7 - 26 May 2012

 

I Spy - Dee Donaldson's painting students show

Hillary Turner

 

This is a group exhibition to highlight the work that comes out of Dee Donaldson's painting studio at the artSPACE durban studios. 

Contributing artists are: 

Lori Clarke, Geoffrey Harrison, Aubrey Penning, Kim Pereira, Laurienne Baitz, Julie Mayo, Hillary Turner, 

Gwynn Smith, Tracey Kirby, Michelle Waters Wilson, Rosemary Williams, Moira Burne, Christie Rowse, Adrienne D'Aeth, Edwina Grossi, Dolores Williams, Mbhekeni Mbili, Renee Leslie, and Sue Marshall.

AND

 

Bits and Pieces by Gerald Baise

Reclining Figure

This exhibition is Baise's second at artSPACE durban and once again involves Baise’s fascination with wood - 

laminating, chiselling, rasping, sanding and deconstructing.  Simply shapes without philosophical import that is pleasing to the viewer and engender a desire to touch and feel the wood.

  

Biography: Gerald Baise studied with the late Basil Jones for several years and has had 5 previous sculpture 

exhibitions.  He works almost exclusively in wood both indigenous and imported. The main focus is on simple shapes manipulating the wood to achieve this with little emphasis on the grain.

Exhibitions close on 26 May at 2:00pm

Mbhekeni Derek Mbili and Caroline Birch and Art 21 Season 6 Episode 1

From Corner to Corner

Mbhekeni Derek Mbili

Born 1975 in Umlazi, Durban.  Mbili had artistic ability from a young age, as he drew figures with a stick in the sand as a child. His teachers would complain that he was ignoring his studies, preferring to sketch his teachers rather than pay attention to the lesson, but one primary school teacher did recognize his ability and encourage him in his art.
In 2005 he participated in a 1 year art programme at the Bat Centre ‘to improve myself.’
In 2006 he entered the Absa L’Atelier Art Award competition and his work was chosen as a finalist.
In 2007 he was a finalist in the Niva Start Art Awards.
In 2008 he had a show at KZNSA Gallery titled “Soccer Vibe”.
In 2010 another solo show at KZNSA Gallery titled  “All Eyes In African” is a mosaic on the theme of the 2010 Football World Cup. It is not solely about the sport itself, but about the lifestyle of South Africans, life in the township, HIV, and about where our society will be at that time, and where we are going in the future.

This is his first solo show at artSPACE durban.

Our Space
an exhibition of painted drawings by Caroline Birch

This body of work grew out of the strong need to keep the initial drawing intact; not to loose it during the painting process. Hence the use of oil pastel overlaid with watercolour; and the figure itself remaining untouched by paint. The realization of space grew with the method. Usually one considers the human body as solid matter; here it is approached as space and left as such, while the surrounding space is painted in oil paint. The use of oils allows great translucence; so for me the whole process is shot through with light and space. The whole process is exposed to the viewer. Nothing is hidden or covered over; it is all transparent. It is also a return to simplicity, in the use of materials, and in the drawing simply from the model, leaving aside all the accumulated clutter of life. As solid matter is shot through with space, the space around us becomes a shared arena: our space and our responsibility.










Season 6 of the Peabody Award-winning series, Art in the Twenty-First Century

Season 6 of the Peabody Award-winning series, Art in the Twenty-First Century, premieres April 13.
We will be showing the first episode of the season, Change, features artists Catherine Opie, El Anatsui, and Ai Weiwei.

How do artists respond to a world in flux? In what ways do artists act as agents of change, and what kinds of aesthetic choices do they make to express it? This episode features artists who bear witness, through their work, to transformation--cultural, material, and aesthetic--and actively engage communities as collaborators and subjects.

FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY and Guests on Friday, 13 April

"Inspiration 2" 26 March - 14 April 2012

The first Inspiration exhibition held at artSPACE durban found a group of KwaZulu-Natal-based artists meeting at the Durban Art Gallery Archives with the formidable task to find the one artwork that was most inspirational to each of them.  For “Inspiration 2” we invited artists to find inspiration from their surrounding environment, i.e. Durban and it’s surrounds.

A group of KwaZulu-Natal-based artists met on a bus tour with Street Scene Tours to take the group around to Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve, Chatsworth to look at the Silverglen Nursery, and Temple of Understanding with lunch at the well known vegetarian restaurant on Wednesday, 23 November from 0930 until 1430 / 1500. 

There were no restrictions as to the interpretations.  A text by the artist will be accompanying the artworks in the gallery space.

