(Top) Cathy Layzell’s Studio: The light in her studio comes from a window on each side of the room. When the light ceases climb the hill, Cathy packs up and heads
home to Hout Bay. She leaves her still lifes up to continue to paint tomorrow.
Tuesday mornings life drawing sessions are open to artists from all over. Today’s group includes an English artist in Cape Town for 2 months, as well as students
passing through in their winter holiday. A large number of dedicated artists live in the surrounding areas, but the group ebbs and fills with others who journey weekly
from Newlands, Observatory and Central Cape Town. If you arrive early enough you will access an easel, a board, pegs, clips, chairs and tables. The group has been
in existence for many years and has even exhibited their work in a group show. The models change weekly and return often. Andi really inspires the group, his quiet
energy maintaining the poses from 2 minutes to 15 minutes or half an hour with ease.
(Top) Lionel Davis is an awesome character, positive, jovial and dedicated to cultural involvement. In between his serious poses, he roared with laughter trying on his
various hats that he has collected over the years to enhance his mood for painting. Over the past many years. Lionel has travel to many art and political centres of the
world, invited to talk about his experiences during and post Apartheid. It is through these working opportunities that he has been able to set himself up comfortably
in Muizenberg, he says. Lionel in his studio with one of his “Coloured Man” self portraits. Having been incarcerated on Robben Island, under house arrest during the
apartheid era and later choosing to live and work on the island after it became a heritage site, Lionel professes to be an escapist in his work. “I do not deal with pain” he
admits. (Below) Lionel and Peter Clarke are close friends. Lionel, his wife and Peter often sojourn over weekend into central Cape Town where they do exhibition hop-
ping and other cultural activities. Peter Clarke is a well known and prolific visual artist, having succeeded is surviving solely through the sale of his artworks and artistic
application. He and Lionel discuss Lionel’s artworks presented for the Irma Stern show.
(Top) George of Quagga Trading views his treasure trove of books and collectibles, (Below middle)
(Below) A schoolgirl, looking out from Quagga Trading, George the security guard at Quagga makes sure everything is fine, Jane Eppel with Bruno greeting me,
The railway house. Roy Roach from Fishhoek in the big mirror
Have your Artist’s feature with us in the new SA Art Life Magazine
E-mail examples of your artwork to be selected by our selection panel to be featured in the next SA Art Life
Selected artists enjoy different rates to other SA Art Times and Business Art publications
The art of our time will determine for future generations who we were and what values we celebrates or strived for in our colourful lives. To date
much of what is written about South African art is by academics whose generally dry writing is devoid of the artist’s personal life and indeed, motive
for producing art. On the other extreme commercial art publications are generally all too ready to take any artist without setting any real quality
criteria of the work- but who throw money at the publisher in order for the work to be published.
At Art Life we try to get the best of both worlds. We firstly select the artwork and artists carefully and then invite them to consider to have their
work published. Each month thousands of images pass over our desktop and only a few are placed aside, like a diamond sorting tray with tons
of pebbles, not knowing from were the next surprise will come from.
With our artist’s profiles in Art Life (a new section) I spend much time viewing artwork from many sources and contact the ones we enjoy, and
we approach the artist (by invitation only) to see if they would like to come in with an artist’s profile, and share the cost of production. Sometimes
the artist can’t so we make a plan, but it’s a good means in order to bring South African beauty into the world and be able for the Art Life Magazine to
strongly sustain itself in the arts community.
If you would like to submit your work to be considered for a profile in The SA Art Life Magazine e-mail your work to editor@arttimes.co.za
and we can go from there. Alternatively chat to Eugene directly on 021 424 7732.
Once selected there is a minimal cost for the artist in covering production costs.
CELEBRATING
CONRAD THEYS’ 70TH BIRTHDAY
Together with the launch of his book and exhibition
THE ART OF CONRAD THEYS –
SOUL OF THE LAND
Conrad Theys’ 70th birthday will be celebrated on 8th artists composed of Boonzaier, Alexander Rose-Innes,
September with the opening of a retrospective of this Dawid Botha and Marjorie Wallace amongst others.
celebrated artists’ work at the Sasol Art Museum in This retrospective exhibition will feature works in oil,
Stellenbosch, held in conjunction with the Stellenbosch pastel, watercolour and some early drawings, providing a
Art Gallery. The exhibition, comprehensive overview
to be opened by Prof. of Theys’ oeuvre, which
Russell Botman, coincides includes still-lives, landscapes
with the launch of the and depictions of Western
richly illustrated book, Cape mission stations, rural
The Art of Conrad Theys – as well as urban dwellings.
