Art South Africa Abroad and At Home

Week 5 January 25 2011

Art South Africa reviews Gerhard Marx's exhibition at the Goodman Gallery

By Increments: The Opening of Gerhard Marx’s Cumulus.

After being shuttled towards the Goodman Gallery in their infamous lift (a rumbling iron box that bears more than just a passing resemblance to the witch’s oven in Hansel and Gretel. Or at least it does to me), I was very happily deposited in the well-lit and white-walled Cumulus.

Cumulus, Gerhard Marx’s first exhibition at the Goodman Gallery, is an intricately composed affair. In it Marx, who is known for his signature style of using scraps of maps to construct layered drawings, introduces some newer works alongside his more recognizable pieces. Read more here.

VIP Art Fair

The inaugural VIP Art Fair, where Art South Africa has its own booth, opened over the weekend. The Fair—an acronym for “Viewing in Private”—is the first-ever to take place exclusively online. It runs for one week, and features 138 of the world’s leading contemporary art galleries from 30 countries. With a power-packed list of international dealers, art collectors and enthusiasts are able to browse works by renowned artists from Franz Ackermann, Francis Bacon, Urs Fischer, Lucien Freud, Damien Hirst, Anselm Kiefer, and Jackson Pollock, to the most exciting emerging artists working today, all from the comfort of their own home.

You can visit the VIP Art Fair here.

Big Apple Art Adventures

Andrew Lamprecht has been documenting his experiences as an Ampersand Resident in New York in his blog Art New York. In his latest entry he discusses his trips to the Whitney and New York Public Library:

"Wednesday morning started out as a bit of a damp squib. I headed out quite early planning to take in quite a bit of ‘Museum Mile’, the area on 5th Avenue next to Central Park with a large number of great collections. My first stop was the the Jewish Museum which was closed. I had been warned to check closing days before heading out as they can be quite idiosyncratic (some on Mondays, others Tuesdays, others Wednesday, etc.) but thought ‘no matter, Ill come back another day’ and headed on to the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum. Um… closed until mid-February for major installation. Then on to the National Academy Museum… closed until September 2011. I rushed on to the Guggenheim only to discover that all the major installations had come down the week before and only two very small exhibitions were open in the side galleries, Kandinsky at the Bauhaus and a small showing from the Thannhauser Collection. Despite my disappointment at all this there was much to see in both these shows and, quite frankly, after the overload of the first day at the Met, a smaller number of masterpieces to focus on was a bit of a relief." Read more here.

Upcoming Exhibition: Daniella Mooney at Whatiftheworld

Maybe Your Magic is Working:

A solo exhibition by Daniella Mooney

Whatiftheworld / Gallery

Exhibition Dates: 29 January – 19 February, 2011

Daniella Mooney’s first solo show sees the artist taking on the role of shaman,

alchemist and !"#$%&"! – with an exhibition that articulates the fragility, whimsy and

inevitable decay that encapsulates the universal human position. Read more here.

Emerging Modernities

The Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) at UCT will be hosting the ground-breaking, weekend-long Emerging Modernities event from 18 - 20 February.

"Emerging Modernities is a creative platform where academia and the arts meet in an interactive way to explore current conceptual issues surrounding the notions of redefining contemporary identities and art," says GIPCA Director Jay Pather. "The event is structured in a unique way, in that it combines performances, installations and exhibitions with panel discussions. We want to give attendees an opportunity to observe some of South Africa's cutting edge artists in action, and then also reflect critically on the experience, with its conceptual implications, with a panel of experts," said Pather.

The weekend long Emerging Modernities opens with an address by the highly respected Simon Njami, art critic, novelist, essayist and curator, of Cameroonian decent and currently residing in France. Mwenya Kabwe, Peter van Heerden, Andrew Putter, Nandipha Mntambo, Magnet Theatre and Sello Pesa are some of the contributors who will be showcasing their work, combined with panel discussions facilitated around issues relating to performing and creative arts disciplines, as well panels that deal with language, the city, and notions of tradition and curriculum design. Read more here.

Employment Vacancies at SMAC Art Gallery

SMAC Art Gallery currently has two job openings available. The deadline for both is January 29 2011, so, if you're interested, be sure to apply as soon as possible:

Art Gallery Administrator and Graphic Designer

Remuneration: Negotiable depending on experience

Province: Western Cape

City: Stellenbosch

Job Level: Mid

Type: Permanent

Job Description:

Stellenbosch Modern & Contemporary Art Gallery requires a full time Gallery Administrator & Graphic Designer.

Duties Include:

· General gallery administration

· Organizing and maintaining data and records of reference works.

· Administration the image database

· Assisting in the organization of gallery related events and exhibitions.

· Assisting gallery visitors and conducting sales.

· In-house graphic design.

· Maintaining the gallery website and mailing lists.

· Assisting in the publication of catalogues and books.

Requirements:

InDesign / Illustrator / Photoshop

Microsoft Office

Advantageous:

Marketing Experience

Photographic Experience

Knowledge of Art

Education

Degree / Diploma

Personal Skills / Attributes:

Good organising and administrating skills

Creative / innovative / conceptual

Focussed / Motivated

Attention to Detail

Ability to work at an active pace

Independent yet happy to work in a team

Working well under pressure and meeting tight deadlines

Contact Details:

Catherine Visagie

SMAC Art Gallery

(021) 887 3607

info@smacgallery.com

Applications close on Friday 29 January 2011

Art Gallery Assistant

Remuneration: Negotiable depending on experience

Province: Western Cape

City: Cape Town

Job Level: Junior

Type: Permanent

Job Description

Stellenbosch Modern & Contemporary Art Gallery requires a full time Gallery Assistant for their Cape Town Gallery.

Duties Include:

· Opening and closing the gallery 5 days a week.

· Receiving visitors and fielding enquiries.

· Sale of works. Marketing of works, artists and gallery.

· Artist and client liaison.

· Planning and setting up exhibitions. Organising exhibition openings.

· Shipping of works.

· Regular meetings with the director regarding all of the above