VISUAL ART

MATRIC ART



The annual KZN Schools Art Exhibition has traditionally been shown in the Grand Foyer of the Playhouse. However, this venue is no longer available for exhibitions.

The Durban Art Gallery has stepped in and will exhibit the annual KZN Schools Art Exhibition in the Circular Gallery from February 16 to March 2, dates deliberately chosen so as not to coincide with the school holidays.

POLICY

In the past it has not been gallery policy to show local school art, but with the gallery reaching out to larger numbers of people from the wider community, the exhibition of art from school pupils will attract people who would not, under normal circumstances, visit the gallery.

As all schools operate as one department now, the province's whole spectrum of schools will be represented and, as the art on display will be largely senior work selected on merit, the overall standard and quality will be high.

PERMANENT

Pupils will also have an opportunity to view the Gallery's permanent collection thus facilitating the resources of the gallery for educational purposes and - most importantly - that this fact is recognised as such by civic authorities in the light of the present budget cuts.

(The Durban Art Gallery's acquisition budget has been cut so they cannot buy new works - see December issue).

The exhibition has been facilitated by Darryl Houghton who is senior assistant superintendent of Art Education. The exhibition will be opened by Ravi Govender, curator of the Durban Cul-tural and Documentation Centre) on February 16 at 11h00.

BRIDGING THE GAP

The Bridging the Gap art exhibition, sponsored by iKathi International and featuring works by artists from all Durban communities, will be held at the Bat Centre during February.

Winning entries from the exhibition's competition are to be auctioned on February 7 at 18h30 to raise funds for the Bartel Arts Trust (BAT Centre) and the artists' concerned.

Corporate business is being encouraged to acquire original paintings representing the true spirit of the new South Africa - Bridging the Gap!

Anyone interested in taking part in the auction should contact Michelle Lourens on 266-9188.

AWARD WINNERS

The Technikon Natal's Emma Smith Overseas Scholarship was shared by third-year fashion student Melanie Olivier and Aliza Levi, a Btech Fine Art Student.

At the award function the Poet Laureate of Africa and Chairman of Technikon Natal Council, Professor Mazisi Kunene, awarded each student R20 000 to go towards their further education overseas. Both students leave for the United Kingdom shortly - Aliza to specialise in Art Therapy at a college in England and Melanie to attend a number of specialist short courses.

FNB VITA ART NOW ENDS

The FNB Vita Art Now Exhibition, held annually since 1985 in the Johannesburg Art Gallery, will no longer be a part of the South African fine arts scene.

Considered somewhat controversial by some, FNB Vita Art Now always had a finger on the pulse of contemporary art to provide an annual retrospective of new work by South African artists.

FNB Vita Art Now

finally decided to discontinue the exhibition mainly due to the closure of many art galleries in Johannesburg. Negotiations are currently underway for two new fine arts projects to be launched in 1997. Through these FNB Vita will remain committed to supporting the established and developing the new in the fine art world.

STUDENT COMPETITION

Artists suppliers iKathi International will host a student art competition on February 8 and 9 in the BAT Centre's Studio Gallery. Prizes include shopping vouchers for art materials with a first prize of R500. Judging will take place on February 12 at 17h30.

Phone Beryl on 266-9188 for details.

WAFER & FINDLAY

An exhibition by two Durban artists who have exhibited both nationally and inter-nationally, Jeremy Wafer and Bronwen Findlay, will be held at the NSA Gallery from February 2 to 20.

JEREMY

Jeremy is a lecturer in sculpture at Technikon Natal and works in sculpture, drawing and photography. He recently visited the United Kingdom teaching at Cheltenham School of Art and exhibiting in London, Glasgow and Bristol.

His exhibition includes a series of small oval wall sculptures made in England. Their surfaces are marked, scarred and covered in dark wax and earth pigments to evoke qualities of African carving but in a more minimal and abstract way.

PANELS

There is also a series of square panels studded with rows of lucky beans and photographic works using aerial and micro-photography to explore themes of borders and the divisions of the landscape as well as close-ups of ant nests and termite mounds.

BRONWEN

Bronwen is a well-known painter who is represented in several major South African permanent collections. She teaches fine art at the University of Durban-Westville and her works repre-sent fragments from a personal history while concentrating on a sense of place.

Working predominantly in oils and some-times collage, her subject matter includes trees, flowers and domestic objects.

RECENT

Her recent works reveal the familiar subject matter of previous works while at the same time reinventing and redis-covering them.

Flowers, once painted in bright and luminous colours, have been allowed to die and introduced as collage elements facilitating a reinterpretation of the work.