ART TIMES

Issue : May 2009

THE SOUTH AFRICAN

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Cecil Skotnes in his studio 1967 Photo: courtesy Pippa Skotnes

Cecil Skotnes 1926 – 2009

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 .

Art life renews itself through recession

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

Alex Dodd
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.
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
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)

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 Autumn 2009 Sale of Decorative and Fine Arts
Stephan Welz and Company, in
association with Sotheby’s, will hold
their 2009 Autumn Sale of Decorative
and Fine Arts at the Kirstenbosch
National Botanical Gardens on 26 and
27 May 2009. The sale will be on view
to the public from 22 to 24 May 2009.
FINE ARTS
Strong lyrical narratives by Marjorie
Wallace are on offer with Ons
(estimate R120 000 - R150 000),
a tender depiction of love between
Jan Rabie and Marjorie; Claude and
the Children (estimate R70 000 -
R90 000), an intimate portrayal of
Claude Bouscharain and her children;
and Rachel and Ou Nooi with a letter
from Breyten (estimate R70 000 -
R100 000), the reading of a letter
penned by the imprisoned writer
Breyten Breytenbach, jailed by the
State for high treason. Wallace, best
known for her portrait studies, was
trained at the Edinburgh College of Art
and made such an impression that she
became the youngest person to be
elected to the Royal Scottish Academy.
She met and married the writer Jan
Rabie in Paris in 1953, later a leading
member of the Sestigers, and the
couple settled in Onrus in 1954.
Amanda Botha, a friend of Wallace
and an art writer, said, “[people] were
always important to Wallace, but she
never had a voyeur's approach. She
lived alongside the people in her paint-
ings … her lasting contribution is (her)
cultural-historical record of work on the
marginalised people in society.”
Ian Hunter of Stephan Welz & Co’s
Cape Town Paintings department says:
“We are fortunate to have three Paul
Stopforth resistance artworks in our
Contemporary section. Stopforth, who
now resides in America, fused art and
politics in the mid ’70s to raise aware-
ness for the atrocities being committed
under Apartheid. Death in Detention
(estimate R10 000 - R15 000) and
Altarpiece for Thomas Kasire (estimate
R8 000 - R12 000) are particularly
poignant pieces, rare to the auction
Gregoire Johannes Boonzaier, MOSQUE, LOOP STREET BO KAAP
signed and dated 1951; inscribed with the title on the stretcher
56 by 63cm
R 350 000 - 450 000
world with most being housed in
National Collections.”
Terence McCaw has a strong presence
in this sale with the particularly striking
View from the Artist’s Garden, Hout
Bay (estimate R120 000 - R150 000)
one of six works by the artist due
to come under the hammer on the
26 May. McCaw was a founder mem-
ber and active protagonist of the New
Group, established in 1938 with Walter
Battiss and Gregoire Boonzaier. While
working closely with Boonzaier, McCaw
was also exposed to the work of first
generation Cape Impressionist – Pieter
Wenning. This influence is clearly seen
in McCaw’s work. Pieter Wenning’s
Old Church (estimate R400 000 -
R600 000) is also available to collec-
tors of South African Masters. The
Wenning, previously sold in 1991 by
Stephan Welz & Co, in association with
Sotheby’s, is again on offer to the
market having resided since that sale
till now in a magnificent South African
collection.
Further highlights include: a rare entry
from auction-shy Siegfried Hahn titled
Spring, Saragossa (estimate R7 000 -
R10 000), Gregoire Boonzaier’s
Mosque, Loop Street, Bo Kaap
(estimate R350 000 - R450 000) and
Irma Stern’s Portrait of Zoë Randall
(estimate R1 800 000 - R2 400 000).
Stern’s painting demonstrates her vir-
tuosity in paint application and debt
owed to African masks as part inspira-
tion for this composition. The sitter, Zoë
Randall, was a well known and much
accoladed star of the South African
theatre world. In 2002 at the Fleur du
Cap Theatre awards she received a
lifetime achievement award in recogni-
tion of her 60 years of dedication as
an actress and supporter of the arts.
DECORATIVE ARTS
For clock enthusiasts, a magnificent
early 18th century Louis XV boulle
bracket clock by G. J. Champion, Paris
(estimate R25 000 - R30 000) should
attract much interest. This item, inlaid
with tortoiseshell and richly decorated
with mythological figures and beasts,
epitomises Rococo craftsmanship.
Other clocks include a Dutch Frisian
Wall Clock, circa 1850 (estimate
R8 000 - R10 000) and a novelty
Jaeger Timepiece in the form of a
lamp post (estimate R5 000 - R7 000).
English and European furniture
collectors should bid competitively for
an 18th century oak and inlaid chest-
on-stand (estimate R30 000 - R40 000)
and a Set of Four Sheraton Style
Fruitwood Armchairs, circa 1880
(estimate R15 000 - R20 000), each
