The two rooms at Provenance Auction House that constitute the salon are carefully chosen, well-represented works of art, writes Danny Shorkend.
One will be excited to find prominent South African and internationally acclaimed artists, including a Picasso, Dine, Man Ray amongst the spoils on offer.
The effect is powerful, somewhat subtly softened by the beautiful ceramics also on display. I think it is safe to say that there are no weak links in this exhibition and it certainly is a must see.
Slingsby’s recent series of drawings in charcoal and chalk pastel on Arches 300 gram cotton rag paper show a profound attention to detail, yet in there seeming “incompleteness” suggest conceptual associations. For, while on the one hand there are areas of descriptive portraiture, on the other hand there are considered streaks and lines which together give one the sense that one occupies a kind of bridge between the purely literal or physical and the ethereal or abstract, reminding one of Shakespeare’s philosophical ruminations to the effect that it is as if one is crawling between heaven and earth and then vexed by the dichotomy, what should such a creature do? This reading is bolstered by the fact that one of his drawings is entitled “material immaterial”. His, perhaps expressionistic “miners…” image shows a more nervous energy, wiry characters and beasts that slavishly toil amidst the general sense of unease and perhaps pain.
I enjoyed Lorienne Lotz’s work for its succulent colours and blending, her intuitive use of paint and emotional investment in what are perhaps rather dark and ominous, yet reveal an attempt to find material embodiment for that unnamed emotional disposition. In this sense, the notion that art is therapeutic is perhaps true in this case, as if the depths of ones consciousness though bypassing words can yet be given some semblance of order and cohesion through the elements of art. Or more to the point: By allowing exploration into the unknown, the uncharted territory of the soul, one begins to unearth not only torment and confusion, but also the common language of persons. While I am not falling back on an outdated notion of an “enlightened” common humanity, I do think there is a substrate of kinship between cultures and that – even without prior training – can be sensed in art.
To briefly mention a few thoughts as I moved amongst the works of art:
Lyndi Sales presents a unique method using intricately cut, pinned paper and rubber which highlight the fragile nature of our existence; Stephen Croeser’s mastery of material and consistency of style and subject matter coerce one to find correlative symbolic value in his structural architecture and well worked colouration; Sisipho Ngodwana’s sculpture or installation invites an experiential interface between sight and touch and the inability to easily decipher the incongruence between these senses….to name a few.
As if this room was not enough, when one moves into the “second” room one is perhaps overwhelmed by the plenitude on offer. A Picasso sketch, just a few pin point lines and voids that describe a face; a Man Ray surrealist image that to be honest I did not fully engage and a Jim Dine lithograph that is memorable. Then there are South African gems: Norman Catherine’s signature defiant style; Cecil Skotnes’s elongated incised manipulations, totems; Deborah Bell’s accomplished prints; a Beezy Bailey silkscreen with powerful imagery; Gavin Young’s painted bronze’s perhaps might be interpreted as questions regarding man-made categories such as race…again to name a few.
As a follow up to the tribute to Rose Korber at the AVA wherein Korber never actually selected the works for exhibition purposes, this exhibition here at Provenance Auction House was indeed put together by Korber and as hopefully already conveyed, it is patently obvious that this is an impressive body of work.
If I was struck by what I call the first room, then when while on the phone I simply wondered into the “second” room to be greeted by historically highly regarded artists or rather artists’ work. The telephonic conversation was a conscious experience, while on perhaps another level of consciousness I was able to feel my way around and about the room.
All in all then, a most enjoyable experience – a symphony of ideas.
WHERE: Provenance Auction House, 8 Vrede St, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001
WHEN: until 1st April, 2016
This review by DANNY SHORKEND first appeared in the Cape Times
