THE SOUTH AFRICAN ART TIMES

ART GUIDE APRIL

The Subterraneans, 2008 Acrylic and oil on canvas by Sanell Aggenbach. Her show entitled: Sub Rosa opens 30 April to 31 May at Joao Ferreira Gallery, Cape Town
 Trudging through Molasses
Making history with Minette Vári
Minnette Vári’s new
video, “Rebus”, is a grandly
impressive Wagnerian crescendo
of sound, light and furioso. Like
Gotterdammerung, it is all sturm,
drang, cataclysm and apocalypse,
and its boom, thunder and flash
made the Goodman gallery quake
as if in the grip of eruption.
Despite the sensational fortissimo
effects, Rebus is an intensely
cerebral creation. It pivots
around Durer’s
engraving,
Melencolia, and the
serpentine intricacies of this semi-
nal work charge the video with
blistering import.
Durer’s moody, brooding lady
toying with a compass personifies
both Melancholy, one of the four
humors, and Geometry, one of
the seven liberal arts. Nervous
excitement engenders her fret,
and indicates her susceptibility to
‘furor divinus’, the spark of divine
inspiration, for Melancholia is also
that miraculous phenomenon, the
genuine Artist, and Rebus revolves
around the agonies of her creation.
There are two loops. In the first
Vari presents herself as Durer’s
woebegone, allegorical figure
idly ruminating amidst her strewn
instruments. Melancholia lapses
into sloth for insoluble intellectual
riddles sap her energies and erode
her will.
Lloyd Pollock has tea with Minette Vári
of paroxysm.
Vári takes all
Melancholia’s
tools, and makes them
Our normal frame of reference is hammer and beat, producing
ripped apart. Melancholy seems sound as rousingly energetic as
a giantess confined in a space the anvil chorus in Il Trovatore.
far too small to contain her. Her The gallery reverberates with the
movements are painfully slow, but banging of Vulcan’s Olympian
above her, the clouds fly by like smithy. Here the gods forge his-
comets, and the clash of tempo tory, but the beating of metal also
dislocates time. evokes Melancholia’s anguished
act of creative parturition. The
Her flesh assumes the vaporous- sounds of quakes, blizzards
ness of a wraith. Dissolves - every kind of commotion - create
multiply her person, and a sense of earth and past events
merge with X-ray agonizingly reshaping themselves
images, so that in her mind.
her substance
becomes as Her thought stream hoses out onto
limpid as the long wall of the gallery in
ectoplasm, a projection separate to those on
defining the eight screens devoted to
her as a her nigh motionless body. She
supernatural mulls over our past which is
visitant from a reenacted in archival footage of
realm beyond tumultuous processions – military,
space and time. religious, academic
- and scenes
The sound
track soups the
pace up to the point
of riot, protest, fight and flight. A
mass of humanity march intrepidly
towards us and the freedom
beyond the gallery’s doors.
Durer’s lady remains somnolent,
whereas Vari makes a supreme
effort, vanquishes her torpor, and
rises grandly to the occasion.
Suddenly she acquires the moral
strength she needs to confront
the past, and she stands and
crosses over from the screens to to her, and photograph the
the wall where she straddles the when she asked T.V. screen, and
landscape, holds up her scale, for tea, rather than the results evolved into
and pronounces judgement on our nectar and ambrosia, I was my first video, Alien.”
history. dismayed.
The years have honed her
Melancholia is every seeker after A sensitivity to political nuance daunting skills and, in my opinion,
truth, and a metaphor for Vári’s art underscores Vari’s oeuvre, and Rebus is a shimmering master-
making in which bursts of furious of her video career were sown on piece of this extraordinary late
creation alternate with stretches of a trip to Detroit, U.S.A., where bliz- 20th century art form.
block. When inspiration runs dry, zards had her holed up watching
Vari feels she is trudging though television in a grungy motel room.
molasses, and that this treacly “I saw Mandela being released
and viscous substance retards her and walking arm in arm with Win-
movements, clogs up her thoughts nie” Minette said. “I felt intensely
and smothers her inspiration. homesick, so I remained glued to
the set watching repeats every
Vari’s utter mastery of digital tech- half hour. It was so moving and
nology emerges in the way that emotional that I
Rebus never repeats itself. Two just had to
projectors each relay two slightly
different alternating loops. The
two history loops, the two Melan-
cholia loops and the sound track
all differ in duration, so the same
combination of sounds and
images never recurs. The
eight screens are
transparent, and you see
through one to the next,
simultaneously viewing
successive strata of
images. This layering
gives Rebus an
elusiveness and
ambiguity that hook
into memory like a gaff.
I met Minnette when
she literally blew into my
house late on a blustery
Sunday night when I no longer
expected her. Instead of the
galumphing Titaness from Rebus,
I found an entrancing sylph at my
door. In my mind magic still clung