chair stamped Howard & Sons Ltd.
Berner Street.
Furniture on offer to Colonial collectors
is a magnificent 19th Century Rose-
wood, Stinkwood and Satinwood Drum
Table (estimate R30 000 - R40 000)
which should attract discerning bids.
This unusually large example boasts
eight real and dummy drawers with
ivory-tipped handles.
There are many items that will appeal
to Cape furniture collectors. In the day
session, a 19th Century Cape Rooiels
Koskas (estimate R20 000 - R25 000)
should be of
AUCTION OF DECORATIVE AND FINE ARTS
Tuesday 26 May at 2pm and 7pm
Auction:
Tuesday 26 May 2pm and 7pm
Wednesday 27 May 10am
Venue:
Old Mutual Conference and Exhibition Centre,
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Newlands,
Cape Town
Viewing:
Friday 22 May 10am to 5pm
Saturday 23 May 9am to 2pm
Sunday 24 May 10am to 5pm
interest to admirers of Cape furniture.
In the evening session, a particularly
well-preserved 19th Century Stinkwood
Rusbank (estimate R18 000 - R20 000)
and a 19th century Cape Yellowwood
and Stinkwood Cradle (estimate
R3 000 - R5 000) are two items that
rarely appear on auction.
A delightful collection of Toby Jugs,
available for the first time to collectors,
includes a Staffordshire ‘Ordinary’ Toby
Jug, 1790-1810 (estimate R6 000 -
R8 000). Although similar Delft jugs
existed in the Netherlands, the Toby
Jug was first developed and popu-
larised in England by the potter Ralph
Wood. A typical jug depicts a seated
man wearing an English ‘tricorn’ hat
and holding a mug of beer and a glass
or a pipe. The original jug is said to
have been inspired by a song ‘Brown
Jug’, popular in 1761, whose lyrics
featured ‘Toby Fillpot’.
Another fine example of English
ceramics is a Lucie Rie (1902-1995)
Asymetrical Stoneware Bowl (estimate
R25 000 - R35 000), impressed with
the designer’s initials. European
ceramics are well represented; in
particular a striking Large De
Porceleyne Fles ‘Nieuw Delfts” vase
1910 -1920 (estimate R7 000 - 9 000)
decorated in tones of blue and
turquoise and borrowing from Islamic
earthenware patterns, and an assem-
bled Meissen part- dinner service
(estimate R15 000 - R20 000), 20th
century, freshly applied with spring
flower motifs on a white background
and finished off with gilt trim. An attrac-
tive collection of Scandinavian wares
includes designs by Berndt Friberg
(1899-1981), Gertrud Vasegaard
(1913-2007) and Herbert Krenchel
(1922-). These vessels share pared-
down lines married with a strong sense
of design; the Krenchel ‘Krenit’ wares
punctuated by strong interior colours.
South African ceramics include works
by Hym Rabinowitz, Esias Bosch, Tim
Morris, Andrew Walford, Hylton Nel,
Rorke’s Drift and
Wednesday 27 May at 10am
Ardmore. Hylton Nel (1941-) steals the A fine near pair of
show with his tin-glazed earthenware WMF Art Nouveau
‘Crucifixion’ plaque (estimate R3 000 - Electroplate plaques
R4 000), an enigmatic earthenware (estimate R8 000 -
doll (estimate R4 000 - 6 000), and R10 000) are on
two delightful tin-glazed earthenware offer, each depict-
plates: one decorated with an insect ing a woman in
(estimate R 7 000 - 9 000) and the profile surrounded
other decorated with a bird on a green by foliage. The Art
ground (estimate R 9 000 - R12 000). Nouveau move-
The renowned Rorke’s Drift pottery ment was charac-
studio is showcased with a stoneware terised by organic
vase executed in 1977 by Lephina subjects, especially
Molefe (estimate R6 000 - R8 000); a floral motifs, as
stoneware vase by Elizabeth Mbatha well as highly-
(estimate R5 000 - 7 000); two incised stylised, flowing
stoneware vases (estimate R8 000 - curvilinear forms.
R10 000 each) and a two-handled bowl Art Nouveau was
and cover (estimate R5 000 - R7 000), an approach to
all 1980, by Joel Sibisi. Sibisi’s action design according to which artists
of carving out images in the slip should be involved with the design of
painted stoneware mirrors the act of everything from architecture to furni-
linocut production. Similarly the stylised ture, making art part of everyday life.
and somewhat naïve motifs closely
mirror the iconography found in linouts. Collectors’ items include a Fruitwood
Apple-shaped tea caddy (estimate
Of historical interest is a group of R10 000 - R15 000), which dates to
Nine Rare Chinese Armorial Wares, the turn of the nineteenth century. Tea
Qianlong, 1736-1795 (estimate which was a valuable commodity at
R60 000 - R90 000), created for the that time, was kept under
Cape market. Similar examples can lock and key. Also
be found on p 126 and 127 of on offer for
Woodward’s “Oriental Ceramics at the the boy at
Cape of Good Hope, 1652-1795”. heart
are
English and Continental silverware
includes items ranging from 1736
through to the latter half of the
twentieth century. A George III Silver
Seven-Bar Toast-rack by the renowned
silversmith Paul Storr, executed in
1817, is offered for sale at R7 000 -
9 000. Paul Storr, a favourite of George
IV, was known for his fine craftsman-
ship and was skilled at using designs
