherine, William Kentridge, Georgia Papageorge, Simon Max Bannister, Thomas Mulcaire, Alan Crump, David Goldblatt, Andrew Verster, Noria Mabasa, Strijdom van der Merwe, Moshekwa Langa, Marcus Neustetter and Durant Sihlali. Through their artworks, the exhibition traces water’s role on earth, from sustaining life and fuelling economies to its presence in belief systems, religions and rituals.

Threat of Life”]Water, the [Delicate] Thread of Life exhibition space

View of Water, The [Delicate

Nel’s site-specific installation, Reflective Field (2011), explores the liminal space between knowing and not knowing, the inexplicable realm symbolised in his work by reflections of water against the gallery ceiling in what the artist describes as a “scientific exploration of divination”.

Divination Bowls and Ngoma/Drum, Venda, Artist Unrecorded, Wits Art Museum

Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi, Untitled, 1999−2001. Oil on canvas. 203 x 101 cm. Private Collection

Water as a vehicle for metaphors is a recurring theme in the work of Deborah Bell, while Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi and Jackson Hlungwani conflate cultural, traditional and religious references to water.

Walter Oltmann, Coelacanth, 2010, Linocut, 180 x 85 cm. Collection: Standard Bank Corporate Collection.

Another topic is the mythical evolutionary transitional state between fish and land animal, represented by Walter Oltmann’s mythical Coelacanth (2010). He has inventively given his coelacanth subtle human elements, such as a human eye and foot.

Noria Mabasa, Carnage II, 1988 (foreground)

Conversely, Norman Catherine’s Requiem (1994) features a disproportionately huge male figure with hybrid-like fish teeth looming large over a catfish held in his arms. Standing in red waters, the man dominates both the landscape and the natural environment, seemingly to his own detriment.

William Kentridge, Drawing from Stereoscope, Soho in Flooding Room, 1999

William Kentridge’s video of animated charcoal drawings creates a confluence of activity on the beach in Tide Table (2003). With each wave that laps ashore he exquisitely rolls out layer after layer of social, political, economic, ecological and philosophical comment. Paul Stopforth’s Bather I (1986) adds a political twist to the prevalent theme of bathing found in the art historical canon with his depiction of a man’s sunburnt face barely keeping his head afloat above the political sea of oppression in the South Africa of the 1980s.

Paul Stopforth, Bather I, 1986, Oil and Beeswax on Board, 69, x 98,5 cm. Collection Wits Museusm

Two other important themes with which the exhibition engages are the dramatic effect of global warming as a result of unsustainable human practices, and the tide of plastic debris that is choking our oceans. In regard to the former, Georgia Papageorge’s persuasive dual projection video installation, Kilimanjaro/Coldfire(2010), captures both deforestation practices and melting ice in tropical zones.

Georgia Papageorge, Kilimanjaro, Coldfire, 2010

Georgia Papageorge, Kilimanjaro, Coldfire, 2010

Simon Max Bannister’s Return (2010), from his Plastikos series, draws attention to the vast swirls of plastic polluting our oceans.

Simon Max Bannister, Return, 2010 (from the series Plastikos), Reclaimed Polyethylene, 187 x 187 x 10. Collection Artist

Water and memory are encapsulated in Thomas Mulcaire’s video Study for Solaris (2007), showing water in different stages of flux encountered on his journeys to the Antarctic.

The rich history of watercolour painting is exemplified in the exhibition by the work of Alan Crump. In his watercolour Mine Landscape (1993), Crump shows the once distinctive and familiar landmark dumps that dominated the Johannesburg skyline together with slime dams, the catchment pools for mine waste.

Alan Crump, Mine Dump and Slime Pool, 1992, and Eroded Mine, 1993.

The grim and harsh consequences of mining is also explored in David Goldblatt’s hard-hitting photograph of a small group of men, young and old, bathing in a highly toxic asbestos mine shaft.

Other themes covered in ‘Water, the [Delicate] Thread of Life’ include the shocking devastation caused by floods (Andrew Verster and Noria Mabasa); drought conditions and severe water shortages in South Africa (Strijdom van der Merwe); the consequences of drought and thoughtless human intervention when it comes to water, particularly as it affects the poor (Moshekwa Langa); and the humanitarian consequences of water-related disasters (Marcus Neustetter and Durant Sihlali).

View of exhibition (from right), Strijdom van der Merwe, Drawing Water Ripples with Black Sand in the Karoo, Noria Mabasa, Carnage II (Natal Flood Disaster) , 1988; Andrew Verster, Flood I, 1989, Marcus Neustetter, And Yet it Revolves - Galileo Galilei, 2011.