Images
Please Note: The Fall 1-4
images have been cropped
for the sake of this page
design. To see the originals,
in their context, please go to:
www.goodmangallerycape.
com
From top to bottom left:
The Fall 1-4
2008. Pigment ink on cotton fibre paper
Below left:
Rebus, 2008
Two-channel video installation with
stereo audio. Size: variable (in this
instance 3.5m x 1.3m x 1.3m)
Duration: Screen 1: 2’30”; Screen 2:
2’00”; Audio 4’00”; Looped
Right from top to bottom
Transport Exceptionells from France, a man in a moving, exhilarating dance duet with a giant earth-moving
vehicle.
Spier performances take over city centre
Laetitia Pople
From Die Burger
DANCERS greeting early bird
commuters at the Cape Town
station in the morning, artists
performing in the Adderley Street
fountain, artists on Thibaultplain,
artists everywhere.
The Citybowl came to life from
26 February to 1 March when the
yearly Spier performance arts
festival moved from the winelands
of Stellenbosch to the streets
of Cape Town. South Africa’s
foremost fine artists like William
Kentridge and Berni Searle,
choreographer Acty Tang, the
Magnet Theatre Company and
dancers from the Jazzart company
participated in this programme.
A lot of the events where free or
R100 and under.
The title of the festival Infecting the
City is according to the organis-
ers choreographer and artist Jay
Pather and the theatre director
Brett Bailey the best description
of the event. ‘We infected the city
with contagious pleasures” they
said at a press conference.
Image of Minette Vari in front of her
video: Fulcrum, 2007. Single-channel
video installation with stereo audio
Duration: Video 2’30”; Audio 5’00”;
Looped. Size: variable (in this instance
4m x 2.25m)
Title: Monomotapa II Print Series)
2007. Pigment ink on archival cotton
fibre paper. Size: 125cm x 75cm
All images courtesy of the artist and
the Goodman Gallery The Subterraneans, 2008 Acrylic and oil on canvas by Sanell Aggenbach. Her show entitled: Sub Rosa
opens 30 April to 31 May at Joao Ferreira Gallery, Cape Town
Image from Africa Centre www.africacentre.net
“We looked at places for our
performances that you would not
normally find a performance. This
is the first festival and should be
seen as a prototype of what will
come. We want to reach out to
artists in Africa, Asia and Europe
to ensure participation on a wider
level in the future.” said Pather.
From Mozambique comes the
Afro-punk group Esculturas Hu-
manas, known for their apocalyptic
work which was performed world-
wide. There work for this festival is
entitled Misterios da Actualidade
and was performed on Thibault
plain over the lunch hour.
On the Grand Parade was per-
formed Transports Exceptionnels-
a Duet for a dancer and excavator
This whimsical piece by the
French dancegroup Beau Geste
looks at the friendship between
a man and machine and it can
be described as the relationship
between a ringmaster and a cir-
cumstantial and can be read as a
celebration of childhood memories.
The lauded playwright Aubrey
Sekhabi’s play Not with my Gun
looks at the crime in South Africa
from a different angle and was
performed at the Cape Town High
School. Paul Boekkooi writes
in his review for the newspaper
Beeld that it is not protest theatre
or theatre trying to validate itself
on the grounds of race. “This is rel-
evant theatre looking at our society
with new perspectives, theatre
that has cast away the coloured
lenses, theatre which sent the old
with the old cows to the grave”.
The evocative, mutlimedia
production Dreamtime in the
Iziko: South African Museum
combined the talents of Sibongile
Mngoma, Acty Tang, Berni Searle,
guitarist Madala Kunene and
the Sint George -singers in an
combined art- and performance
piece. And in the Centre for the
Book in Queen Victoria Street an
interesting project called Talking
Heads invited the public to ‘buy”
time of people and personalities
the likes of Zackie Achmat, aids
activist, playright Mike van Graan,
writer Ronald Suresh Roberts and
sangoma Rod Suskin.
All the participants in turn were
expected to talk to ticketholders
about all the new developments
in their respective fields, with the
sound of a gong the ticketholder
moved on to a different participant.