executed in other media by artists and two
then adapting these concepts to suit swords: a
the purpose for which he required Prussian Infantry
them. This fine sense of design and Officer’s sword designed in
craftsmanship is what has seen his 1889 (estimate R2 500 - R4 000) and
pieces through the fashion highs and a Victorian Infantry Officer’s sword
lows of silver, making him an enduring dating from the 19th century (estimate
favourite with collectors. R3 000 - R5 000).
A fine set of Elizabeth II silver ‘rat-tail’ These and other items are scheduled
pattern cutlery by Gee and Holmes of to go under the hammer on the
Sheffield, England, is also due to come 26th and 27th of May 2009 at
under the hammer at Kirstenbosch. In Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
addition to the hallmark denoting the
year 1977, this set of twelve place set-
tings is also stamped with the special
commemorative Silver Jubilee Hallmark
which displays Queen Elizabeth's head
facing left. Amongst other highlights in
the Silver sessions are a William
Suckling George V Silver six-piece tea
and coffee set (estimate R12 000 -
R15 000) and a James Deakin and
Sons George V two-handled silver tray
(estimate R15 000 - R20 000).
Enquiries and Catalogues
Cape Town Office: 021 794 6461
At the Saleroom, Kirstenbosch
from Friday 22 May
Tel: 021 761 4288
Fax: 021 761 8690
e-mail: ct@swelco.co.za
Catalogues can be viewed
on our website:
www.swelco.co.za
South African Art Times. May 2009
Peter Machen
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.
Henrietta Hamilton from The Bank Gallery
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.
Page 3
KUNSGALERY
Mary Corrigall
JOHANS BORMAN
Joburg Art Fair 09: FINE ART GALLERY
Sculptures steal
the attention
(First published in The Sunday
Independent)
CAPE TOWN
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 with
his yoga moves. But the most
notable moment was when Kris
Martin affected his intangible art-
work, dubbed One Minute Silence
(2007), which demanded that JH Pierneef, ‘Bosveld bome, N.Transvaal’ – 1944
everyone in the fair remain quiet
for one minute.
Call them art fair gimmicks if you A showcase for the best of South African Masters,
must, but all of these staged as well as some leading contemporary artists.
interventions 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 Telephone: 021 423 6075
art event. Nor can their subversive
compulsions be tamed; they will www.johansborman.co.za
automatically disrupt and chal-
lenge convention at every turn. Mon-Fri: 09h30 - 17h30
At this year’s Joburg Art Fair, Sat: 10h00 - 13h00
however, there were few such or by appointment
memorable attractions or interven-
tions. Marcus Neustetter’s Work in In Fin Art Building
Progress (2009) was perhaps the Upper Buitengracht Street, Cape Town 8001
only artwork that defied the art fair Cell: 082 566 4631
setting.
E-mail: art@johansborman.co.za
(Continued on page 4)
Page 4
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
mes SA 01 MAY09.indd 1 2009/04/21 03:29:28 PM
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 of
domestic 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
South African Art Times.
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,
May 2009
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
have
an 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
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
David Brown
TWO 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
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
Connecting with da people Joburg Art Fair, most are back
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
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
Page 5
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.) A quality selection of SA old masters
To be honest, this year’s pro- and selected contemporary art
www. art wessels.co.za
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
JH PIERNEEF
management support. Most of the
LANDSCAPE TRANSVAAL 1946
present projects look as if their very
65 X 85 CM
reason-of-being is grounded among
OIL ON CANVAS
Capetonians of all persuasions.
February’s Spier performance Tel (+27) 12 346-0728 / Fax (+27) 12 346-0729
festival, Infecting the City, showed alette@artwessels.co.za gerrie@artwessels.co.za
that, even if they are slightly
Alette 082 652 6663 Gerrie 084 589 0711
flabbergasted at what they are
confronted with in the name of art, Alette Wessels Kunskamer
da people can connect. Cape 09’s Maroelana Centre, 27 Maroelana Street,
installations, performances, site
Maroelana, Pretoria
specific works, processions, and
the rest, the organisers say, are GPS S25º 46.748' EO28º 1.5615'
“participatory, encouraging visitors
to step inside art and discover new OPEN
ways of looking and thinking about Mon to Fri 09h00 - 16h00
life today.” Saturday 09h00 - 13h00
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?
 Churchill Madikida, Virus, DVD projection, 2005

