tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90568892291917839152011-04-22T07:36:59.555+02:00relevance discussion critiqueVaughn Sadiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067859538045589807noreply@blogger.comBlogger141100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056889229191783915.post-5841083011173934792008-12-02T07:18:00.007+02:002008-12-02T10:27:33.747+02:00

Opening address for 2008 Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner – Nontsikelelo Veleko at the Durban Art Gallery 20th November 2008When I first saw Lolo’s pictures at the Standard Bank Young Artist exhibition in Grahamstown there were a few things that struck me – one of these was the installation of the garden with its fake grass, artificial flowers and a swing which is remininiscent of the

DBN 01http://www.blogger.com/profile/12266800683645639795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056889229191783915.post-82099690890908726072008-11-27T16:02:00.017+02:002008-12-02T07:47:28.225+02:00

On a visit to Bronwen Vaughan-Evans studio earlier this year I found her paused in the post-coital catharsis of her last exhibition home is where the heart is. She was sitting alone, in a now desolate studio, free of the imposing portraits and figures that had crowded the studio walls for the past eighteen-months. After so much time spent in their company, the sight of her, abandoned in that that

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Thank you to Tony Starkey and Themba Shibase for allowing the Durban University of Technology, Third year Art Theory students to post their thoughts on Odd Conversations. This was done as an exercise to see how the art students would make sense of whether they see Verster as an artist who engages with contemporary discourse or not.Thank you to the students.

Vaughn Sadiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067859538045589807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056889229191783915.post-58909558027372970572008-09-18T12:52:00.032+02:002008-09-20T14:26:09.041+02:00

CONTEMPORARY, CONCEPTUAL OR DECORATIVENow on exhibition at the KZNSA Gallery is work by Andrew Verster; it is a retrospective exhibition, which is touring all the national galleries. The title of the exhibition is Odd Conversations. The question being asked about Verster's work "is it contemporary, conceptual or just plan decorative?" Before going on to discuss the work, Andrew Verster was born

Vaughn Sadiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067859538045589807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056889229191783915.post-17480766326524871942008-09-18T12:52:00.031+02:002008-09-20T14:24:24.917+02:00

The work of Andrew Verster is currently on show at the KZNSA gallery in a solo exhibition titled Odd Conversations. The works boast stunning colour and pattern in Verster's decorative style. With a variety of pieces ranging from paintings on canvas to digital prints to collage, it is definitely interesting and worth taking a look at, but is it contemporary?Odd Conversations l-Vll [Installation

Vaughn Sadiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067859538045589807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056889229191783915.post-17472386319572245382008-09-18T12:52:00.030+02:002008-09-20T14:16:20.123+02:00

A CONTEMPORARY RETROSPECTIVEAn exhibition of veteran artist, Andrew Verster’s multi-disciplined work is on show at the KZNSA. On display are a number of paintings, collages and objects. They range from monumental paintings to small detailed studies. The first thing that hits you is the colourful and decorative nature of his work. It is beautiful and excellently produced and presented. The work

Vaughn Sadiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067859538045589807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056889229191783915.post-72297681677662492992008-09-18T12:52:00.029+02:002008-09-20T14:10:13.676+02:00

The KZNSA hosted a show of works by Andrew Verster titled Odd Conversations. He is a veteran artist who lives and works in Durban. He has held over fifty solo exhibitions, which shows that he is experienced in the field of arts. His works explores cultural identity and history; he says, "In each work I write my own history which in turn is entangled with everyone else's" (http://

Vaughn Sadiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067859538045589807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056889229191783915.post-56773639545185710612008-08-28T08:46:00.005+02:002008-09-22T15:59:44.164+02:00

I feel immensely privileged to have been part of this exhibition – to have engaged with 3 painters of this standard and integrity. The first word that comes to mind when reflecting on this show is: ‘honesty’. Honesty of intention, dedication to the process of art making and the striving to reflect or talk about a particular journey or experience. Revealing that to a public audience is, at the

DBN 01http://www.blogger.com/profile/12266800683645639795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056889229191783915.post-12995588830902404442008-08-21T14:46:00.007+02:002008-08-28T09:17:31.866+02:00

Greg Streak’s latest exhibition Accumulative Disintegration is a psychological snapshot of our times, writes Peter Machen.If ever an exhibition title resonated with the spirit of the times, it is Accumulative Disintegration, from acclaimed Durban artist Greg Streak. As the first decade of the 21st century starts to draw to a close, it often seems that the world – the climate, the economy, society

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It is not strange to the tradition of art that art has been used to document, in the various manners available to it, history and history in the making. For instance, the Romans, using a variety of media, represented events such as military triumphs, civic benefactions, revolutions, general culture and even religious sacrifices. It has then subsequently become the task of civil society to collect

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From the word go I felt like the baby, not only in age but also in experience and exposure. Here I arrived with a bag full of golden toys and photographs that looked messy and disorganised in comparison with the sleek layouts done by Janet Solomon, the honest discussions logged by Dee Donaldson and the very considered imagery of Grace Kotze. But by stepping back it was clear that each painter’s

DBN 01http://www.blogger.com/profile/12266800683645639795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056889229191783915.post-3253227225311642572008-08-19T18:14:00.010+02:002008-08-19T20:02:26.754+02:00

I went back to the show on Friday to have some quiet time with the pieces, as during installation one is not properly focused. I came away from the show as if from a great tragic performance: - gutted and melancholic, with a sense that I had partaken in very private experiences in the lives of others.Janet SolomonStar of the Sea Oil on Canvas2008Dee Donaldson’s work is very clearly represents a

DBN 01http://www.blogger.com/profile/12266800683645639795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056889229191783915.post-11007315810170933822008-08-19T17:41:00.012+02:002008-08-20T13:24:32.959+02:00

Formation: an exhibition of paintings and supporting material byDee DonaldsonGrace KotzeAnet NorvalJanet SolomonOpening Speech by Bronwen Vaughan-EvansPainting has been accused of being dead, “a ‘tainted’ arena sullied by patriarchal practice”, outmoded and unable to render the complexities of contemporary experience (Mackenny 2006:4). But, in our attempts to be truly contemporary / conceptual, I

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Greg Streaks solo show Accumulative Disintegration, is currently on at Bank Gallery. The exhibition’s title creates an expectation of tension: a potentially fraught space created by a body of work that reflects “the battle of trying to pull things towards a whole whilst they disperse around us” (Streak, 2008).The exhibition, in contrast to its title, is calm and considered, setting up the

Vaughn Sadiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067859538045589807noreply@blogger.com0