Eastern Cape
East London
Ann Bryant Art Gallery
Until 12 April - Vapour - Eloise
Mogg
9 St Marks Road, Southernwood
T. 043 7224044
annbryant@intekom.co.za
Port Elizabeth Cnr. Klein & King George Streets,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan
Art Museum – a wildlife collection – Local art-
Until 08 June - About-face
Until 13 April - Images of Mandela
Bay: Inner City
1 Park Drive T. 041 5861030
www.artmuseum.co.za
Free State
Bloemfontein Arch
Oliewenhuis Art Museum
15 Apr - 11 May - Art for Hu-
manity’s Women for Children print
portfolio - Various artists and poets
16 Harry Smith Street
T. 051 4479609
Gauteng Cnr Glenhove Rd & 4th Street
Johannesburg - Theo Kleynhans
Art Extra
09 Apr - 03 May - Sleep in my
arms - Youssef Nabil
373 Jan Smuts Avenue, Craighall
T. 011 3260034
www.artextra.co.za
Artspace
Until 26 Apr – Of Symetries and
Oxymorons - Fritha Langerman
Chester Court, 142 Jan Smuts Av-
enue, Parkwood T. 011 880 8802
artspace@wol.co.za
Everard Read Gallery Bell-Roberts Contemporary
Until 20 Apr – Ricky Burnett –
Exhibition of work
Until 11 May -
Voyage to the Interior continued -
Gary James and Alexander James
6 Jellicoe Avenue, Rosebank
T. 011 7884805
www.everardread.co.za
Gallery Momo
Until 26 Apr - Four Tales - Artists
include: Gabrielle Goliath, Nomusa
Makhubu, Mary Sibande, Gina van
Zyl De Oliveira
08 - 31 May - Johannes Phokela
- Exhibition of new works
52 7th Avenue, Parktown North
T. 011 3273247 - Photographs -Pieter Hugo
www.gallerymomo.com
Gallery on the Square
Until 9 Apr - A survey of South
African painting and sculpture from
1960 - 2008
Shop 32, Nelson Mandela Square,
Cnr 5th & Maude Streets, Sandton
Central T. 011 7842847/8
www.galleryonthesquare.co.za
Graham’s Fine Art Gallery
29 May - 29 Aug - The Modern
Palimpsest: Envisioning South
African Modernity - South African
masters from 1853 onwards
Broadacres Lifestyle Centre, Cnr.
Valley & Cedar Roads, Broada-
cres, Fourways T. 011 4659192
www.grahamsfineartgallery.co.za
Gordart Gallery
Until 05 Apr - Homebaked Stories
in Kitchen Language -
Andrew Lindsay
13 Apr – 03 May - Main Gallery
APRIL GALLERY LISTINGS
– Chrysalis - Fiona Couldridge
Second Gallery - Africa Revisited
- Frances Gerke and Pat Sithole
Rainforest Project Room - Kai
Lossgott
72 Third Avenue, Melville
T. 011 726 8519 www.gordart.
co.za
Johannesburg Art Gallery
Until 13 Apr - Leora Farber
Until 31 May - Spier Contemporary
Joubert Park, Johannesburg
T. 011 725 3130
Moja Modern
Until 19 Apr - Re-Defining Seasons
- James Delaney
22 Apr - 29 Apr - Photography
- Vern Bikes Allen
16 7th Ave Parktown North
T. 011 4479000
www.mojamodern.co.za
Obert Contemporary at Melrose
Until 30 Apr - Confluence - Candy
Kramer
www.obertcontemporary.com
Rabbi Cyril Harris Community
Centre
06 Apr – 4 May – An exhibition of
oils - Michael Schur
Houghton T. 011 7288088/8378
hazelc@greatpark.co.za
Standard Bank Gallery
16 Apr - 10 May - Skin-to-Skin
– Participating artists include:
Tamlin Blake, Leora Farber, Fiona
Kirkwood, Walter Oltmann, Jane
Makhubele and Yda Walt.
Corner Simmonds and Frederick
Street T. 011 6311889
The Bag Factory
Until 02 Apr - Exhibition by artists
in residence - Joël Mpah Dooh,
Katrin Lock, Leticia Vieyra, Shane
Aslan Selzer
10 Mahlathini Street, Fordsburg
T. 011 8349181
www.bagfactoryart.org.za
