EXHIBITIONS to suit all tastes are on in Johannesburg from July to September - which means there's plenty to keep you busy during the cold winter afternoons.
'Pierneef, Black White and Coloured' by Ryan Arenson at The Premises.
'The Revolution Will Be Televised' at Zuva Gallery
'The Revolution Will Be Televised', Kudzanai Chiurai's acclaimed exhibition on the perils of Zimbabwe, will be at the Zuva Gallery from 31 July to 15 August.
Chiurai's work - which uses mixed media on canvas, board and paper - is bold: it focuses on the political, economic and social strife in his homeland. His work often caricatures President Robert Mugabe and depicts him as a sell-out.
"The past is being used to manipulate the present," says Chiurai.
His work tries to break the silence between black and white, and to establish a dialogue that brings awareness that we are all victims of the past and architects of the future.
"My exhibition is a protest: the ambitions and ideals of the Zimbabwean liberation movement have been betrayed," he says.
But, says Michael Obert, Zuva Gallery's owner and curator: "Make no mistake - this is not simply protest art, but rather finely honed contemporary work with a dynamic impact.
"We are extremely grateful to be working with one of the most promising artists to emerge from Africa in decades."
Chiurai, one of South Africa's hottest young contemporary artists, is bringing the African leg of his exhibition here after its run at the Brixton Art Gallery in London. Many works from his show in London will be on display, but he has also completed several new works that will be added to the exhibition in Johannesburg.
Chiurai is regarded as part of the "born free" generation: he was born in Zimbabwe in 1981, one year after the country's independence from Britain.
He is the first black student to study fine art at the University of Pretoria, where he was recently named the most promising art student.
The Africa leg of 'The Revolution Will Be Televised' is on at Zuva, 14 the High Street, Melrose Arch, from 31 July until 15 August. The gallery is open from 10am to 6pm every day.
For more information contact Michael on 011 684 1214, email him at johannesburg@zuvagallery.com, or go to www.zuvagallery.com
'Rorke's Drift: Empowering Prints' at JAG
'Rorke's Drift: Empowering Prints 1962-1982', a retrospective exhibition of a rich range of prints that came out of Rorke's Drift in the 1960s and 1970s, is on at the Johannesburg Art Gallery from 14 July to 27 September.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church art and craft centre at Rorke's Drift has long been recognised as an influential source of training for black artists in South Africa in the years when tertiary institutions were closed to them.
Discussion and debate about social issues was encouraged, affording the art a political dimension that has not been fully acknowledged. The exhibition is curated by Elizabeth Rankin and Philippa Hobbs. Their focus on these prints challenges stereotypes about the work of the centre and the idea of a Rorke's Drift style, dominated by narrative linocuts such as those of Azaria Mbatha and John Muafangejo.
This exhibition also provides other insights into the centre.
JAG's interactive public project delves into the transforming inner-city environment
The centre offered a wide range of media - intaglio processes such as etching, aquatint, dry point and mezzotint, as well as woodcuts, screen prints and other forms of colour printing. At the time, this was arguably the most extensive printmaking training available at a tertiary institution in South Africa.
Many who emerged from Rorke's Drift - including Pat Mautloa, Bongi Dhlomo, Sam Nhlengethwa and Charles Nkosi - are now acclaimed artists.
This exhibition - which comprises about 140 artworks assembled from many collections in South Africa, Sweden and the UK - has some prints that were discovered in old portfolios of virtually unknown artists such as Paulos Mchunu and Michael Ngema. The exhibition aims to ensure these artists a place in South Africa's art history.
This exhibition - made possible by the MTN Foundation, which has adopted this initiative as a key arts and culture flagship project for 2003 and 2004 - will be on at JAG from 14 July until 27 September. JAG is open Tuesdays to Sundays, from 10am to 5pm. For more information, contact the gallery on 011 725 3130. The gallery is at the corner of King George and Klein streets in central Johannesburg.
'Johannesburg Circa Now' at JAG
'Johannesburg Circa Now', a three-month long exhibition and interactive public project at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, delves into the transforming inner-city environment.
It is on from 15 July to 15 October.
This exhibition, a project by Terry Kurgan and Jo Ratcliffe, consists of a collection of images of inner-city scenes - seen, interpreted and constructed through photography.
This comes from a photography, video and installation project they have been working on for a number of years; it looks at the way photographs mediate our experience in the world.
Visitors will be invited to make their own portraits in a photo studio constructed inside the gallery. Public participation in this collaborative work will reflect how we have come to see our world and ourselves this past decade.
'Johannesburg Circa Now' is on at JAG from 15 July until 15 October. JAG is open Tuesdays to Sundays, from 10am to 5pm. For more information contact the gallery on 011 725 3130. The gallery is at the corner of King George and Klein streets in central Johannesburg.
'Four exhibitions under one roof' at Artspace Gallery
'Four exhibitions under one roof', which is at the Artspace Gallery from 11 July until 7 August, features works by David and Tracy Carter, Nhlanhla Mbatha, Jacki McInnes and Zonia Nel-Scheffer.
Wood totems, a joint venture of the Carters, a husband-and-wife team, is a sculpture, created of seedpods, that reflects their love for the African environment.
They use invader species of trees - eucalyptus, poplar, pine and cedar - to produce exciting wooden pots and other forms of art.
The pair live in the little town of Arniston in the Western Cape.
'For Her', a body of work that McInnes produced in 2002 and 2003 for a master's degree in fine art at the University of Cape Town, forms part at this exhibition.
"The work deals with questions relating to abortion and explores the psychological impact that a woman may experience when a choice that ought to exist in the realm of the personal becomes politicised," explains McInnes.