Cyril Coetzee, Human River, 2011, Pastel on Canvas, 102 x 532cm. Collection: The Artist

With his installation, The Water Vortex, Sculpture of Human Form, Cyril Coetzee explores the biomorphic properties of water by means of the illustrations of renowned theorists and, in addition, he has produced a series of drawings titled Human River (2011).

The Water Vortex: Sculptor of Living Forms

The Water Vortex: Sculptor of Living Forms

Coetzee also includes a range of biological, plant and geological specimens which reflect the morphology of water. He has had a long-time interest in water as a ‘sculptor’ of form, and how the gestures of moving water create flow patterns that are found in the human body, in the natural world, and in art and design.

The Water Vortex: Sculptor of Living Forms

Walter Oltmann’s specially created, Shell (2011) exemplifies an archetypal form, both in the shape of the object and by means of his method of wire weaving.

Walter Oltmann, Shell, 2011, Aluminium Wire

The artworks on exhibition show how water touches every facet of our lives. However, life on earth is threatened by the unsustainable use and abuse of limited clean water resources.

David Goldblatt, While Fernando augusto Luta washes his Clothes, Augusto Mokinda (13)m Ze Jono (12) and Ze Ndala (10), pose for a Photograph in Water that has risen from Underground in an old abandoned Mineshaft at Pomfret Asbestos Mine, 25 December 2002

In general, the message of ‘Water, the [Delicate] Thread of Life’ is that it may not be too late to adopt a new approach towards water, a vital, fragile and miraculous substance. With creative interventions and a collective commitment to preserve and nurture our natural environment there can be a promise of new beginnings.

The exhibition is curated by Marion Dixon, a freelance art curator and author, and is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with essays by Marion Dixon, Nessa Leibhammer, Cyril Coetzee and Caroline Crump.

Exhibition: Water, the [Delicate] Thread of Life

Venue: Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

Dates: 27 July – 1 October 2011

Karim Rashid's Love Seat designed for Veuve Clicquot's Yellow By Design exhibition. It is a contemporary reinterpretation of an 18th century love seat of the French 'art de vivre' era combined with characteristics of the Maison of Veuve Clicquot. Its rose colour seats with a Clicquot Yellow ice bucket and its feminine curves offer a fresh take on tradition (Photograph Veuve Clicquot).

Strictly speaking a heavily branded design exhibition does not qualify for my Marvellous Art Musings . My excuse for covering Veuve Clicquot’s Yellow by Design show is that I found myself under the spell of a  lovely Sunday morning spent in the company of good friends exploring all the delights of Arts on Main, Johannesburg, earlier this year.

At the Veuve Clicquot, Yellow By Design exhibition Tsai Design Studio's Signature Chair (photograph MAMs)

At the time of the exhibition I was also still bubbling over with admiration for the widow Clicquot, having just finished reading her remarkable story. And, if I were still in two minds, the beautiful visuals delivered to me by the organisers settled the matter for once and for all. So I will give you a little peek into some of the designs inspired by the famous brand.

Christina Bryer's Pop & Toast offers champagne lovers an indulgent celebratory moment (photograph Veuve Clicquot)

The production of marketable champagne was invented and perfected by the extraordinary Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin who not only created a champagne empire, but ruled it for the best part of the nineteenth century.

This striking piece by Gregor Jenkin, Inertia, is completely modern in its aesthetic but designed in homage to Madame Clicquot’s riddling table. Inertia features a retractable arm which cradles a contemporary champagne cooler (Photograph MAMs)

I will never forget my first sip of vintage champagne at a very dear and discerning friend’s home, someone who has now sadly left this world. I cannot recall the brand, but I savor the memory of the delightful ritual of examining the label, gently freeing the cork, pouring just the right quantity of chilled golden nectar into beautiful crystal tulip glasses, holding the flute to the light before that first delicious sip.

Karim Rashid's Love Seat (photograph Veuve Clicquot)

Nor will I forget some years ago an occasion that called for champagne. At least we thought so. We were young, we were hard working and successful and felt as though the world was at our feet. We were three business women buoyed by a recent triumph and we were ordering real champagne in a trendy Johannesburg bistro with unselfconscious aplomb. Those were heady days for us, the super efficient, talented two-woman graphic design team running their own business and me, the corporate client.

The champagne we chose was that delicately effervescent one created and made famous by the widow Clicquot. As the cork sighed out of the bottle the metal cap resembling a cameo slipped on to the white linen table cloth. And there she was, the sturdy looking woman with delicate skin and firm jaw. There is a just hint of a glint in her unwavering wise gaze as she sits solemnly dressed in her widow’s black garb softened by a wispy white scarf. Without any knowledge of her story, I knew at once that we were in the presence of greatness and proposed a toast to this woman of obvious substance, a role model for women all over the world, the Veuve Clicquot.

