Do not miss Kudzanai at the Obert!
You can count on the Obert gallery in Melrose Arch to give you cutting edge, visionary African artists. DO NOT MISS the expo of one of the artworlds rising golden boys, exiled Zimbabwean Kudzanai Chiurai. He’s in his mid twenties with a brilliant future ahead, get to the Obert before the 30 September. “graceland” is chiurai’s highly anticipated third solo exhibition and follows his acclaimed sell-out exhibitions “the revolution will be televised (2004)” and “y propaganda (2005)” and his participation in the dakar biennale in 2006. chiurai is an innovative and controversial young artist who has been banned from his home country of zimbabwe for his politically inspired caricatures of president robert mugabe. reminiscent of basquiat, chiurai’s mixed media works are intricately layered with stenciled characters, poetry and graffiti. his works have recently been procured by top private and public collectors including bhp billiton in london. this exhibition will consist of nine new, variously scaled mixed media works that explore pertinent issues related to mass media, inner city rejuvenation and xenophobia. More on Kudzanai: born in 1981 in zimbabwe, kudzanai chiurai is an internationally acclaimed young artist now living and working in south africa. he was the first black student to graduate with a BA (fine art) from the university of pretoria. regarded as part of the “born free” generation in zimbabwe because he was born one year after the country’s independence from rhodesia, chiurai’s early work focused on the political, economic and social strife in his homeland. seminal works like “presidential wallpaper” depicted zimbabwean president robert mugabe as a sell-out and led to chiurai’s exile from zimbabwe. chiurai’s large mixed media works now tackle some of the most pertinent issues facing southern africa such as xenophobia, displacement and black empowerment. his paintings confront viewers with the psychological and physical experience of inner-city johannesburg, the continent’s most cosmopolitan melting pot where thousands of exiles, refugees and asylum-seekers battle for survival alongside the never-ending swell of newly urbanized south africans. the actuality of these environs is reinforced by chiurai’s use of photographic transfer. boldly stenciled figures and anonymous text provide running commentary, leading viewers on a journey through his intricately painted turn-of-the century buildings, bustling streets and congested transit...
Samson Mnisi at the Line Gallery Troyeville
The Line Gallery Presents “Rituals of Past and Present” – A solo Exhibition by internationally acclaimed Samson Mnisi, a collection of works depicting the artists experiences over the past two decades, brought to you by the Troyeville Arts Initiative. Opening Saturday 22 September 2007, 6pm 6 Roberts Avenue (Commissioner St Ext.) Kensington Info/RSVP: 082 452 1790 Gallery Hours: Wednesdays -Sundays 10 – 4 Exhibition closes Saturday 27th October...
Afronism in Newtown
Nothing like a good birthday bash, reminiscing on the years gone by and the way you and your life has changed. Particularly if you are a small creative business that has managed to stay open and rocking for more than a few months in this big dog eats small dog goldrush in Jozi. Congrats to one of our favourite galleries, Afronova, they’re celebrating their second birthday with a retrospective exhibition. Happyyyyyy! So soak up the awesome “Spring in the city” in Newtown @ Afronova: AFRONISM Friday 14 September from 18:00 to 20:00 Followed by the Artists Dinner at Gramadoelas Restaurant Afronism is an exhibition of original works by Gera Mawi Mazgabu, Samson Mnisi, Sandile Zulu , Gonçalo Mabunda, Helen Joseph, Wayne Barker, Birame Ndiaye, Karl Gietl , Bill Ainslie, Nontsikelelo Veleko, Strangelove, Joël Mpah Dooh, Léon Radegonde, Mario Benjamin , Malick Sidibé, Billie Zangewa and Petros Ghebrehiwot. Exhibition runs until Saturday 13 October With the kind support of the French Institute of South Africa ARTIST DINNER @ GRAMADOELAS R100 at the door This is a convivial and adventurous platform to enjoy the gastronomy and the company of artists. The legendary Gramadoelas Restaurant is famous for its Cape Malay and African delights as well as its generous wine sharing. RSVP: afronova@tiscali.co.za Gallery Hours Tuesday to Friday: 13:00 to 19:00 Saturday: 13:00 to 17:00 Contact e: afronova@tiscali.co.za w: http://www.afronova.com/ c: +27 (0) 83 726 59 06 The gallery is just across the Market Theatre entrance Safe parking corner Miriam Makeba and Gwigwi Mrwebi...
