The Cape Gallery is showing the work of Peter Van Straten, Simon Jones and Lambert Kriedemann, which opens on First Thursdays – 7 November 2019 at 18:00.
Peter Van Straten – Delusional, Whimsical, Mystical
Peter van Straten is a delusional, whimsical mystic, obsessed with trying to illustrate illusive glimpses from the more shadowy edges of the mind, where realities warp and blur into new dreams – poignant, mysterious, or absurd.
He believes artworks should be as entertaining as they are beautiful or profound, and his approach to painting is cinematographic. He places his characters – symbols of the ordinary “us” – in vast ethereal landscapes, where they must find their own way through the gorgeous and mysterious miracle that is life.
This particular body of work is characterized by a sense of intimacy and describes a yearning for a closer connection with the natural world and a mourning of the loss of that world.
Preview Peter’s work here
Simon Jones – Zen by the Ocean
Simon Jones
Residing in Fish Hoek these past 3 decades many of his paintings echo its rustic surrounds and the sea is a regular backdrop. Primarily a figurative painter Simon’s main focus is on man’s inner state lending a timeless almost biblical quality to his visions.
Music plays a vital role. Kneeling or lying before a flat canvas helps induce a zen-like aspect of the creative process.
Work on the current exhibition at the Cape Gallery titled ‘ Oudekraal braai ‘ was painted to Palestrina masses and Cristobal de Morales’ requiem on constant repeat. Just being in the ambit of spiritual music has been found to raise one’s consciousness to a higher level; consequently, the aforementioned painting might as readily be called ‘ It’s not about the braai.’
Preview Simon’s work here
Lambert Kriedemann – So I Set Out to Rescue the Baby
Some of the best discoveries in life are made by asking: “Why this or that? Why not this and that?” Certainly this has often been the case with my art. My high school art teacher wanted me to paint like a Post-Impressionist. I looked at the work of the Post-Impressionists, compared it with the work of older masters like Rembrandt, and asked myself: “Why this or that? Why not this and that?” Later, as a student, I looked at the work of the Abstract Expressionists, compared it with the work of Monet and Turner, and once again asked myself the same question.
Lambert Kriedeman
On reflection, it seemed to me that by rejecting some of the techniques of the Old Masters along with the sterile academic approach of the art schools, the Modern movement had thrown the baby out with the bathwater. So I set out to rescue the baby.
I started my earliest experiments with abstract/fantasy painting in 1998. I’d begun by spontaneously playing around with paint and had discovered the unexpected pleasure of keeping the subject matter ambiguous and asking viewers to tell me what they saw. This idea of treating the viewer as a participant in the process of creation fascinated me. My paintings seemed to act as more complex equivalents of the Rorschach inkblot test, encouraging viewers to expose and examine their private obsessions.
Preview Lambert’s work here
WHERE: The Cape Gallery 60 Church Street Cape Town 8001
INFO: T +27 21 4235309 E Info@capegallery.co.za Visit
WHEN: 7-31 November 2019
PHOTOS:
Artist: PETER VAN STRATEN
Title: “Listening to the ones who’ve got away.”
Size: 90 x 120 cm
Media: Oil
Price: R 92 000 Unframed
Artist: SIMON JONES
Title: just don’t sing
Size: 90 x 85 cm
Media: Acrylic
Price: R 85 000 Framed
Artist: LAMBERT KRIEDEMANN
Title: The Impossible Dream
Size: 71 x 56 cm
Media: Mixed Media
Price: R14 000 Framed
