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Art life renews itself through recession

We started out the year on tenter-hooks, not knowing how the global economic recession would hit our local contemporary art market. Dark murmurings from over the stormy seas weren’t very encouraging, with reports of the almost irrationally exuberant boom experienced since 2005 crunching right down to a slow crawl. ‘Gone are the days when artworks were being snapped up at the blink of an eye,’ wrote Juliette

Lim-Fat and Roger Signer of global financial services company Credit Suisse. ‘Nowadays, deals are taking longer to close. Buyers are more prudent and taking more time to get to know the paintings before reaching a final decision.’

It didn’t help that a large percentage of contemporary art buyers in re-cent years have been cock-a-hoop hedge fund managers, as well as the newly bling emerging from mar-kets like Russia, China, the Middle East and India, many of whom have caught a nasty cold during the recent winter of our discontent, with the credit crisis slashing their

wealth and putting their demand for art on ice. Still, all this nasty weather seemed quite distant and academic to us down here in the sun-drenched South – until sales figures from the recent Joburg Art Fair came home to roost. Art sales at this year’s Fair grossed R12-million, about half of what was achieved last year – and this downturn despite the fact that the Fair’s attendance was up by 4 000 and that the production value of this year’s event way outstripped last year’s. It was a jackpot of a Fair in every sense other than sales, which can only really be attributed to the dreaded slump having meta-

morphosed from a hazy projection into an uncomfortable reality.

I tiptoed into January with a dreaded sense is that our land-scape was going to be morphing quite irrevocably over the next few months and that the status quo we currently take for granted as stand-ard and unchanging will, despite Trevor Manuel’s bizarre assurances to the contrary, undergo something of a seismic shift. The first evidence of the quake hit me this week, with the lousy news that Warren Siebrits Modern and Contemporary will soon be no more. Despite the blessed irony of having just had a

‘phenomenally successful Art Fair’, the gallery’s doors will only be open until the end of May.

This is no flash-in-the-pan, fly-by-night gallery, but one of Johannesburg’s most exacting and scholarly minded contem-porary art institutions. Warren Siebrits has been responsible for reviving the reputations of many 20th century artists (Alfred Thoba, Cyprian Shilakoe, Lucas Sithole…) whose legacies were overlooked or underestimated due to their place in history under apartheid, as well as for adding muscle to some significant contemporary careers, from that of Jo Ractliffe to Gerard Marx, Stefanus Rademeyer and Sabelo Mlangeni. (continued on page 5)

Cecil Skotnes 1926 – 2009

‘What we’re going through is not unique,’ says Siebrits. ‘Sadly, no one is immune.’

Siebrits will soon be embarking on a new chapter working privately as a Web-based dealer, specialising in rare art (warrensiebrits.co.za). His gallery might not be around for much longer, but we’re likely to hear more from this indomitable character who has already made a significant mark on South African art history

As a tribute to this great man The Art Times has commissioned an artist’s profile on Cecil Skotnes. Also see Hayden Proud’s Obituary in SA Business Art .

Issue : May 2009

Full free edition available at www.arttimes.co.za

1 Years subscription R 180 E-mail subs@arttimes for details

Alex Dodd

Cecil Skotnes in his studio 1967 Photo: courtesy Pippa Skotnes

Stephan Welz and Company, inassociation with Sotheby’s, will holdtheir 2009 Autumn Sale of Decorativeand Fine Arts at the KirstenboschNational Botanical Gardens on 26 and27 May 2009. The sale will be on viewto the public from 22 to 24 May 2009.

FINE ARTSStrong lyrical narratives by MarjorieWallace are on offer with Ons(estimate R120 000 - R150 000),a tender depiction of love betweenJan Rabie and Marjorie; Claude andthe Children (estimate R70 000 -R90 000), an intimate portrayal ofClaude Bouscharain and her children;and Rachel and Ou Nooi with a letterfrom Breyten (estimate R70 000 -R100 000), the reading of a letterpenned by the imprisoned writerBreyten Breytenbach, jailed by theState for high treason. Wallace, bestknown for her portrait studies, wastrained at the Edinburgh College of Artand made such an impression that shebecame the youngest person to beelected to the Royal Scottish Academy.She met and married the writer JanRabie in Paris in 1953, later a leadingmember of the Sestigers, and thecouple settled in Onrus in 1954.Amanda Botha, a friend of Wallaceand an art writer, said, “[people] werealways important to Wallace, but shenever had a voyeur's approach. Shelived alongside the people in her paint-ings … her lasting contribution is (her)cultural-historical record of work on themarginalised people in society.”

Ian Hunter of Stephan Welz & Co’sCape Town Paintings department says:“We are fortunate to have three PaulStopforth resistance artworks in ourContemporary section. Stopforth, whonow resides in America, fused art andpolitics in the mid ’70s to raise aware-ness for the atrocities being committedunder Apartheid. Death in Detention(estimate R10 000 - R15 000) andAltarpiece for Thomas Kasire (estimateR8 000 - R12 000) are particularlypoignant pieces, rare to the auction

world with most being housed inNational Collections.”

