(Pic: Bronze by Llewellyn Davies)
Large format works in bronze and oil paintings at Anton Benzon @ Crouse Gallery.
An exhibition of dramatic large format works in bronze by well-known sculptor Llewellyn Davies and oil paintings by Jocelyn Boyley is on display in the Anton Benzon @ Crouse Art Gallery in Morningside.
Owen Llewellyn Davies was born in Zimbabwe in 1950 and grew up on a cattle ranch, spending his young creative energy and free time shaping figures out of clay. This is where his love for sculpting developed, mastering the proportions of his muse to make them appear extremely lifelike. His remarkable attention to detail was obvious in his earlier days of discovering his passion. Finishing school, he followed in the footsteps of his family’s livelihood with farming and studied agriculture, landing a job in South Africa where he managed a farm for five years. The love for creativity was too strong to ignore and he returned to his great passion, sculpting.
This versatile sculptor is a quiet achiever whose work is displayed around the world in large companies and also the discerning private collectors. Davies’ talent for conveying motion, power and movement, gives his work a depth which affords lasting pleasure. This Hilton-based sculptor often travels far distances so he can have personal contact with his subjects. His subject matter is extremely varied and includes life sized equestrian work, birdlife, polo pieces, wildlife and studies of Africans and other human forms. For the past few years Llewellyn Davies’ focus has been on major commissions and limited edition pieces which have kept him extremely busy. His subject matter is varied and includes life-sized equestrian work, birdlife, polo pieces, children, wildlife and animals. He is also well known for his international once-off commissions and limited edition pieces.
Pietermaritzburg-based Jocelyn Boyley – who was married to SA living treasure well-known artist Errol Boyley – works in oils and is known for her evocative landscapes, floral images and seascapes. She was inspired by her husband during their 30 years of marriage. Errol Boyley and Llewellyn Davies exhibited together in the 1990’s.
Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1932, Jocelyn Boyley came to South Africa as a war evacuee in 1941 with her parents and maternal grandmother. Her father was a professional artist and cartoonist, as well as specialising in portraiture and etchings and he was her very early influence. She was educated at Roedean school, Johannesburg, where she excelled in art under the guidance of Erica Berry. As a young woman she studied with Walter Battiss in Pretoria and later with Cecily Sash in Johannesburg.
She returned to painting in 1976 after her marriage to Errol Boyley, who has been her constant guide for 30 years. She has sold her work since 1978 and her paintings hang in many private collections in South Africa and elsewhere. She works in water-based medium, often acrylic and gouache and gesso painting using conté and pastel for special effects, and the last few years in oils. Jocelyn Boyley paints landscapes, figure studies and flowers but specialises more on flowers in interior settings.
The gallery offers art of South Africa’s best artists like Anton Benzon, Diane Erasmus, Errol Boyley, Kobus Kotze and the Kotze family, Este Mostert, Lienkie Lombard, Marie Vermeulen Breedt, Bea, Luther Marais, Father Frans Claerhout, Cornelius Bosch, Andre De Beer, Christian Nice, Johan Smit, Chris Tugwell, Portchie, Ina van Schalkwyk and many more. Michelle Dodds (who also runs the gallery) is co-owner with Chris and Suzette Crouse.
Anton Benzon @ Crouse Art Gallery is situated at 254 Lillian Ngoyi / Windermere Road alongside Sutton Park. For more information to phone Michelle on 083 385 0654 or visit www.artdealers.co.za