(Professor Federico Freschi. Pic by Val
Adamson)
Professor Federico Freschi will be giving a
presentation on curating the first Matisse exhibition in South Africa at the
Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg on July 27.
Freschi, the executive dean of the Faculty
of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Johannesburg, worked with
Patrice Deparpe, director of the Musée Matisse in Le Cateau-Cambrésis
(Matisse’s birthplace in the North of France) on the exhibition of the French
modernist’s work, which ran at the Standard Bank Gallery from July to September
last year.
Henri
Matisse: Rhythm and Meaning was the first
wide-ranging exhibition of Matisse’s work to be held in South Africa, and the
fourth exhibition of important 20th century modernists to be held at
the Johannesburg gallery. The others were monographic exhibitions focusing on
the work of Marc Chagall, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso.
In his lecture, which will take place at
11h30, Freschi will provide some context and background to the exhibition,
introduce the works that were displayed by linking these to events in the
artist’s life, and give some insight into the challenges and opportunities of
hosting an exhibition of this nature in South Africa.
“It is difficult to overstate Matisse’s
significance as a master of 20th century modernism,” says Freschi.
“The artist’s inventive use of form and colour in the early years of the 20th
century profoundly and irrevocably altered the course of modern art, while the
paper cut-outs he produced at the end of his life revolutionized concepts of
scale and medium.
“Of particular interest to South African
audiences is the inspiration he took from African and other non-Western art
forms during the early 1900s while struggling to find a new visual language to
express the particular experience of the new, modern age,” he adds.
Booking for the lecture is essential as
space is limited - email kobie.venter@msunduzi.gov.za or phone 033 392 2819.
A limited number of copies of the 206-page,
fully illustrated catalogue accompanying the exhibition, Henri Matisse: Rhythm and Meaning, will be on sale at the lecture
at R300 per copy. To purchase a copy, email Kobie Venter in advance of the
lecture.
On July 28 at 14h30, Freschi will host a
walkabout of the South African Landscape exhibition in the Lorna Ferguson Room
at the Tatham. For more information phone 033 392 2819.
The Tatham Art Gallery is situated opposite the Town
Hall in Chief Albert Luthuli
Street, Pietermaritzburg. It is open from Tuesdays
to Sundays from 10h00 to 17h00. Café Tatham is open on Saturdays. Safe parking
with a car guard available. More information on 033 392 2801 or visit www.tatham.org.za
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