The work, which uses toddlers' dresses and other memorabilia to depict memories, consists mainly of melted lead and coarse salt, and is largely boxed; this creates a three-dimensional effect.
McInnes, who lives in Cape Town, had her first solo exhibition in 2002.
'Options', Nel-Scheffer's exhibition, tackles the serious subject of jobs in South Africa. Although comically represented, the works depict sober modern-day issues.
The symbols of the business environment - the corporate ladder, the computer, arrows and other icons - depict modern day realities such as downsizing and retrenchment.
But there are many other options in life; hence the title.
Nel-Scheffer, who hails from Pretoria, now lives in Stellenbosch.
Mbatha works mainly in mixed media on paper. His new works incorporate photographic vinyl - a fusion of painting and photography.
Mbatha, who is from Johannesburg, aims to question and challenge society's values, while using history as a platform to research and develop material.
'Four exhibitions under one roof' is at Artspace Gallery from 11 July to 7 August. The gallery - at 3 Hetty Avenue, Fairland - is open from Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 6pm, and Saturdays until 2pm. For more information contact the gallery on 011 651 4702.
'Historical Documentation of the Fietas Anti-Eviction Protest in 1979' at The Bag Factory
This in an exhibition of the historical documentation of the planning, execution, arrest, court case and media coverage of the Fietas anti-eviction protest in 1979. The exhibition, which will be at the Bag Factory from 22 July to 28 July, includes a half-scale reconstruction the Fietas mural.
In 1979 a group of 10 Wits University students, including some artists, began painting a striking, two-storey mural in Pageview, an area that had fallen on the wrong side of the Group Areas Act. The mural was a protest against the apartheid government's policy of forced removals; this act of defiance lead to a police clampdown on the group.
'Historical documentation of the Fietas Anti-Eviction Protest in 1979' at the Bag Factory
On the third day of painting, as the picture of a large bulldozer took shape on the wall, the protesters were arrested and charged with malicious damage to property. They were held in various city prisons, separated according to race and gender.
Authorities bulldozed the half-finished mural - testimony to the group's persecution - but the painters were acquitted after being defended by George Bizos, and Ismail Ayob, the well-known human-rights lawyers.
Today, 25 years later and 10 years into our democracy, the group - lead by artist Joachim Schonfeldt - will revisit the event in the form of an exhibition.
The mural, which was described as "the first large-scale, overtly political mural on a publicly visible exterior wall in South Africa" by Sabine Marschall in 'Community Mural Art in South Africa', was not only lost because of the bulldozers: the group destroyed the design while in the back of the police van.
Thanks to the Royal Netherlands Embassy, 'Historical Documentation of the Fietas Anti-Eviction Protest in 1979' will be on at the Bag Factory, 10 Minnaar Street, Fordsburg, from 22 July to 28 July. It is open weekdays from 9:30am to 4pm.
For more information, contact the gallery on 011 834 9181, email bagfactory@acenet.co.za, or go to www.bagfactoryart.org.za
'The Lomo Exhibition' at PhotoZA
'The Lomo exhibition', at PhotoZA from 7 August to 28 August, will display the works of A-list photographers who understand the Lomo and who will do its reputation justice.
These photographers will use a Lomo to shoot themes they are best known for - to ensure the exhibition is varied and expresses the best of South African contemporary art. They were chosen by PhotoZA, Lomo SA and prominent art critics.
The Lomo is a small mini-camera with a sharp glass lens; it is extremely sensitive to high light and has a robust casting.
Built in Russia in 1982, its features made it so popular that, by 1991, just as its time in the limelight was beginning to wane, it was re-discovered as a handy companion to people on the streets. In 1993 the Lomographic Society was founded in Vienna: its aim is to spread the message of lomography across the globe.
The selected photographers are Kathryn Smith, Stephen Hobbs, Lolo Veleko, Christian Nerf, Ruth Motao, Hannelie Coetzee and Abrie Fourie.
'The Lomo Exhibition' is on at PhotoZA, which is on upper level of Mutual Square, 153 Oxford Road, Rosebank.
It will run from 7 August until 28 August. The gallery is open Monday to Friday, from 10am to 5pm, and Saturdays from 9am to 2pm. For more information call PhotoZA on 011 880 0833.
'Pierneef, Black White and Coloured' by Ryan Arenson at the Premises
'Pierneef, Black White and Coloured', Ryan Arenson's solo exhibition at The Premises from 1 August until 21 August, presents a comprehensive body of new paintings born out of his extended stay in Paris - and shows his shift in focus from European references to the great apartheid art master, Jacob Hendrik Pierneef.
Arenson's time in Paris involved extensive research into 19th-century western printmaking and engraving techniques. For this body of work, his interest lies in the compositional values of Pierneef wood block and linocuts, meticulously translated into oil on canvas paintings.
"This work continues my interest in acknowledging the role that powerful art images play throughout history," says Arenson.
He delves into techniques that question the construction of beauty and aesthetics, but "without dispelling the obvious political content and associations made with Pierneef", he says.
Arenson's stay overseas led to a fascination with European graphic art of the 19th century; this drew him to the archives of the Louvre Museum, where he gained an insight into the techniques and embarked on "a reflection on my distance from home, and of making a place in a new city".
'Pierneef, Black White and Coloured' is on at The Premises, at the Civic Theatre complex in Braamfontein, from 1 to 21 August. The Premises is open Tuesday to Saturday, from noon to 5pm, and on Sunday from 3pm to 5pm.
For more information contact The Premises on 011 877 6859 or visit onair.co.za/thepremises.
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