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Nolan Stevens has been working at the David Krut Bookstore at JAG and has been commissioned to write on activities at the Museum.

 

JAG Happenings

 

The Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) is currently showcasing a number of different exhibitions and collections.

 

The highlight of which is undoubtedly the Albert Adams Retrospective; which runs until 3 July2009. ‘Journeys On A Tightrope’, comes to JAG fresh from its run at the Iziko South Africa National Gallery. Adams, who died on 31 December 2008 lived a significant part of his life in the UK, remained deeply connected and committed to South Africa. This is reflected in his portrayal and self-reflex approach to art making; seen in some of his works – There are moments in his pieces (which range from paints to charcoal based works), that reflect the human misery of our Apartheid past. It’s evident that his painting style was strongly influenced by German Expressionist masters such as Kirchner, Max Beckman, and Emil Nolde. Works such as his triptych South Africa (1959) depict figures in agony, some with dismantled bodies and others in bandages show glimpses of the kind of brilliances that the likes of Francesco Goya exemplified in being able to capture the viewer emotionally – And is evident why this particular piece (South Africa) is referred to by some as the South African Guernica.

 

The Nando’s sponsored Project Room space is presently playing host to a solo exhibition by Mphapho “Ra” Hlasane, University of Johannesburg (UJ) Masters student and recent attendee of the Michigan’s School of Arts and Design’s Moody fellowship programme, entitled Tshepo Ten Years Later. This body of work is made up almost entirely by photo-based media. The exhibition will run until 7 June 2009. Thereafter an exhibition by Jo’burg-based artist Musha Neluneni will be opened on 23 June in the same space.

 

There is also a tribute to artist Cecil Skotnes who recently passed away. The exhibition has been curated by Antoinette Murdoch, the newly appointed director of JAG . This showcase is a tribute to one of Southern Africa’s pioneers of modern art and features some works from the JAG collection.

 

The Kwezi Gulehas curated an exhibition entitled Portraiture Through Photography and Video which provides viewers with an opportunity to revisit questions such as “What is the relationship between seeing and perceiving?”. This exhibition runs until 3 July.

 

The New Acquisitions section showcases some of the galleries newly acquired pieces such as photographic works by Hasan and Husain Essop, as well as photographs by Terry Kurgan and donated works by SA born painter Marlene Dumas.

 

The gallery also has various other collections on show; these include The Contemporary South African Works from the Collection, Modern Works from the Collection, Works from the Historical Collection, and Works from the South African Collection.

 

Lastly JAG’s Foundation Room is the space that provides visitors with information on the gallery’s history and founding collection.

For the artistic minded and/or just the curious the Johannesburg Art Gallery will prove itself to be a treasure chest.   

 

Unknown Author

Keywords: Cecil Skotnes, JAG, Johannesburg, Johannesburg-Art-Gallery, Nolan Stevens