NEWS FLASH! Michael Godby, curator of the exhibition is doing walk abouts at the Sanlam Galleryon Wednesday 18 May. Phone 021 947 3359 to book a space!
Irma Stern Nudes 1916 – 1965 is an exhibition of painting, drawing and prints tracing Irma Stern’s treatment of nude over her long working life, is showing at the Sanlam Gallery. Emeritus Professor Michael Godby, curator of the exhibition, is interviewed on the Sanlam Arts Round Up on Fine Music Radio.
Listen to the Sanlam Arts Round Up on Fine Music Radio FMR 101.3fm every Friday at 16h15
Ubiquitous in every art school until the end of the previous millennium the Nude was a key subject in the curriculum. Combined with a 1000-year blast of art history from 4th century BC Greece to 1950’s Pop Art, a fine arts student would have been confronted with the subject repeatedly. For Irma Stern this would have been so too. As Emeritus Professor Michael Godby writes:
“Tracing the evolution of the Irma Stern’s treatment of the nude over her long career is also a journey into the artist’s imagination”.
Two Back-turned Figures, 1927. ISC
The current exhibition at the Sanlam Art Gallery, curated by Godby, present an opportunity to do just that. Showcasing a selection of paintings, drawing and prints from the archives of the Irma Stern Museum and some stellar pieces from the Sanlam and private collections, this is a must-see exhibition.
As Godby explains in the interview, the exhibition starts with Stern’s academic drawings, following her encounter with German Expressionism, explorations in Africa and her late life immersion in the freedom of the beaches of French Riviera, Godby compiles a visual feast that reveal much about Stern’s art and personality.
“Over her long life, Irma Stern viewed the naked female body through many lenses, all inherited from the various traditions of European art. By engaging with each lens at different times, Stern not only extended the tradition, and affirmed her place within it, but also found a means to express her own vivid interior life. For Stern, the nude was not simply a celebration of the naked human body. It was certainly that. But it was also the quintessence of art, the ultimate vehicle of visual poetry and the highest form of the expression, of sensual fulfilment, of freedom and of life.”
A book accompanying the exhibition by Prof Godby, Irma Stern Nudes, 1916 – 1965, is for sale at the gallery.
Guided tours of the exhibition will be presented by Professor Godby on the following days:
5 May @ 13:00 | 18 May @ 11:00 | 1 June @ 15:00
Participation in the guided tours is by appointment only. To reserve your place and for more information: E sanlamart@sanlam.co.za or T 021 947 3359.
WHAT: Irma Stern Nudes 1916 – 1965
WHERE: Sanlam Art Gallery, Sanlam HO, 2 Strand Road, Bellville
WHEN: 26 April – 15 July 2022 – Monday – Friday 09:00 – 16:30
INFO: T 021 947 3359 | E sanlamart@sanlam.co.za | Visit
PHOTO: Irma Stern, Crouching Nude, 1947, oil on canvas, 675 x 680. Sanlam Collection
Two Back-turned Figures, 1927. ISC
Sanlam Gallery [22]
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