Spaces between us
An exhibition that brings together three distinct bodies of work connected by looking: the painter’s imperative.
Toying with fantasy and reality, participation and observation, this show invites one to look both more closely and more widely at the intimate, the interpersonal and the societal.
This exhibition brings together three consequential bodies of work that expose, explore, and push the boundaries between Us. While all of the works ‘look outward’ at the worlds around us, each artist has formalized a different and very specific relationship between the viewer and that which is looked upon, not only in terms of the outside world but also between themselves and the paintings. These modes of looking can be divided into three distinct levels from the micro to the macro, beyond the merely aesthetic, an engagement with the ideas and visual strategies in these works have direct feedback into our own agency in the world.
In the works of Alexia Smit the viewer takes on the character of an agent in the painting itself and becomes the antagonist who lends the sinister psychological charge to the beautifully rendered scenes. These expose a power dynamic that has to do with the privilege of looking from an unseen vantage point, an intimate, obsessive and clandestine immersion into another’s world. These works explore ‘looking’ in all its purposefulness.
Yoram Shabat’s paintings explore the inter-relational: they present presentation as such. The contrivances of the model/subject, and the interrelation between separate subjects are mirrored or embellished by the contrivances of the artist himself. The paintings, while masquerading as merely observed or encountered scenes, quickly collapse into staged events full of complex dynamics that originate primarily in the artist and his thoughts on the world rather as opposed to those of subjects themselves. In this case the viewer becomes a surrogate for the painter and challenges us to examine boundaries between truth and fiction our own representations of self.
The broadest gaze is that of Riana Gear, whose paintings look at and present the societal follies and dynamics of society. Full of exuberant colour and latent optimism, the individuals are embedded in layers of complex imagery and information that causes them to immediately slide into the symbolic: each subject becomes the mascot for a complex societal knot for us to survey and comprehend from a distance. They are critical works from an un-self-conscious eye, and a call to action against perceived injustice.
Curated by Douglas Gimberg
Past Events
Forbidden Horizons
“Except in conflict zones or under authoritarian regimes, rarely has individual freedom been so affected as over the past 20 months during the pandemic. This is a photographic journey using my camera as a visual probe, positioning myself at the borderline between the two worlds of Covid-related restrictions on movement and the inspiration to access nature’s open spaces. Those were forbidden horizons.“
Rémi Burdairon is a French photographer based in Cape Town, who works mainly in black & white. His main centers of interest are people, patterns and places. The photographic approach to the figurative work he creates is an attempt to recompose his monochrome vision of the ordinary world with shapes and light, to showcase a sense of order and harmony from his interactions with people and their environment.
Dis juste “oui” / Just say “yes”
The Alliance Francaise du Cap presents an exhibition of colourful Neo-Pop paintings, short films, and fashion by multi-media artist, Gordon Ross, re-imagining elements of Pop Art, graphic design, and geometric abstraction into works that are a blast of colour and fun. The art extends beyond the walls of the gallery, on to the audience, many of whom will be wearing clothing designed by the artist. There will be a continuous screening of the artist’s film clips from the past 35 years.
Makuded’Ubumnyama (When the darkness cease)
“I have been hiding behind my art, instead of allowing it to heal and guide me. I can’t wait to share visually what I have been feeling lately”.
Ras Silas Motse chooses to look at his journey through what he is experiencing in the present moment. The body of work explores 4 different series of works that seeks to understand the state of mind that he is immersed in while sparking curiosity about what other people are going through and how are they dealing with it. This journey invites true to self-communication for the next step/s of our daily lives.
HOMECOMING
As part of the August House Cape Town Collab, Vivien Kohler presents his solo show curated by Igsaan Martin.
‘This body of work is a direct evolution of my previous abstract body of work which was centred around the idea of pareidolia. “Pareidolia” being the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern. I have used this as the impetus for the geometric backgrounds in these new pieces. This pattern illustrates the tenacity of the people of the continent of Africa who make the best of their circumstances to reach their hoped for goal.
As an extension of this background idea is the addition of the foreground figure at this point in my work. The included figures are a personification of my Pareidolia geometry. They are individuals who esteem Africa and its people. They are determined to overcome and persevere.
Some of the titles which have been specifically chosen, refer to ancient Roman and Greek statues. I have selected these titles to elevate the African concept of self. It is the instilling of African pride amidst an external imposed persona.
The Kingdom of Aksum (100 to 940 CE) and the Songhai Empire (c. 1464–1493) were 2 dominant African empires, which at the time rivalled the civilisations of their European counterparts, have now been relegated to the annals of unconscious history. Much of their knowledge has been lost in our contemporary consciousness degrading the African notion to that of living in huts and that of slavery. These 2 works endeavour to imagine what life was like during the times of these majestic African empires by showing their particular ruling elite as esteemed contemporarily identifiable characters.
The Kingdom of Aksum (or Axum; also known as the Aksumite Empire) was a trading nation in the area of northern Ethiopia and Eritrea that existed from approximately 100 to 940 CE.
The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel/Sudan in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history.Initially, the empire was ruled by the Sonni dynasty (c. 1464–1493).’
– Vivien Kohler
>Download the catalogue of Vivien Kohler exhibition
A LA MER
Obermeyer is inspired by the natural world, South Africa’s shoreline and marine life in particular. Her works in this exhibition are characterised by the use of ‘cyanotype’ (an alternative photographic means of printing that results in a distinctive blue tonal range) and the use of organic debris such as sand, collected plant or algae matter and ocean water. Certain pieces in this exhibition are the result of Obermeyer’s experimentation with other materials such as ink and watercolours.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Chloe Obermeyer is a rising artist based in Cape Town. She graduated from Michaelis School of Fine Art in 2014 and has recently completed her Masters in Visual Art through UNISA. Her art has been featured at a number of galleries over the past few years, such as State of the Art Gallery, Art B Gallery and even The Gallery Riebeek Kasteel.
A finalist for the Bouchard Finlayson Tondo Art Award in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as well the 2018 State of the Art Gallery Award, Obermeyer currently works from her home studio as she experiments with alternative photographic printing and other mediums.
Naked Faces
The Alliance Française du Cap has the great pleasure to exhibit the Woodstock Art Gallery’s Portrait exhibition “Naked faces”. Each one of the portraits has been carefully selected to represent a cross-section of great South African artists.
Today with social media, selfies and portraits are the most common form of photography due to peoples fascination with either their own appearance or that of people they know. Portraits have always been fascinating to art lover/collector and undoubtedly one of the most important genres in the history of art.