CATALOGUE PDF

:
ST
ILL
LIFE
W. H
. c
O
ET
Obj
ect
Z
ER
Ob jec t
Transfi gur ed
Ex empla ry pa inti n g s o f
the mund a ne e l e vat e d
into obj ects of a e s t he t i c
tr a nscend e n c e .
9 MAR . 2015 - 9 MAY . 2015
WALL
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CO NTENTS
1
2Pe ter Cla rke
W illem He rma nus Co etzer
3
C ecil Sko tnes
4M a ud Sumner
5M a urice va n Es s che
6
7G reg o ire Bo o nza ier
Eric La ub s cher
second floor
Port Captain’s building
V&A Waterfront
021 418 1953
wallsaart@gmail.com
www.wallsaart.co.za
WALL
M a u r i c e va n E s s c h e : STILL LIF E
CON
TEN
TS
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ARTISTS
W. H . C oet zer
__
Pe te r C l a rk e
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Ce ci l S k o t n es
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STEFAN H UNDT
[ C u r ato r: Sanl am A rt Co l l ec t i o n ]
The appearance of the still life genre in
By the dawn of the 20th century,
In this small selection of paintings, the
Cecil Skotnes (1926 – 2009)
The paintings by Erik Laubscher
Western painting can be traced back to
the ‘humble’ still life painting would
legacy of the still life genre is imminently
exploits the ambiguity of the flat
(1927 – 2013) and Maude Sumner
the early wall painting in Roman villas
become a significant game changer in
visible.
painted surface by offering two views
(1902 – 1985) pay lesser homage to
excavated at Pompeii and Herculaneum,
the aesthetic life and theory of modern
simultaneously. He implies space by using
their Cubist heritage. Their simplification
where almost illusionistic renderings
Europe. The ubiquitous subject of
W. H. Coetzer (1900 – 1983)
simple perspectival devices of line, the
of colours and shapes reflect both artists’
of small household items decorated
rendering dead objects in space became
tableaux of painting equipment is an
interplay of colour, light and shadow
training in Paris. Sumner foregrounds the
the walls of particular rooms. Not still
the focus of a re-envisioning of painting
object of skilled exhibitionism. The
across the surface, yet denies it by the
surface of the painting by flattening the
life in the modern sense of the term,
of a surface in the form of Cubism. Pablo
tools that make his vision concrete are
severe flatness through which the objects
objects to colourful shapes – similar in
these renderings of domestic utensils,
Picasso’s and Juan Gris’ experiments in
presented as subject, showing off his
are rendered. There is little in common
style to the intimist paintings by Vuillard
in isolation or groupings, could be
reconstructing three dimensional space
skill in transforming painting into optical
aesthetically speaking with Coetzer’s
whose works she would have become well
understood as a prototype for the
and time on a two dimensional surface
reality. A celebrated painter in his day,
painting, as Skotnes has embraced
acquainted with. Laubscher’s painting is
were released onto an unsuspecting
Coetzer’s still lifes represented the apogee
and exploited the diverse possibilities
more robust in its flattening abstraction
Parisian public in 1908. It was the exact
of the popular demand for ‘naturalist’
which evolved out of the Cubist heritage,
and thick paint application reminiscent of
Although a lesser genre in the history of
opposite of what had characterized
aesthetic in South Africa at the time.
whereas Coetzer holds fast to the re-
his erstwhile teacher, Fernand Léger.
Western painting traditions, the still life
the essence of the still life genre to
painting achieved an extraordinary level
date. Perspective was discarded and
‘modern’ still life.
Gregoire Boonzaier’s
the traditional subject matter of the still life
Maurice van Essche’s (1906 – 1977)
(1909 – 2005) still life is a light lyrical
genre, each with its own sense of optical
still life with jug and cup pays a type of
abstraction of forms with a nod to Cubism,
wit and consciousness of the Cubist
lip service to the stylistic devices fashioned
typical of this artist’s rare forays out of his
banal assortment of objects.
legacy. Forms flattening out and bending
by cubism. The moderate distortions in
predominantly Post-Impressionist style of
round as the eye travels along the canvas
form of the objects are passive and the
painting.
of sophistication in the late 17th century.
viewpoints presented at once, distorting
The term “Trompe l’oeil” coined at the
and reshaping the Cubist still life, which
time, designated a technique of painting
was anything but a simple image of a
an object or space in such a manner that
The other works on this exhibition present
presentation of the perceptually real.
it would ‘fool’ the eye of the beholder
M a u d S u mn er
spatially. This verism, besides titillating
Cubism wasn’t confined to the inanimate,
pay homage to Cubist devices while still
spatial dimensions are credible. The
__
the eye and the mind, also had its moral
but soon found its application to the
retaining a characteristic take on the
colour is deliberately muted, infusing the
Peter Clarke’s (1929 - 1914)
dimension in the “vanitas” paintings
human figure. Despite its relatively
particular and peculiar.
image with a restrained atmosphere and
linocut is a superb exercise in simplicity.
of time. In these paintings a vast
short life, Cubism had one of the
implying a certain weight of meaning not
A straightforward image of a small table
carried by the object alone.
populated with everyday objects becomes
M a u r i ce van Essch e
__
agglomeration of objects of wealth and
most profound effects on modern art
E r i c L a u bsch er
__
the trappings of success are discretely
alongside the revolution of aesthetic
freighted with new meaning: a lit candle,
juxtaposed with rotting fruit, dead
thought that began with in the 1850s
book, bottle and small bowl next to a stark
G r e g oi r e Bo o n zaier
animals, a drooping lemon peel and the
and with Courbet and the various stylistic
bouquet of spiky ‘flowers’. The implied
ultimate reminder of one’s mortality: the
movements that followed quickly after.
viewer is presented with an altar-like
polished skull.
The still life had moved from the relative
arrangement of objects, not dissimilar to
obscurity of an exercise in painting to
that of Skotnes’ painting.
a central subject that would change the
perception of Western art forever.
W i l l e m H e r ma nu s Coe t ze r
[ 1900 – 1983 ]
o i l o n c anvas
s i gned and d ated 1964
4 0 x 50 c m
[ 1929 – 2014 ]
Int erior wit h passerby
li n oc u t
edi t i on 1 7 of 2 5
si gn ed
40 x 44 cm
2
1
Stil l Life
P e t e r C l ark E
C e c i l S ko t n es
[ 1926 – 2009 ]
c arved , i nc i sed and pa in ted wood pa n el
s i gned and d ated 1990
1 22 x 122 c m
[ 1902 – 1985 ]
St ill Life
oi l on c a n va s
si gn ed a n d dat ed 1 9 4 9
64 x 52 cm
4
3
Stil l Life
M au d S u m n e r
M a u r i c e va n Es sc he
[ 1906 – 1977 ]
o i l o n c anvas
s i gned and d ated 1964
5 4 x 39 c m
[ 1927 – 2013 ]
St ill Life
oi l on c a n va s
si gn ed a n d dat ed 1 9 6 0
27 x 22 cm
6
5
Stil l Life
E ri K L au b s C H e r
GRe g o i r e Boonza ie r
[ 1909 – 2005 ]
7
Stil l Life
o i l o n c anvas
s i gned and d ated 1948
4 9 x 43 c m
Obj
ect
Ob jec t
Transfi gur ed
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V&A Wate r f r o n t
021 418 1953
wa llsa a rt@gmai l . c o m
www.wal l saart. c o . z a
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