Lisa Walker, Delilah

ceramic, wire

Clementina van der Walt Leora Farber Hylton Humboldt Nel Lisa Walker Carla da Cruz
Masks Cultivars: Perrusonii Madonna and child Pine seed Growth
ceramic wax, plastic, fabric, plant material earthenware, 1985 ceramic, wire, beads glazed earthenware
2005 2006-7 2008

COLLECTIONS AT
THE NELSON MANDELA
METROPOLITAN ART MUSEUM
South African art (particularly that of the Eastern Cape), British art, international
printmaking, Oriental art (including Indian miniatures and Chinese textiles).
Art Talk
Until 26 May 2009
Art 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 of
the sinking of the troopship Mendi.
New Acquisitions
Until 26 May 2009
Recent acquisitions of works into the permanent
collections of the Art Museum by some of South Africa’s
top contemporary artists including Berni Searle, Churchill
Madikida, Conrad Botes and Durant Sihlali. Local artists
featured are Marc Pradervand, Christine Dixie, Brent
Meistre and Maureen de Jager.
Scenes in the street
7 May – 12 July 2009
A playful look at street scenes through the eyes of artists
including Tommy Motswai’s City scene/Township scene,
George Msimang’s The bus stop and The flower sellers
by Hugo Naude. Street scenes as seen through the
lenses of local photographers Marc Shoul and Rob
Duker, who have extensively documented life in Mandela
Bay, will also be on display.
EXHIBITIONS
Decade: Highlights from 10 years of collecting Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum
for the Sanlam Art Collection Biennial 2008 Award Winners:
5 June – 19 July 2009 Linga Diko
A selection of works by some of South Africa’s most 17 October – 15 November 2009
valued and emerging artists from the Sanlam Art Linga Diko’s extensive volume of work represents,
Collection, one of South Africa’s finest collections of through delicate mark-making and subtle humour, the
South African Art. With holdings of more than 2000 struggles and hopes of people living under difficult
items, the collection provides a representative overview conditions.
of South African art dating from the late nineteenth
century to the present. Christine Maree
23 October – 25 November 2009
Standard Bank Young Artist 2009: Christine Maree’s body of works will focus on the family
Nicholas Hlobo portrait as an indicator of familial dynamics and relations,
30 July – 20 September 2009 particularly in a South African context.
The 2009 Standard Bank Young Artist award winner for
Visual Arts, Nicholas Hlobo, uses strategically chosen
materials to “create conversations” around issues of
masculinity, gender, race and ethnicity.
Poking fun
25 July – 25 November 2009
Works from the Art Museum’s permanent collection
which explore humour, biting commentary and satire.
From depictions of power, greed and lust to candy-
coloured malice, this exhibition is full of dark humour
and artistic insight.