The Goodman Gallery
Until 19 Apr - Plantation Lullabies
- Tracey Rose
163 Jan Smuts Avenue , Parkwood
T. 011 7881113
www.goodman-gallery.com
The Premises Gallery
Until 12 Apr – Urbanstretch
– Participating artists include:
Black Koki and 351073, Elbow-
grease, Kenny Sonono, Phillemon
Hlungwani, Rhett Martyn, Satta
Collective
The Johannesburg Civic Theatre,
Loveday Street, Braamfontein
T. 011 4038358
www.onair.co.za
The Thompson Gallery
Until 19 Apr - Capturing the Colo-
nial – Featuring work by: Davina
de Beer, Jeannette Unite, Jo
Faragher, Marjorie Human, Musha
Neluheni and Sue Sellschop
78 Third Ave, Melville,
T: 011 4829719/2039
www.thompsongallery.co.za
Pretoria ukun1@unisa.ac.za
Association of Arts Pretoria
Until 17Apr - Re-Visit - Wehrner
Lemmer and Anthony Harris
173 Mackie Street, Nieuw Muckle-
neurk T. 012 3463100 Art Space Durban
Platform on 18
03 Apr - 26 Apr – Incidentally
– Lisa Allan, Karin Preller,
Antoinette du Plessis
232 18th Avenue, Rietondale
Pretoria Art Museum
19 Feb – 11 May – Mid-career
retrospective – Johann Louw
Until 30 Apr – Rorke’s Drift Art
and Craft Centre – A selection of
woven tapestries and pottery
Cnr Schoeman and Wessels
Streets, Arcadia Park
T. 012 3441807/8
art.museum@tshwane.gov.za
St. Lorient Fashion & Art Gallery
Until 20 Apr - Rumble on my stoep
ists 492 Fehrsen Street, Brooklyn
Circle T. 012 4600284
Gary James: Return to River Market. acrylic on panel from his forecom-
ming exhibition “A Voyage to the Interior continued.” at The Everard
Read Gallery Johannesburg. From 22 April - 11 May
Cape Town I 2007 Oil on canvas 38 x 76cm by Cobus van Bosch.
One of his work for his solo exhibition entitled: City, to be seen at 34
Long, Cape Town . From 15 April – 17 May.
Flower A 2005, Yayoi Kusama, Silkscreen with gold lame on woven
paper. Part of a group exhibition entitled: Lustre dots and more at the 34
Long Gallery, Cape Town . From 15 April – 17 May
Unisa Art Gallery
29 Mar - 02 May – Thematic
Exhibition - David Goldblatt, Keith
Dietrich, Penny Siopis, John Mua-
fangejo, Julie Mehretu and others
Unisa Main campus, Theo van
Wijk Building (Goldfields en-
trance), 5th Floor T. 012 4296255
KwaZulu-Natal Kizo Art Gallery Hill House, De Smidt Street, Green
Durban Collen Maswangayi www.michaelstevenson.com
Until 19 Apr - Dhow Trade - Margit
Gregory-Pretorius
21 Apr - 10 May – Off the Wall 3
– Graffiti and comic book artists
3 Millar Road, Stamford Hill
T. 031 3120793
www.artspacedurban.co.za
Bank Gallery
15 May - 7 June - High Voltage
- Stephen Hobbs
28 Mar – 14 May – Bank Gallery
closed for renovations
217 Florida Road, Morningside
T. 031 3126911
www.bankgallery.co.za
Bat Centre
Until 30 April - Artists Rights Are
Human Rights – Featuring veteran
Durban artists
45 Maritime Place, Small Craft
Harbour (Off Victoria Embank-
ment). T. 031 3320451
www.batcentre.co.za
KZNSA Gallery
Until 20 Apr - Main and Mezzanine
Galleries - Aidan Walsh - Nivea
Gallery - Andrew Verster
166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood
T. 031 2023686
www.kznsagallery.co.za
Pietermaritzburg show@arttimes.co.za
Until 20 Apr - Bongi Bhengu and
23 Apr - 4 May - Erotica Group
Showing
Shop G350, Palm Boulevard,
Gateway Theatre of Shopping,
Umhlanga T. 031 5664324 Salon C - Marguerite Barkhuysen,
T. 021 9764691
