Richard Smith at Con Hill

Pardon me for gushing, but Richard Smith’Äôs exhibition that opened at Constitution Hill Wednesday night, was a highlight for me. Andre Naude and I both walked away with the same word: inspiring, to say the least! Spanning over three of the rooms in the prison, the historical loadedness of the space also complemented the show’Äôs theme in every way. Robyn Sassen opened with a sensible and short speech.

I have learnt a new word: pedimento. Apparently, this is what the art technique of erasing to the bare surface, is called. I could not locate the word in on-line dictionaries, though. Anyone out there to help?

I was pleasantly surprised by Smith’Äôs works.. So totally different from what I expected. The large scale charcoal works with painted ’Äòspeech bubbles’Äô collaged onto the finished surfaces filled one room, while figures bulky in stature eluding some kind of vulnerability and raw emotional connotation can be found in the next.

I hope this becomes a permanent exhibition space. Quite a number of artists are going to stand in line for this!

More (than) Histories: Guy du Toit, Fried Gallery

People who have not yet heard about it, we are rejoicing here in Pretoria (Tshwane) because of a new SERIOUS gallery that opened its doors in Brooklyn recently. This promises to be a hub for cutting-edge contemporary art in our area, and we also like the look and feel of the place. Very classy and ‘we mean business’ attitude.

The sculptor Guy du Toit opened his ‘Retrospective’ last week, called “More (than) Histories”. By ‘retrospective’ he is actually talking about his own re-makes of bits and pieces of his memory concerning elements in his own history, albeit all new works. The Gulliver-esque ambience originates from an overwhelming amount of objects wall-mounted in one room.

Objects ranging from a spoon, rosebush twigs, a milk carton, hammer, chisel, plants, and a funnel, meet with noses, mouths, ears and hands. Juxtaposing these are the miniature figurines, some hobbit-like, others anciently african and animal, some moulded into mirror-images of top-versus bottom attached to the same base to form a strange dream-like feeling very much divorced from reality.

Exquisitely cast in bronze, Guy succeeds in transforming ordinary objects like pouches and candelabra into very desirable objects. Add a few disembodied fingers and life-sized chairs, and viewers leave the space with a sense of nostalgia, yearning and enchantment.

On till 18 September, Fried Contemporary,
430 Charles St Brooklyn
Pretoria 0181
SOUTH AFRICA
Tel/fax +27 12 346 0158