David Krut Publishing,
Africa’s No 1 Arts Bookstore and Publisher

PRINT RUN is an exhibition of selected editions produced in collaboration with printers Jillian Ross, Mlungisi Khongisa and Niall Bingham at the David Krut Print Workshop (DKW) and exhibited at David Krut Publishing: Fine Art and Books, Cape Town, during 2008.

13 December – 14 February 2008 @ David Krut Publishing: Fine Art & Books, Cape Town.

William Kentridge

[Nose 4; 2007; Sugarlift, aquatint, drypoint and engraving; 35x40cm; Edition: 50]
“The Noses” – an ongoing series of etchings, with images relating to Kentridge’s production based on Dmitri Shostakovich’s satirical opera, The Nose. The works were shown for the first time in the New Editions and Art Books Fair (EAB) in New York in October 2008.

Colbert Mashile (Prints; Feb 9 – Mar 6, 2008)

[Ka Masa; 2004; Drypoint, spitbite & monotype; 65x53cm; Edition: 18]

“Is it an anthill or is it a penis?” the uninitiated might inquire on first encountering Colbert Mashile’s mystifying meditations on manhood, ritual and custom. The answer lies somewhere between a rock and a hard place, for it is neither, both and more. Perhaps only in the realms of art and faith are such contradictory states possible.

Andrzej Nowicki (Sleep Depot; Mar 12 – April 10, 2008)

[The Beams; 2007; Hardground, sugarlift aquatint, drypoint; 56x69.8cm; Edition: 15]
Born in Poland, Nowicki moved to South Africa with his family at the age of eight. Although he has lived in South Africa for nearly twenty years, it is intriguing how closely comparable his work is, in palette and subject matter, to Post Socialist, East German painting. Nowicki makes the reminiscent sepia-tinged landscapes and strangely detached figures his own, by weaving them into nostalgic and biographical narratives. The result is both alienating and beautiful.

David Koloane (Prints & Monotypes; May 28 – June 28, 2008)

[Cityscape with Moonlight; 2008; Monotype; 77x110.5cm]
In these images, Koloane seems neither to condone nor criticise the phenomenon of urbanisation that has led to thousands of migrants leaving rural areas and disorderly African states for the unforgiving city of Johannesburg. The constant arrival and departure of commuters and displaced individuals looking for a better life indicates how the urban landscapes of South African cities are a microcosm for contemporary South African life.

Deborah Bell (Recent Editions; Jul 26 – Aug 28, 2008)

[Elegy; 2008; Drypoint; 55.7x38.5cm; Edition: 40]

Deborah Bell’s 2008 editions can be read as an extension of the ideas that Bell has been exploring in her work for some time. Bell’s work is fundamentally informed by a personal search for the ‘Self’. She draws on spiritual imagery from a wide range of sources allowing the possible meanings of her images and motifs to reach beyond the personal search of the artist herself.

Wilma Cruise (SPLIT / NY.LON.JHB; Sep 13 – Oct 4, 2008)

[NY 03 07 with Palm Tree I; 2007; Softground etching, spitbite aquatint, with scraping, burnishing and monotype; 80.2x60.8cm]

This body of work was created over a year and a half (2007-2008) during which Cruise, who lives in
Johannesburg, spent time in New York and London. The works speak strongly of dislocation and longing for the homeland (or the sense of a homeland) which intrudes at every turn of Cruise’s journey and creative process.

Ryan Arenson (Book of Ruth; Oct 25 – Nov 20, 2008)

[Devoid; 2008; Etching; 33x27cm; Edition:8]

Drawing on two seminal works by Dürer and Picasso, Arenson has translated a series of his own exquisitely detailed drawings into etchings, linocuts and monotypes that reflect Dürer’s bold use of line and the circular forms of Picasso’s 1901 painting Child with a Dove.

Bruce Backhouse (Recent Editions; Nov 22 – Dec 11, 2008)

[Tight-Rope Walker; 2008; Watercolour monotype; 65.5x76.9cm]

Having spent 25 years in the advertising industry, the sensibilities of the adman show through in Bruce Backhouse’s work, particularly in his playful use of zesty colour and satirical figures. For his latest work, he has employed, among others, the technique of watercolour monotypes; he has been particularly delighted with the scope of vivid and finely textured colour made available to him by this medium.

Artists: Ryan Arenson, Bruce Backhouse, Deborah Bell, Wilma Cruise, William Kentridge, David Koloane, Colbert Mashile & Andrzej Nowicki

Keywords: Andrzej Nowicki, Art, Bruce Backhouse, Colbert Mashile, David Krut Publishing: Fine Art and Books Cape Town, David-Koloane, Deborah-Bell, Ryan Arenson, South-African, William-Kentridge