The widow Clicquot has never slipped off her pedestal in my estimation – and even though I am a great fan of local sparkling wine, I have continued to savor the thrill of celebrating a very special occasion with the crisp sparkling liquid, gently tickling the taste buds. I have also been known to ‘throw a frothy’ when the widow’s legacy is recklessly mixed with orange juice. Such sacrilege I will not permit.

Christina Bryer's Pop & Toast in front of Tom Dixon's lamp (photograph MAMs)

Not so long ago I was delighted to find a book beckoning me with its very distinctive yellow cover on the stands of my favourite book store. I immediately snatched up a copy of The Widow Clicquot, by Tilar J. Mazzeo, published in 2009 by Harper Perennial in the USA. I could barely wait to enter the world of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, the woman who created one of the most distinctive and enduring brands in the world. In spite of being repetitive at times the book did not disappoint.  It tells in great detail the story of an empire and records the truly extraordinary life of the woman at the helm of the champagne industry for most of her long life.

Predictably as a woman in business very little information about her was preserved, but her ledgers and business records have survived. This lack of personal information makes it all the more remarkable that Mazzeo managed to cobble together such a comprehensive narrative. This was accomplished by painstakingly piecing together research of the champagne trade, the family history and recollections of the widow’s descendants.

In spite of having been born into an influential family of textile producers in the Champagne region of France, the young woman set her sights on growing the neglected wine producing branch of the family business.  Together with her husband, Francois Clicquot, they faced numerous setbacks and then, sadly, he fell ill and died, leaving the barely thirty year old Barbe-Nicole with a young daughter and a business to run.

More determined than ever the widow embarked on a brave and daring business adventure. Through wars and revolutions, often on the brink of ruin, she persevered. With a good nose for business (and champagne!), considerable capital at her disposal, good advisers and loyal employees she managed to stay one step ahead of her competitors. In the process she created one of the most powerful and recognisable brands in the world today.

David and Marsja Hall Green relax in Karim Rashid's Love Seat at the Yellow by Design exhibition at Arts on Main, Johannesburg (photograph MAMs)

How often do we wish that we can recapture a special moment and relive it at a later date? Well, thanks to the strong willed widow we can again experience something of those magic and exquisite moments, be it a romantic, shared with friends and family, a celebration or remembering a moment of unbridled confidence and exuberance in ones youth.

And that is why when I received an invitation to view designs commissioned to promote the famous brand, I could not resist the temptation and made my way to downtown Johannesburg to view the Veuve Clicquot’s Yellow by Design exhibition art Arts on Main.

Strategically placed designs in the spacious gallery showed works commissioned to build on the famous brand and to promote the product. The Johannesburg exhibition also featured the work of leading South African designers such as Inertia by Gregor Jenkin, Pop & Toast by Christina Bryer, Yellow Light by Heath Nash, and Signature Chair By Tsai Design Studio.

Designers showing their work at Arts on Main in Johannesburg at the Veuve Clicquot Yellow By Design exhibition included South Africans Gregor Jenkin, Christina Bryer, Heath Nash and Tsai of Tsai Design Studio (photograph Veuve Clicquot).

The champagne producer has in recent years collaborated with a number of world-renowned international artists such as Karim Rashid, Andrѐe Putman, Tom Dixon, 5.5 Designers and Front Design.

The widow’s iconic brand would seem to keep very good company. Salut!

Maria Magdalena Campos, Dreaming of an Island, 2008, Polaroid 20” x 24”, Polacolor #7 Composition of 9 Polaroid’s 70, 5 x 62 cm (each piece) 215 x 188 cm (overall size) Edition 1/2 (photograph Johannesburg Art Gallery JAG - WITHOUT MASKS )

How fortuitous that the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) was able to unmask a collection of Afro-Cuban art at an exhibition coinciding with South Africa’s hosting of the soccer World Cup – and the spotlight falling on Africa.

Curator, Orlando Hermandez, has dished up a veritable feast of artworks representing a cross-section of Afro-Cuban artists from the internationally renowned to street artists. The exhibition features 26 artists showing a total of 79 works. Without Masks opens a window into the lives and struggles of Cubans of African descent, largely the descendants of slaves.

Ibrahim Miranda, Los Novios (The Bridal Couple), 2004, Woodcut on paper 98 x 101 cm (Photograph Johannesburg Art Gallery JAG - WITHOUT MASKS)

Maria Magdalena Campos, a descendant of Nigerian Slaves, creates a sense of great longing  in Dreaming of an Island. Yet her dreams cannot escape the threads of hair that define her race or the nets of centuries of enslavement, or the consequences modern day human trafficking.

