AVA Gallery opens 4 new online exhibitions today, 28 May 2020. The exhibitions are
- Living in a Box: A Retrospective online solo exhibition by Warren Maroon
- Imaginarium– an exhibition of paper constructions and works on paper an online solo exhibition by Judy Woodborne
- Unapologetic an online solo exhibition by Philip Steele
- Imaginary exhibition an online exhibition curated by Isabella Kuijers
Living in a Box: A Retrospective
An online solo exhibition by Warren Maroon
Warren Maroon’s first solo show, Living in a Box: a Retrospective, is a body of sculptural works that communicate his, and many others’, lived experience of growing up on the Cape Flats. Made up of ordinary, seemingly insignificant objects and household items, and titled strategically, each work contributes to the recreation of an experience that is both individual and shared by a past and present community. Each artwork draws on specific events that occurred throughout his life; some of which he experienced as a bypassing witness, some of which he experienced as a member of a community racked with the acidic and brutal legacy of apartheid. While a new dawn may have brushed the country, the deep crevices of social and economic inequity have remained, many years later – each work seeks to either draw attention to this or to reframe and reconstitute the meaning of living in and experiencing the Cape Flats.
Imaginarium- an exhibition of paper constructions and works on paper
An online solo exhibition by Judy Woodborne
In 1993 Judy Woodborne presented her MFA-show at the AVA and now, 27 years later, she returns.
Now, with “Imaginarium – an exhibition of paper constructions and works on paper”, Woodborne and the AVA have the chance to create yet another “first”: a curated body of physical work, presented as a virtual exhibition. 27 years later, Woodborne present 27 prints that are testimony of her unique printmaking style
Unapologetic
An online solo exhibition by Philip Steele
Philip Steele’s work (see image at top) focuses on the deconstruction of the mechanisms of visual language, specifically as it pertains to gay representation. This contributes to an understanding of the systems of operation that construct and define gay identity. His work investigates the problematics of how codified symbols and metaphors represent same-sex desire. He attempts to arrest exoticization, exploitation, denial of certain bodies and stereotyping. His process allows him to control at least some of the mechanisms of how he and his community are presented, perceived, and exist. Steele sees this as his unapologetic position on the representation of acts of gay desire, lust, and love.
Imaginary exhibition
An online exhibition curated by 
Each of us has our own story about how COVID-19 and the lockdown has affected our lives and routines. In the case of the artists featured here, all were scheduled to have exhibitions with the Association for Visual Arts (AVA) in Cape Town and have had their (our) shows postponed. In the art community working from home has practical implications for producing work and may have impacted the privacy, scale, and materials available to artists. With so much of our lives effectively on hold and so many constraints on the production of art, the idea for an imaginary exhibition was conceived – one without limitation. Artists were encouraged to submit maquettes, mock-ups, sketches or descriptions of a work that wouldn’t normally come to fruition. The reason for the work’s non-existence could be as simple as cost or size or as exotic as societal taboos, uninvented technology, or the laws of physics.
WHERE: AVA Online Exhibitions in the confort of your own home #GalleryFromHome
WHEN: Opens 28 May 2020
HOW: Click onto the links above
