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14 July 2006 by nathaniel

V/A (various art)

Been doing filler (mostly my own stuff) for the past while on the blog, whilst on residence in Brazil, and not getting out much since going gaga over my daughter. Hit the gallery strip two days ago, tho, and as usual was pleased by the works at Warren Siebrits – with the exception of the young, up-and-coming Colbert Mashile, the works were a bit steep in price, but that’s what you pay for in the Siebrits space, I gather; he does the work of finding great work. Colbert is also, obviously, a guy to watch.  Not that impressed with Cecil Skotnes @ Goodman, but it is what it is – emotive paintings and prints, from an old master… Just not my vibe.  The Krut group show of works is really worth seeing, and the pieces are really affordable for those who want to start collecting going-places (or already there) artists (I actually bought a Slemon piece for myself). Note that this is not a self-plug – my prints on show are not for sale….

Also currently on in Gauteng:
Dorothee Kreutzfeldt @ Outlet, and (oh shit, nathaniel just realized he deleted the shows he had intended on blogging from his inbox), and some other stuff at some other galleries, I am sure. Maybe look at m&g or art.co.za  or Artthrob listings or something. I’m tired.

Oh yeh, and my opening at Parking Gallery went live last night (up for three days by appointment). Here’s a great photo by Christo Doherty (followed by a few others on my crap phone). Doherty says, "the image of woody allen came out rather like a francis bacon portrait – i quite liked that. he was also an artist challenged by the problems of communication and the corporal body…."

vincent @ parking gallery, a photo by Christo Doherty
vincent @ parking gallery, a photo by Christo Doherty

simon gush (parking gallery curator) and clive kellner (johannesburg art museum curator). the latter says the former is a great gallerist, and that i could quote him on that. after he said i should not blog about him spilling coca-cola everywhere, that is....
simon gush (parking gallery curator) and clive kellner (johannesburg art museum curator). the latter says the former is a great gallerist, and that i could quote him on that. after he said i should not blog about him spilling coca-cola everywhere, that is….

rat western and her bright nose in my terrible photos say, "it's nice to see your crap"
rat western and her bright nose in my terrible photos say, "it’s nice to see your crap"

PS – my daughter has a new site, if interested
PPS – about to post my first guest blog at Art Heat

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13 April 2006 by nathaniel

SAartsEmerging is Artthrob website of the month

Carine Zaayman says, on A R T T H R O B _ W E B S I T E S:

 ‘Providing a free South African alternative to the gallery-driven, Cape Town-based, and mainstream media, SAartsEmerging.org is dedicated to featuring emerging South African artists, curators and arts personalities who are not generally, or have not yet been, written about – but who should be.’ (http://saartsemerging.org/about-saartsemerging/). Even though ArtThrob might be one of the media entities against which they position themselves, I believe that they are doing good work and provide an important alternative platform that many young artists could and should be making use of.

Go us. Thanks, Zaayman!

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08 February 2006 by nathaniel

do not forget: SAartsEmerging Party!

Don’t forget the SAartsEmerging launch and party!

http://www.saartsemerging.org
9 February 2006
Berlin Bar
18:30ish til whenev
Features detail / site-specific installation by Bronwyn Lace
in Berlin Bar window

SAartsEmerging.org is dedicated to featuring emerging South African artists, curators and arts personalities who are not generally, or have not yet been, written about – but who should be. SAartsEmerging lacks any pretense of objectivity, and preference is not only given to Gauteng locals and friends, but also to early-career non-stars working conceptually, and across disciplines. More information on us, or on contributing? Visit the site!

Hope to see you at the party!
Simon Gush, Bronwyn Lace & Nathaniel Stern

http://www.saartsemerging.org
SAartsEmerging features a new producer every third Friday of the month. 17 February will see our next feature, Bronwyn Lace, a Johannesburg based, installation artist, just before her YAP solo show in Durban.

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20 January 2006 by nathaniel

SAartsEmerging launch and party!

SAartsEmerging launches today with a feature on Pretoria-born and bred Donna Kukama. In celebration, we’ve planned a cash bar hootenanny for emerging artists and art appreciators, alike:

9 February, 2006
Berlin Bar in Johannesburg, South Africa
7th street, Melville (across and down from Xai Xai)
18:30ish til whenev
Features a site-specific installation by our own Bronwyn Lace!

SAartsEmerging.org is dedicated to featuring emerging South African artists, curators and arts personalities who are not generally, or have not yet been, written about – but who should be. SAartsEmerging lacks any pretense of objectivity, and preference is not only given to Gauteng locals and friends, but also to early-career non-stars working conceptually, and across disciplines. We’re always looking for writers who want to feature burgeoning artists… More information on us or contributing? Visit the site!

SAartsEmerging features a new producer every third Friday of the month. 17 February will see our next feature, Bronwyn Lace, a Johannesburg-based, installation artist, just before her YAP solo show in Durban.

Hope to see you at the party!
Simon Gush, Bronwyn Lace & Nathaniel Stern
http://www.saartsemerging.org

Archives

11 December 2005 by nathaniel

the daily show and the new artthrob

Still jet-lagged, and slightly sick now (again?), I woke up at four this morning and began reading The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction, a little thank you gift from Simon Gush and Bronwyn Lace, for opening up my (parent’s) home to them, on Staten Island. The Daily Show, “the fake news that delivers the truth,” has become the most powerful and influential satire in the history of the US, and has over a million viewers each night (screened Monday through Thursday). Now, I’m that kind of annoying, loud-mouthed idiot that screams “inconsistent with the character!” or “that would never happen!” and also laughs loudly and claps in the movie theatre, but I rarely do that without an audience to offend (like, say, at home at 4 in the morning while reading a book). But I did find myself giggling often over this read (sorry to wake you, Nicky), a mock stolen textbook from a NY library….

But in more serious news (does that qualify as satire? just kidding….), the new artthrob is out, and has some great stuff. First up, good buddy, and amazingly talented teacher and artist, Ralph Borland stars in the artbio this month. We love him. Let’s see, there is also a review of Marina Abramovic at Performa05, which starts off OK, makes a really great argument, then ends up pretty wishy washy. Oh, and I wrote it (please ignore the typos and grammatical errors that mysteriously appeared between when I hit the send button, and when they published; oh, and note that self-deprecation is meant to get you to like me more, cuz they cut out all my jokes, which were meant to accomplish that feat for me, but obviously failed miserably; insert more deprecation here). Other great reviews include (all shows I did not see, as I was not here) Aggenbach, Kentridge, Siopis and Botha, among others.

The news of Nathi Gumede as KZNSA Gallery’s new curator has hit, as has Gavin Jantjes’ as Artistic Director for the Proposed Cape Biennale. The highlight, tho, is Linda Stupart’s cover of sessions eKapa, a fair and provocative piece on the non-foregrounding of the upcoming ‘non-Bienalle.’

Sue Williamson’s diary also assures us that Ed Young is doing OK after being mugged while overseas, and links us to some nice coverage of his show in ArtForum. It sounds a pretty dreadful experience, and props to Ed for his high spirits.

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