Terence McCaw has a strong presencein this sale with the particularly strikingView from the Artist’s Garden, HoutBay (estimate R120 000 - R150 000)one of six works by the artist dueto come under the hammer on the26 May. McCaw was a founder mem-ber and active protagonist of the NewGroup, established in 1938 with WalterBattiss and Gregoire Boonzaier. Whileworking closely with Boonzaier, McCawwas also exposed to the work of firstgeneration Cape Impressionist – PieterWenning. This influence is clearly seenin McCaw’s work. Pieter Wenning’sOld Church (estimate R400 000 -R600 000) is also available to collec-tors of South African Masters. TheWenning, previously sold in 1991 byStephan Welz & Co, in association withSotheby’s, is again on offer to themarket having resided since that saletill now in a magnificent South Africancollection.

Further highlights include: a rare entryfrom auction-shy Siegfried Hahn titledSpring, Saragossa (estimate R7 000 -R10 000), Gregoire Boonzaier’sMosque, Loop Street, Bo Kaap(estimate R350 000 - R450 000) andIrma Stern’s Portrait of Zoë Randall(estimate R1 800 000 - R2 400 000).Stern’s painting demonstrates her vir-tuosity in paint application and debtowed to African masks as part inspira-tion for this composition. The sitter, ZoëRandall, was a well known and muchaccoladed star of the South Africantheatre world. In 2002 at the Fleur duCap Theatre awards she received alifetime achievement award in recogni-tion of her 60 years of dedication asan actress and supporter of the arts.

DECORATIVE ARTSFor clock enthusiasts, a magnificentearly 18th century Louis XV boulle

bracket clock by G. J. Champion, Paris(estimate R25 000 - R30 000) shouldattract much interest. This item, inlaidwith tortoiseshell and richly decoratedwith mythological figures and beasts,epitomises Rococo craftsmanship.Other clocks include a Dutch FrisianWall Clock, circa 1850 (estimateR8 000 - R10 000) and a noveltyJaeger Timepiece in the form of alamp post (estimate R5 000 - R7 000).

English and European furniturecollectors should bid competitively foran 18th century oak and inlaid chest-on-stand (estimate R30 000 - R40 000)and a Set of Four Sheraton StyleFruitwood Armchairs, circa 1880(estimate R15 000 - R20 000), eachchair stamped Howard & Sons Ltd.Berner Street.

Furniture on offer to Colonial collectorsis a magnificent 19th Century Rose-wood, Stinkwood and Satinwood DrumTable (estimate R30 000 - R40 000)which should attract discerning bids.This unusually large example boastseight real and dummy drawers withivory-tipped handles.

There are many items that will appealto Cape furniture collectors. In the daysession, a 19th Century Cape RooielsKoskas (estimate R20 000 - R25 000)should be of

interest to admirers of Cape furniture.In the evening session, a particularlywell-preserved 19th Century StinkwoodRusbank (estimate R18 000 - R20 000)and a 19th century Cape Yellowwoodand Stinkwood Cradle (estimateR3 000 - R5 000) are two items thatrarely appear on auction.

A delightful collection of Toby Jugs,available for the first time to collectors,includes a Staffordshire ‘Ordinary’ TobyJug, 1790-1810 (estimate R6 000 -R8 000). Although similar Delft jugsexisted in the Netherlands, the TobyJug was first developed and popu-larised in England by the potter RalphWood. A typical jug depicts a seatedman wearing an English ‘tricorn’ hatand holding a mug of beer and a glassor a pipe. The original jug is said tohave been inspired by a song ‘BrownJug’, popular in 1761, whose lyricsfeatured ‘Toby Fillpot’.

Another fine example of Englishceramics is a Lucie Rie (1902-1995)Asymetrical Stoneware Bowl (estimateR25 000 - R35 000), impressed withthe designer’s initials. Europeanceramics are well represented; inparticular a striking Large DePorceleyne Fles ‘Nieuw Delfts” vase1910 -1920 (estimate R7 000 - 9 000)decorated in tones of blue andturquoise and borrowing from Islamicearthenware patterns, and an assem-bled Meissen part- dinner service(estimate R15 000 - R20 000), 20thcentury, freshly applied with springflower motifs on a white backgroundand finished off with gilt trim. An attrac-tive collection of Scandinavian waresincludes designs by Berndt Friberg(1899-1981), Gertrud Vasegaard(1913-2007) and Herbert Krenchel(1922-). These vessels share pared-down lines married with a strong senseof design; the Krenchel ‘Krenit’ warespunctuated by strong interior colours.

South African ceramics include worksby Hym Rabinowitz, Esias Bosch, TimMorris, Andrew Walford, Hylton Nel,

Rorke’s Drift and

Ardmore. Hylton Nel (1941-) steals theshow with his tin-glazed earthenware‘Crucifixion’ plaque (estimate R3 000 -R4 000), an enigmatic earthenwaredoll (estimate R4 000 - 6 000), andtwo delightful tin-glazed earthenwareplates: one decorated with an insect(estimate R 7 000 - 9 000) and theother decorated with a bird on a greenground (estimate R 9 000 - R12 000).The renowned Rorke’s Drift potterystudio is showcased with a stonewarevase executed in 1977 by LephinaMolefe (estimate R6 000 - R8 000); astoneware vase by Elizabeth Mbatha(estimate R5 000 - 7 000); two incisedstoneware vases (estimate R8 000 -R10 000 each) and a two-handled bowland cover (estimate R5 000 - R7 000),all 1980, by Joel Sibisi. Sibisi’s actionof carving out images in the slippainted stoneware mirrors the act oflinocut production. Similarly the stylisedand somewhat naïve motifs closelymirror the iconography found in linouts.

