For Kay Hassan, a Soweto-born artist, the wheels that will propel him and
his art into international galleries are already in motion. The winner of
the DaimlerChrysler Award for Contemporary Art 2000, has just returned from
Germany where he viewed the galleries proposed for his forthcoming
exhibition in May 2000.
The international exhibition, which will be followed by a countrywide
exhibition in South Africa, forms part of the award prize, which is valued
at R300 000. Kay also received a R10 000 cash prize, the creation of a
glossy full-colour portfolio of his work and a bursary for a study visit in
Germany or the United States.
Comprising of a combination of new installation pieces and Kay's unique
paper constructions (collages), the exhibition will be shown concurrently at
the Württenbergischer Kunstverein in Stuttgart and the Haus Huth gallery in
Berlin.
Haus Huth, the representation of DaimlerChrysler Berlin, is the only
historical building in the modern Postdamer Platz which is situated in the
centre of this German city. Hassan's exhibition will be held on the same
floor that currently houses the DaimlerChrysler corporate collection.
Dr Martin Hentschel, director of Württemberg Art Society and Hans-Jörg
Baumgart, curator of the DaimlerChrysler Stuttgart art collection have
already sanctioned the purchase of three of Kay's pieces for display in the
DaimlerChrysler Museum.
Speaking on his return, Hassan said The Württenbergischer Kunstverein
Museum has a wonderful sense and feel of space, this together with the roof
light will enable me to put together a show that breathes.
The soft spoken artist is not intimidated at all by the fact that his work
will stand side by side with greats like Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg
and Picasso and says: I believe in myself and my work and feel confident
that I will be a good ambassador for future South African artists. We are,
after all, global citizens who just express what we feel.
The Award has given me the chance to expose a bigger body of my work to art
enthusiasts who are highly informed, adds Hassan. There is a strong
respect for arts and culture in Germany, to the extent that Berlin is now
being called the city of the future based on the artistic talent there. I
look forward to being a part of this international connection.
Hassan already has several works in progress for the May 2000 exhibition,
which he pursues from his small studio in Newtown. The pieces, which can
range up to 12 metres long and two metres high develop spontaneously around
subjects that Kay defines as humanist philosophy.
I reflect issues and scenarios that affect people everywhere such as war,
famine or abuse - and because these issues have no borders, people from
around the world can relate to them, adds Hassan.
One such piece titled The Flight which depicts objects that people carry
with them when they flee, whether for religious, political or economic
reasons, was exhibited in South Korea in 1996 and hailed as a sensitive and
poetic investigation into the fraught context of the historical past.
When asked about his plans to study internationally, Kay said that travel is
an education in itself, but that he still has a tremendous amount to
accomplish locally before that particular journey begins.
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