Soul of the Land, written Renowned for his studies of
by Prof Alexander Duffey quiver trees set within arid
and compiled by Meyer rock formations, his works
Grobbelaar. Seventy obtain their honest strength
leather-bound Collector’s from an intimate knowledge
edition volumes, as well as of the land’s textures,
the standard edition, will moods and rhythms. A
also be presented at this distinctive sinuous linearity
occasion where books and sensitive application
will be signed by the artist. of colour mark his oil
Apart from the book and pastel still-lives. From
launch and retrospective, the mid-1970s, Theys has
an exhibition of selected documented the neighbour
works will be available for hoods, homes and lives
sale from the 9th of September at the Stellenbosch Art from those Cape communities marginalized by segregationist
Gallery. policies and his paintings of District Six, Crossroads and Philippi
Theys was born in the town of Montagu on the 9th of capture both the vulnerability and vitality of these areas.
September 1940 and he describes himself as a child of nature, Throughout his career Theys was involved in various initiatives
recalling with fondness the days of his youth spent wandering dedicated to arts education and for ve years held the position
the veldt, studying and collecting the stones found in the of president of the South African National Association for the
landscapes of the Klein Karroo and later Namaqualand. Visual Arts. From 1995 to 2003, he was co-ordinator and
Trained as a teacher, his instruction in the arts commenced adjudicator of the prestigious ABSA Bank Atelier Competition.
in 1969 when he sought guidance from artist Gregoire In 2004 the University of South Africa awarded him with an
Boonzaier, under whose mentorship he worked until 1972. honorary doctorate for his contribution to the arts and this
In 1974 Theys embarked on a full-time artistic career, and year he was awarded a Medal of Honour for the Visual Arts
augmented his studies under Edwine Simon at the Ruth by the South African Academy of Science and Arts. His work
Prowse School of Art in Cape Town between 1981 and can be found in major South African collections, including the
1982. Described as one of the last ‘Cape Impressionists’, SABC, SA Reserve Bank, Rand Merchant Bank and the ABSA
Theys became the youngest of an inuential circle of Cape Art Collections.
OPENING
Wednesday, 8 September 18:30 for 19:00
THE SASOL ART GALLERY
52 Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch
Tel: (021) 808 3691
EXHIBITION
Thursday, 9 – 26 September
STELLENBOSCH ART GALLERY
34 Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch
Tel/Fax: (021) 887 8343 www.stellenboschartgallery.co.za
mba Girl on crystal base
Heather Auer
Art & Sculpture Gallery
We are a family run business. In the photo are my age.
wo sons, Uwe and Michael, my husband, Manfred I love the fact that we can all work together at
nd myself. making the gallery a success. Michael does the
We have been running the gallery in Simon’s Town framing and looks after the Hout Bay gallery and
or over eleven years now and I have been painting Uwe and Manfred run the Simon’s Town one.
nd sculpting on a professional basis for about thirty The theme running through most of the work is
ears. African as I am passionate about South Africa and
ove South Africa although I was born in Scotland consider this my home.
nd emigrated here with my family at eight years of
www.heatherauer.co.za
Quayside Centre, Wharf Street, Simon’s Town 7975 Tel: 021 786 1309
Shop 3, Red Sails, 22 Main Rd, Hout Bay 7806 Tel: 021 790 0947
Township Soccer Player
Male Torso
African Sister
Maureen Quin
Sculpture is my passion. It’s an In my career as a sculptor I’ve used
extension of me, reflecting my the figure extensively. In many of my
thoughts, my loves, my hates, joys studies I endeavour to capture the
and fears. Whether I am involved rapport between man and animal
in representational wildlife studies, by combining the two to create
realistic figure studies, portraits or sculptures that are uniquely my
abstractions, I put my heart and own abstract expressive approach.