Of historical interest is a group ofNine Rare Chinese Armorial Wares,Qianlong, 1736-1795 (estimateR60 000 - R90 000), created for theCape market. Similar examples canbe found on p 126 and 127 ofWoodward’s “Oriental Ceramics at theCape of Good Hope, 1652-1795”.

English and Continental silverwareincludes items ranging from 1736through to the latter half of thetwentieth century. A George III SilverSeven-Bar Toast-rack by the renownedsilversmith Paul Storr, executed in1817, is offered for sale at R7 000 -9 000. Paul Storr, a favourite of GeorgeIV, was known for his fine craftsman-ship and was skilled at using designsexecuted in other media by artists andthen adapting these concepts to suitthe purpose for which he requiredthem. This fine sense of design andcraftsmanship is what has seen hispieces through the fashion highs andlows of silver, making him an enduringfavourite with collectors.

A fine set of Elizabeth II silver ‘rat-tail’pattern cutlery by Gee and Holmes ofSheffield, England, is also due to comeunder the hammer at Kirstenbosch. Inaddition to the hallmark denoting theyear 1977, this set of twelve place set-tings is also stamped with the specialcommemorative Silver Jubilee Hallmarkwhich displays Queen Elizabeth's headfacing left. Amongst other highlights inthe Silver sessions are a WilliamSuckling George V Silver six-piece teaand coffee set (estimate R12 000 -R15 000) and a James Deakin andSons George V two-handled silver tray(estimate R15 000 - R20 000).

A fine near pair ofWMF Art NouveauElectroplate plaques(estimate R8 000 -R10 000) are onoffer, each depict-ing a woman inprofile surroundedby foliage. The ArtNouveau move-ment was charac-terised by organicsubjects, especiallyfloral motifs, aswell as highly-stylised, flowingcurvilinear forms.Art Nouveau wasan approach todesign according to which artistsshould be involved with the design ofeverything from architecture to furni-ture, making art part of everyday life.

Collectors’ items include a FruitwoodApple-shaped tea caddy (estimateR10 000 - R15 000), which dates tothe turn of the nineteenth century. Teawhich was a valuable commodity atthat time, was kept underlock and key. Alsoon offer forthe boy atheartare

twoswords: aPrussian InfantryOfficer’s sword designed in1889 (estimate R2 500 - R4 000) anda Victorian Infantry Officer’s sworddating from the 19th century (estimateR3 000 - R5 000).

These and other items are scheduledto go under the hammer on the26th and 27th of May 2009 atKirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.

Autumn 2009 Sale of Decorative and Fine Arts

Auction:Tuesday 26 May 2pm and 7pmWednesday 27 May 10am

Venue:Old Mutual Conference and Exhibition Centre,Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Newlands,Cape Town

Viewing:Friday 22 May 10am to 5pmSaturday 23 May 9am to 2pmSunday 24 May 10am to 5pm

AUCTION OF DECORATIVE AND FINE ARTSTuesday 26 May at 2pm and 7pm

Wednesday 27 May at 10amEnquiries and Catalogues

Cape Town Office: 021 794 6461

At the Saleroom, Kirstenboschfrom Friday 22 May

Tel: 021 761 4288Fax: 021 761 8690

e-mail: ct@swelco.co.za

Catalogues can be viewedon our website:

www.swelco.co.za

Gregoire Johannes Boonzaier, MOSQUE, LOOP STREET BO KAAPsigned and dated 1951; inscribed with the title on the stretcher56 by 63cmR 350 000 - 450 000

KUNSGALERY

CAPE TOWN

JOHANS BORMANFINE ART GALLERY

A showcase for the best of South African Masters, as well as some leading contemporary artists.

Telephone: 021 423 6075

www.johansborman.co.za

Mon-Fri: 09h30 - 17h30 Sat: 10h00 - 13h00 or by appointment

In Fin Art Building Upper Buitengracht Street, Cape Town 8001 Cell: 082 566 4631

E-mail: art@johansborman.co.za

JH Pierneef, ‘Bosveld bome, N.Transvaal’ – 1944

South African Art Times. May 2009 Page 3

I often marvel at how much more beautiful large-scale buildings are when they are half built than when they are completely finished. Indeed many of Durban’s most garish and formless monstrosities were once, for a brief period of time filled with beauty, texture and awe, before their structure was covered with facade and plastic and polish and made safe for shoppers. Looking at the digital rendering of the proposed final structure, the Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban’s chief 2010 venue, might, perhaps, be an exception to that tendency. But even if the monolithic post-modern sea-turtle ends up being anything less than exceptional, it will, at the very least, be home to a broad selection of South African art. And considering how sport pretty much kills art dead in the endless game of paper-rock-scissors, such a cultural highjacking can only be a good thing. This is after all, a guaranteed way of ensuring that hundreds of thousands of of South Africans will walk past, and per-haps even look at, a whole bunch of contemporary art – even if that art has to make allowances to the colour scheme of the décor.The eThekwini Municipality has made a public call – the first, ap-parently, among those municipali-ties blessed with a stadium – for work which will populate several walls and atriums in the build-ing, as well as any other spaces

suggested by artists. In broad democratic strokes, artists were invited en masse to propose site-specific works and were, to this end, also invited on a brief tour of the stadium, the giant mass of steel and concrete naked, unadorned and rising into the sky. It was difficult to work out exactly how things would look when all the scaffolding was gone but I’ve always loved a building site (the ultimate sandpit) and I was struck by the fact that the beauty of all this massed raw concrete would be a hard act to beat. Fortunately for the participating artists though, the judges will no doubt have broader set of critera than cooler than concrete.