Carlos Garaicoa Abstracciones (Abstractions), 1997 - 2000, Color photograph 124 x 100 cm 1/3 Edition (photograph Johannesburg Art Gallery JAG - WITHOUT MASKS)

Another interesting aspect of the exhibition shows artists reflecting on the Angolan war of the 1970s and 80s in which South African forces fought Cuban soldiers.

Belkis Ayón Manso,Perfidia (Perfidy), 1998, Collography on heavy paper 200 x 2520 cm (photograph Johannesburg Art Gallery JAG - WITHOUT MASKS)

Underlying almost all of the works on show is artists’ striving to come to grips with race, identity, religion, superstition and sacrifice in a multi-cultural society rooted in slavery, colonialism, revolution, socialism and war.

Yoan Capote, El Beso (The Kiss), 1999, Installation. Bronze with different patina, perfume essence and sponge 7.5 x 4 x 4.5 cm (each piece) (Photograph Johannesburg Art Gallery JAG - WITHOUT MASKS)

Markers of race such as skin, hair and the shape of a nose are to a large degree interrogated in terms of identity and the stereotyping of individuals.  An overriding message is that human beings are fundamentally the same, irrespective of origins, colour and class.

The exhibition does not lack a good dose of satire and humour such as Elio Rodríguez', Gone with the Macho (from The Pearls of Your Mouth series), 1996, Screen print on paper 70 x 48,5 cm (Photograph Johannesburg Art Gallery JAG - WITHOUT MASKS).

The exhibition features artworks collected by former South African businessman, Chris von Christierson, now resident in London who was introduced to Afro-Cuban art by Orlando Hermandez, in 2007.

Alexis Esquivel, Árbol Genealógico (Genealogical Tree), 2008, Acrylic on canvas 195 x 145,5 cm (Photograph Johannesburg Art Gallery JAG - WITHOUT MASKS)

Joana Vasconcelos, Red Independent Heart, 2005, site specific installation, Melrose Arch, Johannesburg (photograph MAMs)

An unexpected delight during the soccer mania was the arrival on our shores of one of Portugal’s most influential artists, Joana Vasconcelos, together with the marvellous revolving Red Independent Heart, 2005, a site specific installation at Melrose Arch, Johannesburg.

Vasconcelos was brought to this country by the Portuguese Consulate General and Jozi Art: Lab as part of a Portuguese cultural programme to coincide with the football event.

Joana Vasconcelos, Red Independent Heart, detail (photograph MAMs)

Set to the music of the traditional Fado, Vasconcelos has exquisitely incorporated plastic cutlery In Red Independent Heart. The knives, forks and spoons symbolise the tradition of eating to celebrate cultural events. She meticulously makes use of the technique of filigree, once a much valued and delicate craft to make jewellery, as she fuses together the traditional heart shape often found in embroidery and other cultural items crafted by women.

Vasconcelos’ work provides a new perspective on the status of women, class consciousness and national identity. Many of her large scale works incorporate textiles, lace and other found objects. Much of her work revolves around preserving cultural traditions by painstakingly reconceptualising and recontextualising cultural symbols and traditions.

This winter in South Africa art events reverberated in a range of venues and art media all over Johannesburg. Artists, galleries and cultural organisations energetically responded to the prospect of the global spotlight falling on Africa and South Africa. Here was an opportunity like no other to showcase art production, to capitalise on the event and for artists to explore the multiple ramifications of this global phenomenon. And what a veritable feast it has been.

But say what you may, art and football make strange bedfellows. So too do Mick Jagger and Bloemfontein where the once hell raiser was spotted in the stands looking more like a banker than a rocker. That’s not to mention the busted then released self seeking airhead hotel heiress making a spectacle of her herself in Port Elizabeth. David Beckham, Bill Clinton, Charlize Theron and a million more from all over the world came to South Africa in pursuit of the thrill and the spills of the game. One may well agree with with the sixties group who sang ‘It’s a strange, strange world we live in Master Jack’ (Four Jacks and a Jill in 1968).

In the next few days I will be examining the good the bad and the downright ugly that I came across as art ventured bravely into the world of sport.

I have already covered in some detail Halakasha and The Eleven Football and Art – South Africa x Brazil 2014.

Diane Victor, 4 Horses Baited, 2009, Etching, digital printing 105 x 200cm (Goodman Gallery)

With the sharpness of a scalpel artist Diane Victor slices through society’s posturing and pretenses to expose the unsettling, the disturbing and the unjust. She approaches each of her drawings, lithographs and etchings with uncompromising intensity and relentlessly explores the human condition.

Victor experiments with different printing techniques and materials and works with smoke, charcoal, ash and stains. She refines and redefines her craft in pursuit of breaking through to the hard-core that underlies all that she interrogates.