soul into it. This interdependence is illustrated
Each sculpture is an exciting in my most recent work, “Culprit”
journey. Starting with a vague where I express my revulsion for
concept, sketching, where I the senseless destruction of the
compose shapes, forms and rhinoceros for the manufacture of
the spaces between these, on aphrodisiacs for male gratification,
paper and in my mind. I draw until I get under male dominance through sex and the resultant
the skin of my subject, until I can “feel” that effects on future generations.
sculpture in me. After constructing the armature, My sculptures are sculptures first and foremost,
I concentrate on the shapes and forms in space, the result of deep emotional responses to the
the composition and silhouette. Suddenly the world around me. Creating and searching for the
work takes on a life of its own, the emotional ultimate realisation of my vision is the fulfilment of
content starts to manifest, the dialogue begins my life.
between myself and the sculpture. This dialogue In an academic paper by Dr Agurtxane Urraca,
is essential; it’s a tremendous stage of discovery, published in Goya, Revista De Arte, Madrid 2001,
an adventure into my own inner self. While I work my work was aptly described as follows; “Her work
I’m constantly looking at the composition in constitutes without a doubt a solid investigation
space, the tensions within the individual forms of the form and the spirit of man. Figures which
and the relationships between them. To me this is often appear to be deprived of volume succeed
the essence of sculpture. In the process I use my in scanning the horizons of time. She succeeds in
experience and my gut feelings to guide me until fusing the abstract and figurative world of Henry
I’m satisfied within myself that the sculptural form Moore, the surrealism of Giacometti and the world
I’ve created moves in space and is in harmony of Africa, all mixed with the most intimate essence
with my vision. of the artist herself.”
Revelation: Part of the Interaction The Kill, 1996: Part of the Hunt Series
Series, 2003
Silent Witness, watercolour 80 x 57 cms San dancers at Ghanzi, watercolour 150 x 100 cms
DENISE FIELDING
Denise Fielding is resident at Bonza Bay in the Eastern Cape.
She is self taught through exposure to art publications, galleries
and exhibitions in Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland
and South Africa. She has lived in London, Vancouver, Nassau
Bahamas and Durban before returning to her much loved
Eastern Cape where her family has been for generations.
Subsequently she spent time in Cape Town and later further
travel.
Most recently Denise stayed in Ireland for four years and again
began to paint. Her work was sold at a Gallery in County Sligo.
Early oils, water colours
and mixed media of
the 1980’s and 1990’s
sold in the Eastern
Cape through two Port
Elizabeth Galleries and photograph by Marlene Neumann
a Queenstown and East
London Art Exhibition. She
has small paintings in private collections in London.
Years spent studying the beauty of reflected light
inspires her to attempt to express this on canvas and
paper. Denise says that she tries to leave shape to find
its own space. She does not drive herself to paint but
enjoys the relaxed unfolding of self that happens in the
process.
Waves after Storm, Bonza Bay Beach Mother and Child on Scarlet Sofa
Travel Sketch Vaucluse Shells Bonza Bay
Anybody home?
Tweede Nuwejaar
“While Creative Visual Art may achieve and express many ideas and concepts, ideologies, symbols, rituals and
religions. Propaganda, advertisting, sensationalism, information and messages, decoration and a variety of other
human expressions and stories, it must achieve one goal:- BEAUTY. Once the propaganda has been forgotten,
such as with the Russian Poster, the only thing that remains is the Beauty – the Fine Art. The Egyptian Messages
are generally obscure but the Beauty, the Art remains.
Artists’ may say what they like and tell stories, but without aesthetic logic the message is short lived and no
Art remains.
Great Art is always beautiful. There are no ugly paintings in the great Art Museums of the world. Style and
fashion will only reflect the mood of the era briefly but inevitably there is no progress in Art. Art is eternal.”
Ernst de Jong 2010
Bijou Moynot, ‘Nuances Brunes’ 2009 Esther Booysen, ‘Gateway to Unknown’ 2010
Jan van Schalkwyk, ‘Shadows’ 2010 Carol van Tonder, ‘Rejuvenation’ 2010
Rachel Wickwar, Odyssey Series ‘The Arrival’ 2010
Tel: 012 430 4677 Fax: 012 430 6391 Cell: 082 951 4533
Email: edejong@lantic.net
Luxury studios at 366 Hill Street, Arcadia 0083 Pretoria
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