The still skeletal stadium reminded me of Stephen Hobbes’ explora-tion of architecture, structure and light in recent works which showed in Durban at the KZNSA and Bank Gallery. Traces of Hobbes’ conversations echo – in entirely different form – in Vaughan Sadie’s exquisite exhibition, situation, currently on show at Bank Gallery. While Hobbes calls our attention to the beauty, fragility and brutality of cities and their architecture, Sadie’s current work, produced for his Masters degree, explores the very nature of light and the way in which it constructs our interior and exterior world, worlds which are more fragile even than buildings. Encompassing a century of modernism and post-modernism, Sadie’s personal evolutions and convolutions exists in the count-

less areas in between. Although several pieces are gorgeously accessible, for the most part the show consists of the kind of work that will send Sunday Magazine editors running in one direction or another, depending on how keen they are to identify with contem-porary art. But like DuChamp’s urinal, which occupies at least one harbour in Sadie’s ocean of theory, complexity is often the mask worn by simplicity. And I know that I’m not as well versed in theory as Sadie, but after the initial relent that always needs to happen when viewing any exhibition, I was completely enchanted. The levels and layers came later in a one-question-interview with Sadie, which cascaded into a mini-ava-lanche of conversation. We agree to meet later.In work that is, at least on some levels, about theory, I’m always interested in whether an artist thinks that a degree of theoreti-cal engagement is necessary in the viewer. In other words, if my mother, who loves art but lacks theory, visited the show, would she be able to engage with it in a manner that satisfies both her and the artist? (and that last “satisfies” is mine, not Sadie’s; he lacks arro-gance, possessing instead a criti-cal rigour that no doubt drives him mad in the production of his own work). He never really answers the question but he does point out that he’s more satisfied producing complex work which hopefully ex-tracts a mental investigation in the viewer than complex work which is accessibility but whose accessibil-ity allows the viewer to be content with the surface. I left Vaughn Sadie staring at his digital clock installed on the front of the gallery, above the entrance. Constructed out of twenty eight fluorescent tubes, each minute passes not discreetly, but in flicker-ing indecision. I waited with him as the clock turned from 11:59 to 12:00. A flurry of flickers. He was visibly thrilled.

(First published in The Sunday Independent)

At the Frieze Art Fair in London in 2007, devotees queued up to have artists Jake and Dinos Chapman defile the royal insignia on their pound notes. Adding to the buzz was Rob Pruitt, an artist who turned a gallery booth into a flea market, where he flogged disused objects donated by other artists. A life-size copy of a 1970 Dodge Challenger made by Richard Prince dominated another booth and a performer dressed as a bobby entertained passersby withhis yoga moves. But the most notable moment was when Kris Martin affected his intangible art-work, dubbed One Minute Silence (2007), which demanded that everyone in the fair remain quiet for one minute.

Call them art fair gimmicks if you must, but all of these stagedinterventions at this art fair not only created a frisson of excitement, but reiterated the fact that artists cannot be contained within the confines of a strictly commercial art event. Nor can their subversive compulsions be tamed; they will automatically disrupt and chal-lenge convention at every turn.At this year’s Joburg Art Fair, however, there were few such memorable attractions or interven-tions. Marcus Neustetter’s Work in Progress (2009) was perhaps the only artwork that defied the art fair setting.

(Continued on page 4)

Joburg Art Fair 09: Sculptures steal the attention

Henrietta Hamilton from The Bank Gallery

Peter Machen Mary Corrigall

South African Art Times. May 2009

ART Times SA 01 MAY09.indd 1 2009/04/21 03:29:28 PM

Page 4 South African Art Times. May 2009

David BrownTWO MEN AND THEIR DOG

AND OTHER WORKS

6 - 30 May 2009 Opening reception:

Wednesday, 6 May at 6pm

70 Loop Street Cape Town 8001 South Africa t: +27 21 4235403 f:+27 088 021 4232136

info@joaoferreiragallery.com www.joaoferreiragallery.com

Joburg Art Fair 09: Continued from Page 3

Consisting of coloured building blocks stacked up to the ceiling, it protruded from the confines of the white display, physically and con-ceptually challenging the bounda-ries that define such an event. As a temporary object, Neustet-ter’s artwork couldn’t be sold or transported, thereby defying the objective to create sellable or easily packaged art. Even Jane Alexander’s installation, Security (2006), with its barbed wire borders that hemmed in a rectangle of artificial grass, seemed to conform to the controlled spatial dy-namics of the art fair. Nevertheless it was originally commissioned for the 27th Sao Paulo Biennale, but perhaps its neat boxlike configura-tion appealed to the organisers.At least last year art world tricksters Avant Car Guard created a stir with their performance piece at the Whatiftheworld booth, with their tongue-in-cheek memorial marking the “death” of Kendell Geers.