Canonball Press opening at David Krut tonight
Check out one of our favourite art spaces in Jozi, the visionary David Krut gallery. It’s small but packed with awesome art, books and really friendly curators. Pop in on your way home on Jan Smuts, it’ll take you 5 minutes to visit and you’ll have got your arty fill! Cannonball Press is a New York based woodblock collaborative whose gritty, underground images have made Martin Mazorra and Mike Houston the indisputable kings of scruffy-pirate black-and-white hillbilly printmaking. Cannonball Press has just returned from the Oppikoppi music festival where they participated in the visual art component and an exhibition on their work will open this Thursday, 16 August, at 18:00 at David Krut Projects. While in South Africa they also hosted a woodblock workshop with artists, including Wilma Cruise, Mary Sibande, Lawrence Lemoaona, Bruce Backhouse and Bronwen Findlay. Cannonball Press: New York to Johannesburg will include a collaborative work with the aforementioned artists, as well as an installation and works on paper and canvas. For more on the exhibition, see...
Celebrate Women Artists in Aug – do it girls!
If you have not been to the awesome ConHill in Braamfontein/Parktown yet, here is your chance, ladies and guys get your friends together and go and celebrate some of our most prolific female artists in SA. If you go on Sunday the 11 August, you get to meet the artists’s and chat to them about their work – a rare opportunity indeed. Go Go Go. To celebrate National Women’s Month in August, an exhibition of contemporary photography and poetry by 14 South African women is being held at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. Titled Isis X, this exhibition seeks to evoke the spirit of the mythological Egyptian goddess and, at the same time, pays tribute to the creativity of her modern-day earth-bound counterparts. The exhibition, which can be viewed from now to the 31 August 2007, is being presented by Botsotso, a grouping of South African poets, writers and artists that has been in existence for 13 years. The four female photographers taking part in the Isis X exhibition are Neo Ntsoma, Suzy Bernstein, Riana Wiechers and Anna Varney. The latter two women will also be displaying their poetic prowess, and joining them are fellow poets elsbeth e, Sumeera Dawood, Lisemelo Tlale, Elizabeth Trew, Anet Kemp, Baitse Mokiti, Myesha Jenkins, Arja Salafranca, Makhosazana Xaba and Bongekile Mbanjwa. On display are 50 photographs and poems taken from the book Isis X, edited by Allan Kolski Horwitz and available through Botsotso Publishing. “Such an openly women-only venture might attract projections of stereotyped feminism or effeminate style,” commented poet Eva Kowalski of the book, “[but] neither is valid concerning this intelligent, varied, yet ultimately coherent anthology.” Similarly, the Isis X exhibition aims to reflect the humorous personal insights, poignant social observations and spirited expressions of anger and hope reflected by the female contributors in the book. It is hoped that visitors to the exhibition will conclude that a female artist’s pen and lens are, indeed, mightier than the sword. The opening will take place at 6pm for 6.30pm on 2 August, in the atrium of the exhibition space at the Women’s Jail at the Constitution Hill Complex in Kotzé Street, Hillbrow. Keketso Semoko (Isidingo actress and women’s rights activist) and Odette Geldenhuys (legal rights activist and documentary film maker) are the guest speakers, and several of the poets will also give readings of their work. There will be a walkabout for the public on Saturday, 11 August at 11am, during which the photographers and poets will be present to discuss their work. In addition, there will be an evening of women’s poetry at the same venue at 6pm on Friday, 24 August. This will feature...
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