With Franschhoek’s French ties, Art in the Yard took inspiration for the title from Assumption Day, a celebration of the ascension of Mary, on 15 August this year in France.
Art in the Yard will host a joint women’s exhibition titled Assumption, featuring two dynamic and unique artists: Claire Denarie-Soffietti and Lerato Motau, with the title alluding not only to the social pressures and assumptions women face, but also to the legend of the assumption of Mary. This is a story which is so symbolic of our society: a woman is “glorified” for her sacrifices, while she remains voiceless; a story so deeply embedded in much of Western Society that it still perpetuates the way the majority of women are expected to walk the earth to this day.
For centuries women have been burdened by social assumptions. To this day, stories of how assumptions about women affect women, are rife and indicate a problem yet to be solved, even with all the advancements we have made as a society.
With this exhibition Art in the Yard not only unpacks and challenges the assumptions surrounding women, but they allow them sufficient space to be celebrated properly.
Claire Denarie-Soffietti
Born and raised in Versaille, France, she was an autodidactic art student from the outset.
Claire has lived and exhibited in many different countries, from the Notorious “Sandy Lane” in Barbados with clients such as Pavarotti and Cliff Richards, to the creative streets of Chelsea New York city at Agora art gallery. Claire exhibited in Canada, Montreal, where she won first prize in “Best international emerging artist of 2013”.
Claire now resides in Cape Town with her architect husband and four children and has found success in both Cape Town and Johannesburg Galleries. Most recently Claire has been exhibiting at Walker Bay Art Gallery, Hermanus and at The Grand Beach Café, Granger Bay, Cape Town. Both collectors and the media have loved her work, she was featured in Habitat magazine, on Top Billing, as well as House and Garden.
There is this element of distortion evident in her pieces. When asked whether this sensationalizes any particular personal interpretation of the world, and life, this artist always responds:
‘Nothing pleases me more than the grotesque of human nature! I don’t do pretty and I become colour-blind when it comes to pastels and sober colours’.
Lerato Motau
‘Embroidery and particularly the act of stitching are important in my work, where each stitch is a symbolic journey. The materials that I use comprise mostly of fabric, and while many categorise my work as textile works I prefer to define my artmaking practice as Fibre Art. A description of many artworks would include forms of fabric joined to the canvas by stitches, and in some areas the form is created almost entirely from the stitches. I have also begun to introduce circular found objects (like metal earrings) and found patterns in fabric, into the artworks. The decision to collect and include them is informed by their aesthetic qualities. The details on the found fabric further dictate the added intervention.
My three year old daughter presented me with drawings with circles and I was assisting my nine year old with homework regarding the planets. The circular form has resonated with me. I am fascinated by the roundness and wholeness of this two dimensional shape, and the globe or orb as a three dimensional form. It reminds me of my own life circle and life cycle as I think of myself as a child, adult and later an elderly woman. This has resulted in a series of works that explore the circle as a shape and form in a universal, planetary context.
I love the brightness of luminous tones, where I refer to them as “mashangane colours”.
WHERE: Art in the Yard Gallery | The Yard, 38 Huguenot Street, Franschhoek 7690
WHEN: Opening Friday 3 August 2019, 11:00 Exhibition runs from 3 August 2019 – 26 August 2019 Winter opening times 9:30 – 17:30, Monday – Sunday
INFO: E art@artintheyard.co.za | Phone +27 (0) 21 876 4280 | Website | Contact person: Gita