The absence of such performance interventions at this year’s fair en-sured that it was nothing more than an exercise in heightened com-mercial activity. Avant Car Guard’s The Invoice (2009), a make-believe receipt painted on to canvas, made a wry comment on the commodi-fication of art. But otherwise there were few works that threatened or questioned the conventions of such an exposition.The fair did, however, provide an opportunity to identify what is considered sellable. Photographic works were in abundance and there was a palatable sense that artists working with this medium were searching for ways to stand out from the crowd. From superimpos-ing existing dated cut-outs on to contemporary photographs to sealing each part of a photograph in a see-through plastic container

to photographing aged women draped in clothing made from animal entrails, they were trying out all manner of visual tricks to get attention. But mostly their efforts felt contrived and superfluous to their expression. Berry Brickle’s Melancholia 01 (2007) from the Encounters of Bamako collection stood out: a synthesis of collage and photography that saw a variety of found images and photographs layered over each other to create an otherworldly image that played with its temporality - no mean feat considering that photography is inextricably tied to reality.The documentary style genre, which was fairly well represented at the fair, just couldn’t compete in the face more progressive forms of art. Photographers should take Zander Blom’s lead in his Travels of Bad series, displayed at the Rooke gallery stand. Blom exploits the documentary function of photogra-phy while simultaneously allowing it to serve a so-called high art function too.With so much art on view it was hard for individual pieces to shine. It often was the more three-dimen-sional sculptural pieces that tended to steal attention, such as Mary Sibande’s A Conversation with Madam CJ Walker (2008), on show at Gallery Momo’s stand. It featured two mannequins ofdomestic workers in their “maid attire”, which appeared more like a period costume, suggesting that their task/role belonged to another era.

Though the title may have inferred they were engaging in a dialogue with a white woman, the conversa-tion that Sibande refers to is one with the first black American million-aire, summoning a more meta-phorical dialogue that encompasses issues pertaining to servitude and the aspiration for wealth and power. One can only guess what the Sand-ton madams visiting the fair would have made of the artwork.Wayne Barker’s Desire and Golden

Girl, showing at SMAC’s booth, were also eye-catching. He has ditched the neon lights (at last!) and progressed to produce wonderful, kitschy-art-slash-crafty-slash-pop-artish beadworks that appear like a stereotypical advert parading obvious markers of sex and wealth. They were beautifully crafted, witty and relevant.Most gallery stands showed artworks in isolation from the bodies to which they belonged - except for Blom’s Travels of Bad series. And the arbitrary arrangements of the art ensured that most of the works were shown out of context which silenced their subtext.But art fairs are about generating sales and, as such, most gallerists were keen to hedge their bets by displaying a full array of art in the hope that they would have more of a chance of nailing a sale. In such a context, the aesthetic or transcen-dental nature of art objects is stifled.And with hoards of people jostling for a view and a glut of art distract-ing one’s attention, there is scant room for the viewer to meditate on each piece. In other words art fairs do not make ideal environments for viewing or appraising art. Nor are they, as Ross Douglas, the organiser of the art fair, proposes, opportunities for the South African public “to be educated about contemporary art”.

The BMW Art Talks at the fair did provide occasions for the public to learn more about art production in this country, but the catalogue, a thick book that almost exclusively contained images, ensured there wasn’t reading material that visitors could take home that might have provided some sort of introduction to the central issues.The introduction of a design stand - staged by Southern Guild - might also distort the public’s under-standing and appreciation of art. While the boundaries between art and design are blurred, there is a distinction; it might not necessar-ily manifest in the final product,

but exists in terms of the creator’s intentions and motives. If the art fair is to achieve its objective in terms of “growing a new audience” for art, then it seems paramount that a novice audience is able to grasp the difference between a slick chair and an artwork. However, it is more than likely that succeeding Joburg Art Fairs might include more design stands.It is not because designers don’t have a platform - they do; there is a surplus of interior décor and design expos. The problem is the limited number of bona fide contemporary art galleries - most of those little shops in malls peddling trite land-scape art don’t count.So in order for Artlogic, Douglas’s company, to grow the fair each year they will be forced to embrace more and more object displays derived from that fuzzy territory that delineates the overlap between art and craft.No doubt Artlogic will find expedient ways of dressing up this art event as something more substantial than a commercial venture as they have done to-date with public assertions that their event is a more viable endeavour than the Johannesburg Biennale’s or Cape Africa Platform’s art initiatives in Cape Town. The Joburg Biennale might have ceased and Cape Africa Platform may havean upward struggle in staging their event but these are exhibitions and not commercial art expositions. There is huge difference in terms of their approach to display and the discourses they engage with and create. Douglas may believe that he is offering an alternative to such events but in no way does or can a primarily commercially driven art initiative be able to compete or achieve the same objectives as a biennale.These Joburg Art Fairs only provide a temporary diversion and will no doubt cease to be of any interest once the makeshift galleries inside the Sandton Convention are pulled-down to make way for the next exposition.

South African Art Times. May 2009 Page 5

David BrownTWO MEN AND THEIR DOG

AND OTHER WORKS

6 - 30 May 2009 Opening reception:

Wednesday, 6 May at 6pm

70 Loop Street Cape Town 8001 South Africa t: +27 21 4235403 f:+27 088 021 4232136

info@joaoferreiragallery.com www.joaoferreiragallery.com

A quality selection of SA old mastersand selected contemporary art

www.artwessels.co.za

Tel (+27) 12 346-0728 / Fax (+27) 12 346-0729alette@artwessels.co.za gerrie@artwessels.co.za

Alette 082 652 6663 Gerrie 084 589 0711

Alette Wessels KunskamerMaroelana Centre, 27 Maroelana Street,

Maroelana, Pretoria

GPS S25º 46.748' EO28º 1.5615'

OPENMon to Fri 09h00 - 16h00Saturday 09h00 - 13h00

JH PIERNEEFLANDSCAPE TRANSVAAL 1946

65 X 85 CMOIL ON CANVAS

Connecting with da people

If you really wanted to depress yourself about the nonsense sometimes offered as ‘art’, a visit to a far-a-way corner of the recent Decorex at the CTICC was pure poison. Using the designation ‘kitsch’ seemed an all too easy write-off for bad taste and visual stupidity that filled stall after stall next to pretty chairs. At first one laughed a bit at hefty-priced, funky frames with what resembled pop-up mini opera-de-signs (with that specific patina of the unreal realness of stage decor) in careful (built-in) lighting. Then the sad penny dropped that this event is where interior people are supposed to acquire their ideas and the stuff that get them a spot on Top Billing and Pasella. This is where you’d throw quite a few thousand rand around for a new couch and a couple of lampshades, and possibly buy something to hang on the wall.