Victor’s latest exhibition, Transcend, at the Goodman Gallery, continues the artist’s unremitting commentary on society with powerful new imagery. The artist takes another leap into the unexplored as she traverses physical and spiritual boundaries.

In the Transcend series of drawings, she draws with ash and charcoal dust. The ash of various burnt books yields different shades of grey and black as she traces individual lives seemingly passing through from one world to the next. Victor captures the impermanence of all things with the use of particularly unstable and unpredictable media. There is also reference to the funereal ‘from dust to dust’ biblical proverb – and perhaps even the Turin shroud.

The artist’s long time fascination with horses acquires a potent new symbolism in Rain Horse, 2010, and Inglorious Bastards: The general, death and the devil. In 4 Horses: Baited, 2009, and 4 Horses: Bearer, 2010, Victor throws the viewer off balance with the sheer force of the imagery as she fuses herself crouched into or on to the body of a horse.

Diane Victor, Birth of a Nation, The Rape of Europa - Africa, 2010, Drypoint, 37.2 x 47.4 cm (Goodman Gallery)

In another new series, Birth of a Nation, Victor superimposes a set of classical stories on African and South African themes and landscapes. In her typically confrontational style she ingeniously reframes known tales such as the abduction of Europa, the Zeus, Leda and other legends within a new vernacular with characteristic humour.

Diane Victor, Birth of a Nation - Apollo and Daphne, 2009, Charcoal and sepia wah on paper 100 x 140 cm

The strength of Victor’s work lies in the often chilling nature of her subject matter which she then so deftly transfers on to paper. Victor does not spare herself or her subjects in her quest to unravel layer upon layer of life, death and the often violent in-between.

Transcend showed from 15 April to 22 May at the Goodman Gallery, Parkwood, Johannesburg.

Work in progress: Diane Victor, 4 Horses: Bayard 2010, Etching, embossing, digital printing and drawing 171 x 121 cm, August House (photograph MAMs)

One of the many advantages of being a member of Friends of JAG – Johannesburg Art Gallery – is that art enthusiasts are able to gain unprecedented access to artist studios on visits organised by the gallery.

Diane Victor in her studio in August House, downtown Johannesburg, explaining how she has gone about creating Birth of a Nation Series: Marsyas: Detention, 2010, charcoal and sepia wash on paper, 140 x 95 cm (photograph MAMs)

On a recent visit to August House, a building in downtown Johannesburg converted into artists’ studios, Friends were able to observe first hand Diane Victor in action preparing for her then upcoming exhibition, Transcend, at the Goodman Gallery in Parkwood, Johannesburg.

Diane Victor in her studio demonstrating the volatility of ash derived from burnt books used to create her dust drawings such as Transcend series III, 2010, 151 x 100 cm (photograph MAMs)

Victor explained how her works evolve, how she continuously experiments with different subjects and materials such as ash and charcoal to create ‘dust’ drawings. She also illustrated how she uses a candle to burn images into paper and how she grapples with different digital print and etching techniques to create her large scale art on paper.

Diane Victor in her August House studio with a 'smoke' artwork created from the heat and smoke of a burning candle that 'burns' the image into the paper. Victor has constructed a special structure to hold the paper above her head enabling her to work from below. This is another one of Victor's techniques requiring extraordinary skill and control as the materials are so volatile and unpredictable. (photograph MAMs)

Diane Victor, Transcend exhibition, took place at Goodman Gallery, Parkwood, Johannesburg from 15 April to 22 May 2010.

Alexis Preller. Hieratic Women 1955-57. Oil on canvas 20.8 x 151.3 cm University of the Witwatersrand Art Gallery (Source Standard Bank Gallery)

‘Whatever I am after is contained in an African shape …’ Alexis Preller[1]

Reflecting on Alexis Preller’s extraordinarily visual life with Karel Nel…

More often than not artworks at exhibition openings serve as a backdrop for a social event. The opening of Alexis Preller: Africa, the Sun and Shadows (14 October – 5 December 2009) at the Standard Bank Gallery in downtown Johannesburg was no exception. A larger than usual throng of who’s who in the Johannesburg art world crowded into the bank’s dining hall for drinks, snacks, speeches and to ‘work the room’ before being herded into the exhibition space to get a glimpse of the artwork. It was at this point that my art loving friend and I fought our way out of the gallery and decided to return at a later date to view the art properly.

