Don’t miss Usha Seejarim @ Gallery Momo
While waiting for a very important pitch (VIP) at MTN headoffice a few years back (that big bold building situated way too far outside of our Jozi bubble but it’s ok cos they got larney furniture and fittings…) we were met in the foyer by an amused client who found the bunch of us staring awestruck, mouths agape at this massive cascading paperclip chandelier suspended from the roof. That was when we first heard the name Usha Seejarim; and we’ve never forgotten it since. Flash forward to 2009 and you too can stare dumbstruck at her work at the Momo Gallery – I miss going there for opening nights – always lots of wine, a fab crowd and good Jozi vibe. Wine is important. Oh ja, and by the way, of course we won the pitch. Usha Seejarim – Mine over Matter opening 5 november @ 18h30 – 20h00 concludes 30 november 09 # 52 7th Avenue, Parktown North, 2193,...
Wim Botha solo gallery exhibition
What more can we do BUT nag you to support local (young) artists? Besides give you everything you need get there? Just stop saying ‘one day’ and GO GO GO – you’ve got until the 13th December to catch Wim Botha’s first solo Gallery exhibition in Johannesburg…. for this debut, Wim Botha will present a new sculptural installation, large and small individual drawings and recent large-scale prints. The works are primarily concerned with the passage of time from a relativistic perspective. It makes reference to both inverted and non-chronological time and the resultant relativity of a personal point of view…The installation makes use of visual elements that have their origin in the languages of art history and historical visual culture and are presented in a semi-structured constellation that seems to suggest a non-linear timeline. Using as original source motif the standard illustrated depiction of time as a sequence of events consecutively arranged in a linear model, the work adapts and perverts this format in three-dimensional space – turning back on itself, this sequence with its various elements suggests a type of system, a volatile organism with high entropic possibility. The main structure of this constellation is formed by hexagonal mirror-sided vitrines, that, as a variation of the typical display cabinet, seems to be turned inside out, putting the surrounding elements as well as its larger surroundings on display. In the two-dimensional works, skeletal studies of human and animal figures in animated poses subjects the assumed finality of death as end of time to a longer time-frame. However, in ignorance of possible spiritual dimensions, these works remain in the material realm, hinting at another form of continuity. Brodie/Stevenson is located on the ground floor, 373 Jan Smuts Avenue, Craighall, Johannesburg. Hours are Tuesday to Friday, 10.30am to 5.30pm, and Saturday from 9.30am to 3pm. Email info@brodiestevenson.com. Telephone +27 (0)11 326 0034. Fax +27 (0)11 326 0041. Image: Gyps africanus, 2008, Pencil on paper, 40 x 50...
Disturbance at the JAG
The JAG, also known as The Johannesburg Art Gallery, will be hosting a fascinating exhibition of contemporary art from Denmark, Norway, Finland and South Africa, titled “ disturbance”. The show will examine the relationship Nordic and South African artists have to notions of identity and place. Having visited Sweden (we LOVED Stockholm and can’t wait to go back!) we can confirm that from an outsider’s point of view, it appears to have a very different culture from South Africa … on the surface… Editorista is spending some time in Europe and she too can confirm how often she feels herself having ‘flashbacks’ to SA… This kind of project is the exact kind of probing that can help us understand what lies beneath the surface within our cultures and how we may surprise ourselves in our likeness… All will be revealed: Drawing on a strong romantic landscape tradition and constructed ideas of what constitutes Scandinavian nationalism; perceptions about self and society are explored through photography, video, sound and performance. The exhibition explores the paradoxes of what Nordic society entails from personal displacement to commentary on other communities or nationalities and as such the depictions in its contemporary art. Equally, what do the disparate relations between Scandinavia and South Africa have in common? The thematic of the show will focus on “disturbance” as a term understood to explore both the literal and implicit rupture existing in society. The exhibition includes artists from Norway – Bodil Furu, Torbjorn Rodland, Maia Urstad and the artistic duo Goksoyr & Maartens. In addition an artist from Denmark – Astrid K. Jensen, and a selection from Finland including Eija Liisa Ahtila, Marja Helander, Veli Grano and Mika Ronkainen’s documentary The Screaming Men. South African artists participating in the exhibition are: Siemon Allan, Anthea Moys, James Web, Nandipha Mnthambo, Athi Ptra Ruga, Nicholas Hlobo and Alastair Mclahlan The Exhibition will officially open on Sunday 26 October at 6.30pm, Johannesburg Art Gallery and will run until 1 March 2009. The exhibition is curated by Clive Kellner and Maria Fidel Regueros. JOHANNESBURG ART GALLERY is open from Tuesdays to Sundays from 10:00am till 5:00pm, its situated at King George Street, (between Wolmarans and Noord Streets), Joubert Park, tel: + 27 11 725...
We will be back!