Of nice art (we’re not talking deep, hefty stuff that only attracts the initi-ated) that will cheer up a smart little apartment, bring zing to a business

office, or add life to a family man-sion, there was nothing to be seen.

One would have thought that a smart little gallery with affordable, good prints (of which there are so many being made right here and now in the Mother city) and a knowledgeable person on duty could have used the opportunity. But, I suppose, when the halls are filled up with framed twaddle, the competition is overwhelming. (The much-punted and popular Design Indaba also seemed to have run out of steam on this point.)

In a way, such amusing scenes at Decorex hinted again about the gentle crisis in the contemporary art world, where people simply don’t know - and get waylaid by talk and money. (Oh, and a nice frame.)After all the hoopla which saw the local galleries up north for the Joburg Art Fair, most are back with little to report on sales and influence. How long they’ll hang on to the blind belief in the fabulous bond between money, fame and art remains to be seen. Maybe we’ll see some of them in the Decorex corner next year.

If Gauteng (who tried so hard, way back, with its biennales) is working to box (hopefully) exciting and new art within that money/fame paradigm, the Cape, at least, still has, well, Cape.

As the merry month of May gets into its stride, that rather chimerical organisation which sometimes also goes as the Cape Africa Platform has launched its second effort at a city-wide art event, Cape 09. Those who remember those early days - the sad chaotic talk-shop called Sessions eKapa, way back in 2005, the over-reaching plans for

TransCape and the flaccid Cape 07 - may smile that Cape 09 is now punted as a biennale.

Throughout those hot-headed years, the political correctness of being otherwise, the organisers refused to use the word ‘biennale’; in the present version, Cape 09 is firmly named as such. (Important to note that this signals that there is a two-year future for such an event, even though the organisers are already saying they’ll do something next year at the time you-know-what-cup.)To be honest, this year’s pro-gramme looks promising, even exciting in preview. There seems to be a reality-checked honesty about the fifteen or so projects that will unfold during the month. The hoopla has been contained and the curatorial mumbo-jumbo is not too dizzying. But what is particularly heartening is not that the sights are not set too high, but that there seems to be a genuine effort to connect with people on the ground. Previously politically-correct (anti-gallery and sometimes highly patronising) curatorial decisions collapsed due to lack of proper logical and management support. Most of the present projects look as if their very reason-of-being is grounded among Capetonians of all persuasions.

February’s Spier performance festival, Infecting the City, showed that, even if they are slightly flabbergasted at what they are confronted with in the name of art, da people can connect. Cape 09’s installations, performances, site specific works, processions, and the rest, the organisers say, are “participatory, encouraging visitors to step inside art and discover new ways of looking and thinking about life today.”Now isn’t that a much nicer invita-tion than having to decide whether you want to hang some Decorex kitsch on your wall, and still now know that it ain’t art?

Art life renews itself through recession : Continued from page 1

Fuelled by his passion for historical context, Siebrits has been dedi-cated to the research and publish-ing side of his business, having produced a range of immaculately produced catalogues, contributing to the growth of the careers in his care. But at R150 000 per month, before they’d even started with catalogue expenses, their overheads had started to become crippling, says Siebrits. ‘We’ve been subsidising our contemporary shows through our sales in the secondary market for some time now.’More than a freak quirk, the gal-lery’s imminent closure is a sign of the times. ‘What we’re going through is not unique,’ says Sieb-rits. ‘Sadly, no one is immune.’But on a more heartening note, he recalls one of his personal highpoints since opening the gal-lery seven years ago. He doesn’t hesitate in saying that handling Gerard Sekoto’s painting, Soka Majoka (Sixpence a Door), featured as part the 2003 group show, Art and Urbanisation, has been his greatest honour. Painted in 1946/7, it is considered Sekoto’s most important painting, having been part of an exhibition that travelled the world in the late 1940s, when it was admired by the Queen Mother and featured in Time magazine. ‘In 2002, I sold that painting for R1-mil-lion, and played a part in catalysing the Sekoto market,’ says Siebrits proudly, from under the dapper brim of one of his signature hats. ‘At that stage, no South African painting had sold for so much. If it went back on the market today, it would fetch about R10-million, conservatively, which shows how much the market has changed since when we first started the gallery.’ Siebrits will soon be embarking on a new chapter working privately as a Web-based dealer, specialising in rare art, signed books and other

ephemera (warrensiebrits.co.za). His gallery might not be around for much longer, but we’re likely to hear more from this indomitable character who has already made a significant mark on South African art history.This week’s news must have come as a tough blow to his artists, but Siebrits is committed to finding the right match for each of them with other leading galleries and to sustaining his relationship with them on a personal basis.Something about the solid and ethical manner in which Siebrits and his partner, Lunetta Bartz, have run their gallery had me believing that, like hot buttered toast, it would somehow always be around.