A week later we joined a walkabout led by Karel Nel, artist and professor in fine art at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS), who curated the exhibition in collaboration with well known art historian, Esmé Berman. Together they also produced the sumptuous two volume monograph of the artist, Berman taking on the bulk of the text with contributions from Nel, while the latter also designed the layout for the publication. It took years of research and preparation to present so comprehensively and splendidly the work, life and influences of Preller (1911 – 1975), one of South Africa’s pre-eminent twentieth century artists. The exhibition was curated to create a visual narrative of the artist’s life and effectively illustrates Preller’s progression as an artist throughout his prodigious career.

Alexis Preller, Gold Primavera, 1967. Oil and gold leaf on wood. 23 x 18 cm. Private Collection (Source Standard Bank Gallery)

The exhibition was an unexpected revelation. I had come across Preller’s work over the years, but was not familiar with the complexity and breadth of his artistic talent and output – what Nel describes as his ‘incandescent body of work’. One can only concur with Nel that the artist’s work has been overshadowed by many of his more famous contemporaries, artists such as Irma Stern, Walter Battiss and JH Pierneef who steal the headlines with record breaking prices for their art at auction in recent years.

Alexis Preller, Woman with a Lyre, 1956. Oil on canvas. 152 x 122 cm. Private Collection (Source Standard Bank Gallery)

As Nel points out, there has been a paucity of information on Alexis Preller since his last major exhibition, The Retrospective Exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum, held in 1972, three years before the artist’s death. At the time of the exhibition, a ten page catalogue was published, made up of an essay written by Berman and illustrated with 20 black and white reproductions of the artist’s work. It was to be the last publication on the artist until now.

Approaching the central circular gallery space at the more recent exhibition, I was struck by the commanding, stylised and heroic paintings in exquisitely nuanced colours that graced the walls. It was as though I had entered into an undiscovered new kingdom inhabited by mythical figures, distinctive, majestic yet firmly grounded in their world. Preller created a universe at once exotic, exhilarating and strange, one born out of his own unique artistic language and imagery that has given visual form to his world.

Alexis Preller, Marathon, 1970. Oil and gesso on canvas. 122 x 137 cm. Gordon Schachat Collection (Source Standard Bank Gallery)

Nel explained how Preller created this universe to make sense of himself as an artist, as an Afrikaner living in Africa, as a white South African and as a homosexual man in the mid twentieth century. It would seem an insurmountable undertaking, but once Preller decided to become an artist, he painted every day (in the early years his friends sometimes brought him food to keep him going). Preller’s work is challenging for the reason that his multiple influences and references ‘melded the real world with an internal, psychological one’, says Nel. Because Preller’s work is not that easy to ‘read’ and that he is demanding of his audience may well account for the fact that Preller’s was overlooked in the past, Nel observes.

Preller, from the earliest days of his career, had a remarkable grasp of artistic styles and the language of art. Preller also studied art in London in the 1930s absorbing western art. Like many great artists who have over the centuries learnt from other artists, Preller engaged intensely with the work of other artists. But he was able to fuse these references with local imagery thereby creating a harmonious and unique cross-cultural world.  He references Cezanne, he pays homage to Vincent van Gogh and he alludes to Gauguin and Picasso, and South African artists such as Irma Stern and Maggie Laubser, but skilfully makes these recognisable references his own. He incorporated into his work what he referred to as his ‘domestic gods’, for example, a favourite vase, candles or eggs.

Preller was also very interested in Renaissance art, more specifically the frescoes of Piero della Francesca and Duccio. What is of particular interest is that Preller began to quote from the artistic canon, different styles and symbols, before there was easy access to such references and prior to international art books being readily available in South Africa.

Nel explains how Preller had a very particular vision, a very potent one, because it locates itself within but opens out into world culture.  Even though Preller drew inspiration from afar his work is infused with his own life experience. From his early years as a painter he makes powerful references to his own life and to the country of his birth, more specifically the local Ndebele people who lived in the vicinity of Pretoria where he spent most of his life. Preller also travelled to other parts of Africa, visiting Swaziland, the Seychelles, Zanzibar, Egypt and the Congo, and took inspiration from the African collection in the Trocadero Museum in Paris.

Preller has been labelled a Surrealist (which he rejected) or an Expressionist (by Walter Battiss). But a more accurate description, Nel says, would be that Preller’s artistic language is based on Modernism, with a powerful sense of regionalism.  He was an avant-garde artist who was able to synthesise the language of modernism within an African frame of reference. Unlike the artist, Nel does not dismiss Preller’s association with certain elements of the Surrealists and Nel believes that a greater understanding of Preller’s work can be gained when viewing his work within the context of the psychological charge and minimalist approach of the Surrealists.

With this exhibition Nel and Berman have certainly succeeded in bringing to the forefront the reach and scope of Preller’s work, and have elevated the artist to his rightful place in the South African art lexicon. Criticism that the artist’s use of colour and stylised images verged on being kitsch is laid to rest – even though some of his experimental work over the years may have been less successful than others.