Tatham Art Gallery
Until 04 May - New Acquisitions rustenvrede@telkomsa.net
Exhibition
Until 04 May - Edendale excels: an The A.R.T Gallery
exhibition of four artists from Eden- 03 Apr – 03 May – Altered Images:
dale. Includes works by Michael Rethinking Polaroids -
Zondi, Gerard Bhengu, Chicken- essa Frootko-Gordon
man Mkhize and Siyabonga No. 205, The Colosseum Building,
Sikosana. 3 St. George’s Mall
Cnr. Of Chief Albert Luthuli (Com- T. 021 4192679
mercial) Rd. and Church Street artbailey@netactive.co.za
(Opposite City Hall)
T. 033 3421804 The Cape Gallery
Until 19 Apr - Di Johnson-Ack-
erman - Exhibition of recent
paintings
Northern Cape 20 Apr - 10 May - Icons of a past
life - Leon de Bliquy
Kimberly 60 Church Street T. 021 4235309
www.capegallery.co.za
William Humphreys Art Gallery
Exhibition of Permanent Collection 34 Long
Civic Centre, Cullinan Crescent Until 12 April - Say for me – Asha
T. 053 8311724 Zero
15 Apr – 17 May – City - Cobus
van Bosch
Western Cape 15 Apr – 17 May - Lustre dots and
more - Group exhibition
34 Long Street. T. 21 426 4594
Cape Town www.34long.com
art.b Gallery
Whatiftheworld Gallery
23 Apr - 14 May – Scenes – Group
Until 26 Apr - Volume 1 - Jacqui
exhibition by Len Tempelhoff,
Stecher
John Skotnes, Verna Jooste and
01 May - 31 May – The Drain of
Soulscapes and Reflections by
Elizabeth Miller-Vermeulen
Progress – Zander Blom
First Floor, 208 Albert Rd.
21 May - 18 Jun – Argentium
Woodstock T. 021 4481438
www.whatiftheworld.com
Library Centre, Carel van Aswegen
Street, Bellville T. 021 9182301
www.artb.co.za
Stellenbosch
Art 1
Dorp Straat Gallery
03 -17 Apr – Indifference towards
05 April – 6 May - Scarlet - Featur-
dogma - Johann Nortje
ing Niek De Greef, Jenny Parsons,
66 Church Street T. 021 4265404
Jenny Groenewald, Caerli Hare,
Association of Visual Arts John Newdigate and more.
144 Dorp Street, Stellenbosch
Until 18 April - Upstairs/Downstairs
T. 021 8872256
curated by Bettina Malcomess
www.dorpstraatgalery.co.za
35 Church Street T. 021 4247436
www.ava.co.za
SMAC Art Gallery
27 Feb – 25 May - Revisions plus
works by artists such as Trevor
02 Apr - 26 Apr - William Scar-
Makhoba, Dumile Feni, Gerard
brough - Exhibition of new work
89 Bree Street T. 021 4221100 Bhengu and Simon Mnguni will be
on show
www.bell-roberts.com
De Wet Centre, Church Street
T. 021 8873607
Everard Read Gallery CT
www.smacgallery.co.za
17 Apr – 30 Apr - Denby Meyer -
A series of new works
3 Portswood Road, Victoria and
Alfred Waterfront T. 021 418 4527
www.everard.co.za
Iziko South African National
Gallery
19 Apr - 18 Jun - A Private View
– Cecil Skotnes
Until 04 May - Messina/ Musina
Government Avenue, Company’s Send us your
Garden. T. 021 4674660 Gallery exhibition
www.iziko.org.za
details and images
João Ferreira Gallery by the 15th of
30 Apr - 31 May - Sub Rosa
- Sanell Aggenbach each month
Until 26 April - Pamela Stretton
70 Loop Street T. 021 4235403
www.joaoferreiragallery.com E-mail these
Michael Stevenson Gallery
details to:
15 May - 05 July - Disguise: The
art of attracting and deflecting
attention - Curated by Joost
Bosland
Point, T. 021 4212575
Rust-en-Vrede gallery
08 Apr – 24 Apr - Salon A - Mynie
Brits – Salon B - Patrick Botto -
exhibits padlangs
10 Wellington Rd, Durbanville
 AROUND THE GALLERIES