1 Park Drive, Port Elizabeth, 6001, South Africa

Telephone: +27 (0)41 5062000 Fax: +27 (0)41 5863234
E-mail: artmuseum@mandelametro.gov.za
Website: www.artmuseum.co.za
 IRELAND/DAVENPORT 63547

10 DAYS OF AMAZ!NG s 2-11 JULY 2009

GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA s WWW.NATIONALARTSFESTIVAL.CO.ZA

NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL

 BVgXdh8]VkZh!ÆBVh`ÇK^YZd"^chiVaaVi^dc$hi^aa!'%%*BVgXdh8]VkZh

?P?AEHDJI=6;G>86CC6I>DC6A<6AA:GN

THETROPICS
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advert tropics-260x80.indd 1 2/23/09 4:22:23 PM

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 Opening: Wednesday 20 May 2009 18:30 for 19:00

Venue: artb, Gallery Bellville Library Centre

Carel van Aswegen Street, Bellville

Exhibition closes: 17 June 2009

Marion Cross Rust-en-Vrede Gallery

12 Wellington Road, Durbanville. Tel. +27 (0)21 9764691
www.rust-en-vrede.com Mon – Fri 9am –5pm. Sat 9am – 1 pm
082 5535 104

5 May – 28 May
mwmcross@mweb.co.za

‘Landscapes, cityscapes and still lives, journeys in colour, form and

equilibrium. My inspiration is taken from my surroundings, from Salon A: On the Surface - Pots by Mervyn Gers
travel and things that are beautiful.’ Cape Town artist working in oil, Salon B: The Exquisite Corpse : A portfolio of 16 uniquely
collaborated etchings,based on the theme of an Adam and an Eve,
acrylic, pastel, charcoal and mixed media on canvas and paper. by Judy Woodborne, Chris Diedericks, Paul Birchall, Eunice Geustyn,
BAFA - Unisa Theo Kleynhans, Richard Kilpert, Diane Victor, Julia Teale
Advanced Diploma Painting - Wits
Pot by Mervyn Gers Salon C: ONTHOU/VERGEET – by Theo Kleynhans
Inspired Painting Courses at La Creuzette, France
Pastel Painting
Master &
Classes Cooking
30 August -
Course
07 September
03 - 11
Louis Jansen van Vuuren October
presents this advanced
art course - using pastels An ideal opportunity for
as the main medium in couples and friends who
his studio at la Creuzette. wish to travel together,
At the end of the stay at but each focuses on a
la Creuzette, one night different passion – food
in Paris and a private or art or even BOTH!
tour of the Orangerie
museum are included!

L a C r e u z e t t e , 1 7 Av 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

The National School of the Arts The Festival of Fame, now heading into its

OPEN
eighth year, brings youth and professionals
together for five days of exciting and
dynamic activities, workshops, events and
productions in all of the art forms.

DAY
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
Saturday 9 May 17 Hoofd Street, Braamfontein
• provided stimulating learning experiences in
five full days of structured activities
Tel +27 11 339 6539 • provided opportunities to explore and
Fax + 27 11 339 6695 experiment with the art forms in practical
17 Hoofd Street
Braamfontein art admin@artschool.co.za
www.festivaloffame.co.za
and exciting workshops and competitions
• presented artistic and cultural performances
dance and shows of outstanding quality
Tel + 27 11 339 6539 • generated excitement around arts and culture
Fax+ 27 11 339 6695 drama in young people
• promoted and enlivened the concept of the
admin@artschool.co.za music “cultural arc”, bring people back into the
www.artschool.co.za
Braamfontein area
 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

in•fin•arT
Custom 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

The Hout Street Gallery

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

SWART The Fencing Studio 60 x 60 cm Oil

CHRISTOPHER MøLLER ART

SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEMPORARY AND MASTERS

82 Church Street (Corner Church & Loop Street)

Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
Tel: +27 21 439 3517, Fax: 086 611 3871
Cell: 083 312 3450 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
Email: info@christophermollerart.co.za of artists in all genres nationally and internationally, and are also known and respected for

Website: www.christophermollerart.co.za our work in the secondary art market. Our gallery team specialises in providing full
consultation services and valuations.

“Blue”, a group show tel/fax 27 44 533 4581 cell 082 900 6631

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

Thursday 14th – 30th of May, 2009. hill house one main street plettenberg bay po box 1732 6600

gps S34° 03.405’ E023° 22.330’

Lionel Smit, “Awe II”, oil on canvas
 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.za
www.redblackandwhite.co.za
 Carl Buchner (1921-2003) Blue Harlequin Oil on Board 490 x 370 mm

The Philip Harper Galleries

Hermanus, Western Cape
www.thephilipharpergalleries.co.za
info@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