The extensive two volume monograph of the artist, Alexis Preller: Africa, the Sun and Shadows and Alexis Preller: Collected Images[2], is generously illustrated with a large collection of Preller’s work and biographical photographs, many taken by acclaimed photographers and friends or the artist. Particularly appealing is the inclusion of the art, photography and objects that influenced Preller, the many references that found their way into his own visual vocabulary. The two part monograph provides a visually vibrant, well researched, detailed and informative account of the artist’s life and work, written with (deservedly) great respect and insight into the art of the man, an artist in South African in the twentieth century.

Standard Bank Gallery walkabout with Karel Nel on 23 October 2009

[2] Berman, E. & Nel, K. (2009) Alexis Preller: Africa, the Sun and Shadows and Alexis Preller: Collected Images. Saxonwold, Johannesburg. Shelf Publishing. 

I just about got whiplash as I turned to face said friend and gasped, ‘What? William Kentridge and Huisgenoot in the same sentence?’

Now, I do need to explain that I consider this friend to be a cultured man with a good knowledge of art, music and other art forms. Not to mention that he has a small but enviable art collection including much treasured works by William Kentridge, the kind that are loaned to local and international galleries for important exhibitions. He acquired these works in the early nineties, way before the rest of the pack began to jump on the bandwagon.

William Kentridge, Preparing the flute iv (Goodman Gallery)

What my friend really wanted to know was whether I thought that Kentridge, one of South Africa’s most distinguished artists, is churning out too many limited editions such as the series produced for the Magic Flute and The Nose opera. Did I think that these works were being sold for excessively hefty prices – and would these prints adversely affect the long term value of his art?

William Kentridge, Preparing the flute v (Goodman Gallery)

We dwelled on the question for a short while before the conversation veered in multiple directions, but it left me thinking about Kentridge and my response to his art. Kentridge’s artistic output is considerable, he has been practicing as an artist since the 1970s and he is an artist of international standing. His large volume of work includes his signature charcoal (and pastel) drawings, which he has also innovatively translated into a range of other art forms including animated, films, videos and theatre pieces.

William Kentridge, Magic flute (Goodman Gallery)

He is also renowned for his extraordinary ‘work in progress’ projects and artistic productions, mostly collaborative works which he presents to the art community as the works evolve, creating the impression that we the viewer somehow participated in the process. Most notable are his collaborations with opera productions, for example, his designs for the staging of Mozart’s Magic Flute. With this opera Kentridge captivated his audience with the marriage of drawing and music to create an awe-inspiring visual interpretation the famous opera – so much so that the visual effects and animation at times detracted from the singers’ performances on stage. The Nose, based on a well-known story in Russian literature by Nilolai’s Gogol, set to Dmitri Shostakovich music score, is scheduled for a New York opening in March this year. He is also known for his collaborations with the Handspring Puppet Company with whom he has crafted multimedia performances with puppets.

Continuing to ponder the provocative question, I allowed a medley of his artworks to flash through my mind, reminiscent of one of his artistic video’s, but hardly as proficient. From time to time I mentally pressed the pause button to reflect on works that have made an indelible impression on me. I remember the impact of Kentridge’s Black Box/Chambre Noir (2006) with his unique interpretation of the darker implications of colonialism. The work was shown at the Johannesburg Art Gallery and consists of animated films, sculptural objects drawings and a mechanised miniature theatre. And then there was the innovative What will Come…has already Come,  an exhibition held at the Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg in November and December 2008.

I recollected the screening of his animated videos, The Soho Eckstein series (1989) and Felix in Exile (1994) and, in the courtyard of the old Fort prison, now incorporated into the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg, Kentridge’s Johannesburg, Second Greatest City After Paris (1989). It was truly extraordinary to view these works in a space so symbolic of the injustices of the past.

I recalled a late afternoon visit to Los Angeles’ MOCA in 2008 after an emotionally draining and exhausting day. The gallery’s cool white space seemed like a refuge and a treasure trove of what was for me many undiscovered artists. I worked my way through the gallery, looking at one work, then another, then returning for one more look at a work that had caught my attention. Then I peeked into a room and instantly recognised the work as that of Kentridge. For a brief moment I considered moving on as I can view this artist’s work in my own country. But by then I had been drawn in by, Learning the Flute 2003, a 35mm film transferred to video, blackboard and easel. Typical of Kentridge’s work it is political in nature and as stated on the caption it ‘explores the contradictions and uncertain endings in art as in politics’.