Anthea Delmotte, Cape Gallery, Cape Town

The Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Department of Visual Learning To Fly, William Scarbrough, Mixed media, Work from Stephen Hobbs’s show entitled: High Voltage,
Communication’s first-, second- and third-year Photography students Bell- Roberts Gallery, Cape Town. until 26 April Bank Gallery, 15 May - 7 June
of last year will showcase their photographic skills at Gallery 20/20 at
the Voortrekker Monument from Sunday, 16 March, at the Department’s
annual photographic exhibition.

Pamela Stretton’s piece entitled: Fed up, from her solo exhibition until 26 April at Work by Francois van Reenen from a group show at Pat Sithole’s, Icy cold winter, from his exhibition
Joao Ferreira Gallery, Cape Town Fried Contemporary entitled: Angels and demons entitled: Africa Revisited, at The Gordart Gallery,
Johannesburg.
 Hout Street Gallery

David and Gail Zetler. 270 Main Street, Paarl, 7646. Phone + 27 (0) 21 872 5030 Fax + 27 (0) 21 872 7133
E-mail: zetler@icon.co.za www.houtstreetgallery.co.za Artwork: Peter Fincham, Afternoon Shadows

Cape Town’s largest contemporary art gallery

exhibiting works by leading South African artists We represent these artists:
Ben Coutouvidis
Exclusive Alice Goldin
Wendy Rosselli
Carmel Art distributors of
Pieter
Lyn Smuts
Phillipa Allen
Hardy Botha
van der Westhuizen Theo P. Vorster
66 Vineyard Road, Claremont Original Art, Etchings, Sculpture, Ceramics. Judy Woodbourne
Ph: 021 671 6601 David Riding
etchings Cecil Skotnes
Email: carmel@global.co.za and others.
Website: www.carmelart.co.za full selection on website

Roswitha
von Glehn

Wildlife - drawings, watercolours & woodcuts

Landscapes - in oil & watercolour
Tel +27 11 787 1983
email kayglehn@global.co.za

Getting your message to South African’s + 16 000* Art Community is easier than you thought

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Messina/Musina
at the Iziko
South African National
Gallery
Messina/Musina is the body of
work the photographer Pieter Hugo
produced as Standard Bank Young
Artist of the Year in 2007, its title
reflecting the transitional character
of the community that the work
represents. Formally known as
Messina, the town was renamed
to correct a colonial misspelling
and lies on the highway that runs
from South Africa to Zimbabwe
and Zambia, on our northernmost
border. It attracts truckers, migrant
labourers for the diamond mine and
farms in the area, refugees and
smugglers from neighbouring coun-
tries and a concomitant military and
WHATS ON AT IZIKO SA NATIONAL GALLERY
police presence. European and
American tourists are also drawn to
local game hunting. A community
constantly in flux, Hugo found that
most of those he photographed
were not originally from the area.
When he later attempted to re-
contact them, many had already
moved on.In his photographs of
individuals, families, interiors,
landscapes and incidental details,
Hugo reflects on the wounds and
scars of race, class and nationality
that persist here, on the border
of Zimbabwe. The circumstances
of Musina can also be seen as
broadly reflective of any community
that is confronted by transition.
Messina/Musina will be exhibited
at the Iziko South African National
Gallery until 4 May 2008.
Enquiries: Pam Warne, tel: 021
467-4660, e-mail:
pwarne@iziko.org.za

Pieter and Maryna Vermeulen with Timana Phosiwa.

Cecil Skotnes: A Private View’

South African National Gallery on 19 April and runs until 18 June.

Whilst Skotnes is undoubtedly an
icon of the South African art world,
the exhibition moves beyond the
artist’s public face to reveal a more
personal view, focusing on such
aspects of his extensive output as
his drawings, cartoons, watercol-
ours, prints and works of art on
paper.
Thina Lucy Manebaneba with her son Samuel Mabolabola and her Also on display are a number
brother Enos Manebaneba in their living room after church of letters and documents col-
lected over five decades as well
as objects, personal memorabilia
and a collection of objects from
Skotnes’s home and studio.
Skotnes played an important
pioneering role in art education
in South Africa. He was highly
involved with the Amadlozi group
that sought to work at the intersec-
tion of African and European art.
He was generous towards, and
nurturing of, young artists.
For many years, his Johannesburg
home served as an ‘open house’
and hub for artists from different
parts of the city and, indeed, the
world. In Cape Town, this spirit of
creative hospitality continued.
The exhibition therefore offers
insight into the country’s creative
community of which Skotnes
formed such an integral part and
highlights the many ways in which
he helped shape a vibrant period
in South African art history.
Over the years, Skotnes’s work
has encompassed many media,
most recognisably the large
coloured wood-panels that grew
out of the making of blocks for
relief printing, but also portfolios
of prints, murals and public com-
missions, oil paintings, ceramics,
tapestries and sculpture.
Photographs: Paul Weinberg

Fiona
Ewan
Rowett
0832673013
rorowett@altonet.co.za

winter moon