Participating artists:

Roz Cryer, Caroline Birch, Jane Oliver, Di van Wyk, Grace Kotze, Coral Spencer, Nomsa Ngidi, Amanda Kok, 

Mbhekeni Derek Mbili, Nicole Pletts, Trui Roozenveld van der Ven, Scott Bredin, Jeannie Kinsler, Pascale Chandler, 

Floris van Zyl, Jackie Freer, Julie Mayo, John Roome, Nirmi Ziegler, Louise Jennings, Celeste Bredin, Marianne Meijer and Andrew Verster.   

 

ABSA L'Atelier Art Award KZN Regional 5 - 25 March 2012

27th Absa L’Atelier Art Award - KZN Regional at artSPACE durban

The L’Atelier Season, or that time of the year when young artists around South Africa vie for the coveted Absa L’Atelier Art Awards is approaching.  Now in its 27th year, the Absa L’Atelier continues to recognise and reward the skills, talent and imagination that exist in an extremely competitive and often challenging environment as well as presenting a unique opportunity to artists to showcase their talent and embark on new and exciting opportunities. Endorsed by the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA), the Absa L’Atelier has become an essential landmark in the lives of young artists aged 21 – 35.

“For 2012 the call to action is Art Child. Creating art is like giving birth, as an artist you pour hours and love into growing your creation until it becomes more than smudges of paint or mounds of clay. You have an attachment, an affinity, a love for it. It’s a part of who you are… it’s like your child,” says Dr Paul Bayliss Absa Art and Museum Curator. 

This was the insight behind the campaign for the 2012 Absa L’Atelier Art Competition: a competition where one artist wins a six months residency at the world-renowned Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, courtesy of financial services group Absa. It’s an award that brims with possibility for a promising artist’s career. 

A second prize  of the value of R80 000,  is awarded  for the Most Promising Artist, with an income of less than R60 000 per annum, comprising a three-month sabbatical at the Cité, French language classes and nationwide touring exhibitions sponsored by the French Embassy, French Institute and the Alliance Française.

“Both top prizes include airfares and free access to galleries and museums in Paris, giving young artists the opportunity to develop their talents and gain exposure to the international art community,” concludes Dr Bayliss.

 Closing Saturday 25 March, 2012

"Phoneography" extended through 25 March 2012

A group exhibition for smartphone camera images
 
Taking pictures with a smartphone (or a cellphone that has a camera) has become so popular, it even has its own name: iPhoneography, or smartphoneography for those who do not own an Apple mobile phone. Users have been taking a lot of cool pix on their phones and now would like others to see them besides on Instagram and other sites and have a chance to sell them in a gallery environment. 

We coined the term "phoneography" to open it up to all cellphones with cameras!!

All of the works fit the format of 12cm x 12cm wooden blocks onto which the image(s) is mounted.  The sale price of each block is set at R100 each.

Participating phoneographers:

Jessica Reim, Peter Bendheim, Adele Bendheim, Karen Bradtke, Anna Talbot, Allister Starke, Jane Oliver, Julie Mayo, Roxy Malyon, Anne Davenport, Angie Griffin, Liz Speight, Geraldine Paton, Paul Gossman, Mahomed Amra, Desire Pelser, Sally Giles, Crisanta Padayachee, Green Heart Movement: Mikhail Pappas, Sanabelle Ebrahim, Husna Ebrahim, Dee Horsfall,  Nyanda Nydoo, the Hardy Boys Design Team, Jono Pozyn, Grant Payne, Mira Harie, Roz Cryer, Heather Fitchet, Wesley Flanagan, Chris Chappe, The Activate Team,  Laurienne Baitz, Dee Donaldson, Suzy Bell, Mira Harie, Bev Cooke-Tonnesen, Les Goodman, Dexter Sagar, PAPALANGBEEN, Stephanie Davies, Clint Griffin, Angela Griffin, Keith Pellew, KAPTAIN CADE, Ali May, SLADE, Mhari Pattenden, Anne Lee, and Helen Kuttner.

 

Co-ordinators:

Jessica Reim

Peter Bendheim

Karen Bradtke

"Bodysong" 6 February - 25 February 2012

“Bodysong” – David Buchler, Wesley Flanagan, Modisa Tim Motsomi and Wayne Reddiar

“Bodysong” is a group exhibition by David Buchler who is a South African artist based in Japan and KZN based artists Wesley Flanagan, Modisa Tim Motsomi and Wayne Reddiar.  The exhibition explores various dimensions of the human body, as it relates to space, history, geography, mythology and narrative.  The artists have produced works in media as diverse as painting, photography, installation, sound art and video art.