Kentridge’s success to a large extent rests on his ability to innovatively integrate the personal and the political in his work. In my view one of his greatest achievements is that his signature work is so recognisable yet, just when one thinks he has done it all and exhausted his oeuvre, he serves up work with a new twist, a surprise, a clever manipulation of a concept, his artistic medium or the mind – always pushing boundaries. This applies as much to Five Tapestries created together with Marguerite Stevens weaving studio, shown at Goodman Gallery’s at Arts on Main in downtown Johannesburg, as it does to the collaborative sculpture created in conjunction with Gerhard Marx, Fire Walker (2009) that I first saw at Nirox Sculpture Park last year. A larger, ten meters high, version of this work has become a landmark public sculpture in the city of Johannesburg.

William Kentridge and Gerhard Marx, Fire Walker, 2009, painted steel Edition 1/4 370 x 175 x 204

How many times have I fantasised about owning just a small piece of the magic and longingly stared at one or more of his works at an exhibition. I have rifled through prints in galleries and on the internet in the hope of finding that one work that I love more than all the others – and that I can actually afford. So for my part I am grateful that Kentridge produces limited edition prints, monotypes and etchings, so that people like me can set their sights on owning such a work. His work may well be pricey and remain out of reach for many, but in reality his individually made and signed editioned etchings rarely exceed 50 prints – and are intended for both the local and international art markets. Yet, I have come across Kentridge artworks, often a single work taken from a series, that to my mind do not seem to warrant the asking price.

Does this mean that dealers and galleries – and the artist himself – are profiting excessively from his success? Bear in mind that art dealers ask what they think buyers are prepared to pay for an artist. Prices fetched at auction are conventionally considered a true reflection of the commercial value of an artist’s work. And remember that by the time a work goes on auction it is the owner of the painting or artwork, not the artist, who benefits from the sale.

The reality is that, apart from all its other attributes, art is also an investment, another commodity for which there is a market, a buyer and a seller. Kentridge’s artistic output sells for top dollar because his work is in demand and because he is critically acclaimed.

Do limited edition prints by an artist detract from the value of his or her ‘major’ works? I would argue that if there is a flood of prints on the market, the prints may not significantly increase in value, but that it will not necessarily affect the investment value of important works, providing the artist’s work remains in demand.

It would seem that it is the dilemma of the highly successful and prolific artist that a large volume of work, fame and fortune will fuel debate as to whether he or she – or art dealers – is taking advantage of their marketability and gone mass market.

I only wish that I had the foresight of my clever friend to have bought one of Kentridge’s works before his commercial success became a matter for debate.

Remember I told you that I recently ran into my senior school teacher, a sister of the Order of Notre Dame, as I was leaving an art exhibition opening. We met for coffee yesterday to fill in the missing decades. It was fascinating: two women, two very different lives yet much in common.

And then my former teacher mentioned the story of Sister Wendy Beckett, a nun who began her religious life with the Order of Notre Dame. It’s wonderful! She is a religious hermit who in the latter years of her life decided to also follow another calling, her love of art. She has narrated art programmes and written some serious art books.

When you have a moment Google Sister Wendy Beckett. A truly remarkable, lovely story.’

Now who would have thought that a seemingly innocent note would spark such a swift and sharp exchange between so-called friends? Shrieks of laughter accompanied correspondence of my mistaken sense of self. Just how was I going to mould my mid-life career change on that of a holy woman? Rather go for the Peggy Guggenheim example, they howled.

Of course they missed the point completely, but on a roll they were. Why can’t they see that I am inspired by a woman of a certain age who decided to fulfil her vocation in the art world? Protestations that a lifetime dedicated to religious devotion is not on the cards for me in this life fell on deaf ears.

The delightful Sister Wendy Beckett has for the past 40 years lived at the Carmelite Monastery in Quiddenham, Norfolk, UK. She is a consecrated virgin (sounds very serious) and lives entirely separate in a caravan a few minutes’ walk away from the monastery where her fellow sisters reside. She lives a life of solitude except for when she took time out as a TV art critic in the nineties or to promote books that she has authored on art, poetry and prayer. Her life story has even inspired a musical, Postcards from God. She was born in South Africa in 1930 but moved to Edinburgh where her father studied to be a doctor.  As a novice nun she read English at Oxford, returning to South Africa to teach before settling in the UK.[1]

I am no Sister Wendy, but in my defence I do meditate, practice yoga and try to live a decent life. And, for the record, I work alone from my dining room table on my art musings. That’s something, isn’t it? I’m not remotely a hermit, nor a saint, nor pure as the driven snow and, come to think of it, I enjoy life to the full. Does that make me wicked? Maybe a just a little, compared to an extreme case of virtue.

Say what you may, nothing is going to stop me from taking a leaf out of the good nun’s book, at least on the art front.