Melvyn Minnaar

COLLECTIONS ATTHE NELSON MANDELA

METROPOLITAN ART MUSEUMSouth African art (particularly that of the Eastern Cape), British art, international

printmaking, Oriental art (including Indian miniatures and Chinese textiles).

Art TalkUntil 26 May 2009Art Talk explores three categories of visual communi-cation, namely, narrative, iconography and expression.Celebrated artists on display include William Kentridge,Penny Siopis and Andrew Verster. Also featured is the“Mendi” triptych by Hilary Graham which tells a story ofthe sinking of the troopship Mendi.

New AcquisitionsUntil 26 May 2009Recent acquisitions of works into the permanentcollections of the Art Museum by some of South Africa’stop contemporary artists including Berni Searle, ChurchillMadikida, Conrad Botes and Durant Sihlali. Local artistsfeatured are Marc Pradervand, Christine Dixie, BrentMeistre and Maureen de Jager.

Scenes in the street 7 May – 12 July 2009A playful look at street scenes through the eyes of artistsincluding Tommy Motswai’s City scene/Township scene,George Msimang’s The bus stop and The flower sellersby Hugo Naude. Street scenes as seen through thelenses of local photographers Marc Shoul and RobDuker, who have extensively documented life in MandelaBay, will also be on display.

Decade: Highlights from 10 years of collectingfor the Sanlam Art Collection 5 June – 19 July 2009A selection of works by some of South Africa’s mostvalued and emerging artists from the Sanlam ArtCollection, one of South Africa’s finest collections ofSouth African Art. With holdings of more than 2000items, the collection provides a representative overviewof South African art dating from the late nineteenthcentury to the present.

Standard Bank Young Artist 2009:Nicholas Hlobo30 July – 20 September 2009The 2009 Standard Bank Young Artist award winner forVisual Arts, Nicholas Hlobo, uses strategically chosenmaterials to “create conversations” around issues ofmasculinity, gender, race and ethnicity.

Poking fun25 July – 25 November 2009Works from the Art Museum’s permanent collectionwhich explore humour, biting commentary and satire.From depictions of power, greed and lust to candy-coloured malice, this exhibition is full of dark humourand artistic insight.

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art MuseumBiennial 2008 Award Winners: Linga Diko 17 October – 15 November 2009Linga Diko’s extensive volume of work represents,through delicate mark-making and subtle humour, thestruggles and hopes of people living under difficultconditions.

Christine Maree 23 October – 25 November 2009Christine Maree’s body of works will focus on the familyportrait as an indicator of familial dynamics and relations,particularly in a South African context.

Clementina van der WaltMasksceramic2005

Carla da CruzGrowthglazed earthenware2008

Churchill Madikida, Virus, DVD projection, 2005

Lisa Walker, Delilahceramic, wire

EXHIBITIONS

Leora FarberCultivars: Perrusoniiwax, plastic, fabric, plant material2006-7

Hylton Humboldt NelMadonna and childearthenware, 1985

1 Park Drive, Port Elizabeth, 6001, South Africa Telephone: +27 (0)41 5062000 Fax: +27 (0)41 5863234E-mail: artmuseum@mandelametro.gov.zaWebsite: www.artmuseum.co.za

Lisa WalkerPine seedceramic, wire, beads

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GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA WWW.NATIONALARTSFESTIVAL.CO.ZA

10 DAYS OF AMAZ!NG 2-11 JULY 2009

NATIONAL COUNCILARTS

63547 NAF SA Art Times.indd 1 4/30/09 3:11:17 PM

THETROPICS

KULTURSTIFTUNGDES

BUNDES

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Wednesday 20 May 2009 18:30 for 19:00

artb, Gallery Bellville Library CentreCarel van Aswegen Street, Bellville

17 June 2009

Opening:

Venue:

Exhibition closes:

The City of Cape Town, in collaboration with Cape Friends of Calligraphy and artb Gallery, has the pleasure of inviting you to an exhibition of letters and calligaphy.

b.lettered

Marion Cross082 5535 104mwmcross@mweb.co.za

‘Landscapes, cityscapes and still lives, journeys in colour, form and equilibrium. My inspiration is taken from my surroundings, from travel and things that are beautiful.’ Cape Town artist working in oil, acrylic, pastel, charcoal and mixed media on canvas and paper. BAFA - UnisaAdvanced Diploma Painting - Wits

12 Wellington Road, Durbanville. Tel. +27 (0)21 9764691 www.rust-en-vrede.com Mon – Fri 9am –5pm. Sat 9am – 1 pm

5 May – 28 MaySalon A: On the Surface - Pots by Mervyn GersSalon B: The Exquisite Corpse : A portfolio of 16 uniquely collaborated etchings,based on the theme of an Adam and an Eve, by Judy Woodborne, Chris Diedericks, Paul Birchall, Eunice Geustyn, Theo Kleynhans, Richard Kilpert, Diane Victor, Julia Teale

Salon C: ONTHOU/VERGEET – by Theo Kleynhans

Rust-en-Vrede Gallery

Pot by Mervyn Gers

12 Wellington Road, Durbanville. Tel. +27 (0)21 9764691 www.rust-en-vrede.com Mon – Fri 9am –5pm. Sat 9am – 1 pm

5 May – 28 MaySalon A: On the Surface - Pots by Mervyn GersSalon B: The Exquisite Corpse : A portfolio of 16 uniquely collaborated etchings,based on the theme of an Adam and an Eve, by Judy Woodborne, Chris Diedericks, Paul Birchall, Eunice Geustyn, Theo Kleynhans, Richard Kilpert, Diane Victor, Julia Teale

Salon C: ONTHOU/VERGEET – by Theo Kleynhans

Rust-en-Vrede Gallery

Pot by Mervyn Gers

17 Hoofd StreetBraamfontein

Tel + 27 11 339 6539Fax+ 27 11 339 6695admin@artschool.co.zawww.artschool.co.za

OPENDAY

Saturday 9 May

The National School of the Arts

artdancedramamusic

The Festival of Fame, now heading into itseighth year, brings youth and professionals

together for five days of exciting anddynamic activities, workshops, events and

productions in all of the art forms.

Since its inception in 2002, this event has• showcased the talents of young people,

up-and-coming stars, and established artists• given young people the opportunity to

engage with professional artists• provided stimulating learning experiences in

five full days of structured activities• provided opportunities to explore and

experiment with the art forms in practicaland exciting workshops and competitions

• presented artistic and cultural performancesand shows of outstanding quality

• generated excitement around arts and culturein young people

• promoted and enlivened the concept of the“cultural arc”, bring people back into theBraamfontein area

17 Hoofd Street, BraamfonteinTel +27 11 339 6539

Fax + 27 11 339 6695admin@artschool.co.za

www.festivaloffame.co.za

Inspired Painting Courses at La Creuzette, France

L a C r e u z e t t e , 1 7 A v e n u e D ’ A u v e r g n e , 2 3 6 0 0 B o u s s a c F r a n c e . w w w. l a c r e u z e t t e . c o m a n d j a n s e n - v a n - v u u r e n @ w a n a d o o . f r

Pastel Master Classes 30 August - 07 September

Louis Jansen van Vuuren presents this advanced art course - using pastels as the main medium in his studio at la Creuzette. At the end of the stay at la Creuzette, one night in Paris and a private tour of the Orangerie museum are included!

Painting & Cooking Course

03 - 11 October

An ideal opportunity for couples and friends who wish to travel together, but each focuses on a different passion – food or art or even BOTH!

270 Main Street, Paarl

The Gallery is open Monday - Saturday from 08:30 - 5:30 pm and on Sunday from 10:00 - 5:00 pm

Visit www.houtstreetgallery.co.za or contact 021 872 5030

The Hout Street Gallery

SWART The Fencing Studio 60 x 60 cm Oil

82 Church Street (Corner Church & Loop Street)Cape Town, 8001, South AfricaTel: +27 21 439 3517, Fax: 086 611 3871Cell: 083 312 3450Email: info@christophermollerart.co.zaWebsite: www.christophermollerart.co.za

“Blue”, a group show Thursday 14th – 30th of May, 2009.

CHRISTOPHER MøLLER ART SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEMPORARY AND MASTERS

Lionel Smit, “Awe II”, oil on canvas

n•fin•ari TCustom Picture Framers & Art Gallery

Wolfe Street • Chelsea • Wynberg • Tel: 021 761 2816 + Buitengracht Street • Cape Town • Tel: 021 423 2090 E-mail: gallery@infinart.co.za • web www.infinart.co.za

LAN REID A Cape Artist working in the Romantic Impressionist Style

Influenced by the natural beauty of the Western Cape as well as my travels abroad, I enjoy working on a variety of subjects in all media. In my work I strive to capture the intense light and vibrant colour that is the lens through which I see the world.

I have had 6 solo exhibitions and exhibited in numerous collective exhibitions. My work is owned by collectors, both at home and abroad and I am happy to accept commissions.

Mobile: +27 83 333 4834 Email: lanreid@yahoo.com

Lipschitz Gallery is a well established art company which assists private and corporate buyers wanting to purchase South African art. We represent and promote a wide spectrum of artists in all genres nationally and internationally, and are also known and respected for our work in the secondary art market. Our gallery team specialises in providing full consultation services and valuations.

tel/fax 27 44 533 4581 cell 082 900 6631

info@southafricanart.co.za www.southafricanart.co.za

hill house one main street plettenberg bay po box 1732 6600

gps S34° 03.405’ E023° 22.330’

South-African Ceramics:Linnware, Kalahari, Rorke’s Drift

& Anglo-Oriental Ceramics

14 May - 30 May 2009

red black and white 5A Distillery Road, Bosman’s Crossing, Stellenbosch

Enquiries: +27 (0) 21 886 6281 | info@redblackandwhite.co.zawww.redblackandwhite.co.za

270 Main Street, Paarl

The Gallery is open Monday - Saturday from 08:30 - 5:30 pm and on Sunday from 10:00 - 5:00 pm

Visit www.houtstreetgallery.co.za or contact 021 872 5030

The Hout Street Gallery

SWART The Fencing Studio 60 x 60 cm Oil

The Philip Harper GalleriesHermanus, Western Cape

www.thephilipharpergalleries.co.za

We specialise in South African Art, both Old Masters and select Contemporary Artists, catering for both corporate and private clients

Oudehof Mall, 167 Main Road, Hermanus, Tel: 028 3124836

Carl Buchner (1921-2003) Blue Harlequin Oil on Board 490 x 370 mm

info@thephilipharpergalleries.co.za