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Thursday, August 17, 2017

KZNSA LAUNCHES PARK CONTEMPORARY GALLERY



(Pic by Niamh Walsh-Vorster)

A brand new exciting retail gallery will be opening within the province’s foremost contemporary art gallery, the KZNSA in Glenwood, to offer affordable, bespoke original art and collectables, formally opening to the public in mid-August.

The vision of the Park Contemporary Gallery is to offer a collection of work by collectable locally-based art makers – both respected “names” and emerging talent – and retail their work to shoppers and decorators on an ongoing basis.

The decision to transform what was the Park Gallery into a retail space is to further endorse the gallery’s focus of supporting local artists and providing them with a valuable platform to display and sell their work. It is also part of the ongoing process of restructuring and transformation to ensure the continued relevance and sustainable future of the visionary 112 year old Kwa-Zulu Natal Society of Arts (KZNSA) Gallery, an ever-changing society and a recessionary global environment.

“We have an astonishing array of art makers in our province, who don’t always find appropriate and reputable retail outlets,” explains the KZNSA’s Angela Shaw. “Our commitment is to support our artists and keep them earning a viable living in Durban, and to provide interesting options for shoppers, decorators and architects to find the perfect artwork for their home or project.”

To this end, the gallerists have identified artists working in a variety of media: painting, photography, prints, illustrations, contemporary digital work and collectable objets d’art. The team have invested considerable research, thought and care into the mix of artists. In many instances the artists chosen haven been identified as being on the cusp of being snapped up by the mainstream national and international galleries. Shaw is excited by the mix of artists whose work will be on display, and about sharing their work with a local audience before it makes the transition from affordable art to investment art. These exciting new artists will share the bill with some of the industry’s landed gentry: such as prints by the late Barry Truter and Isaac Sithole, Walter Battiss reproduction prints and Andrew Verster original drawings.

Artists in the gallery include: Sthenjwa Luthuli, Jeannie Kinsler, Miranda Hendrieta Crooks, Simanga Zondo, Nindya Tricam, Bonfece Cele, Nikhil Tricam, Derrick Nxumalo, Sam Cross, Sean Simons, Ann-marie Nason, Kevin Mbonambi, Wonder Buhle Mbambo, Angela Buckland, Mandisa Buthelezi, Sarah Lovejoy, Joseph Manana, Frank Nthunya, Phumlani Nyawo, Hlengiwe Dube, Obed Zulu, Dane Stops, Mthobisi Maphumulo, Nhlanhla Chonco, Everaldo Matonse, Sibusiso Duma, Corné Eksteen, Khulekani Cele, Ezekiel Mabote, and Ntutuko Buthelezi.

The much-loved and ever popular KZNSA Shop will continue to provide quality local products and gifts under the experienced eye of Gloria Hoff and Lucky Tsotetsi. The Park Contemporary Gallery will become a companion retail space for collectable art within the KZNSA Gallery.

The work will vary from R200 to R20,000 – and everything in-between. The Park Contemporary Gallery will also offer a selection of affordable frames - offering a prêt-a-porter type service of being able to select a frame for the chosen work on site and to walk away with a framed piece.

“We want to make it as easy, affordable and comfortable for both the buyer and the seller – we are the space where the maker and the market can meet,” says Shaw.

The Park Contemporary Gallery is operational within the KZNSA Gallery at 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood, Durban. It will be formally opened on August 24. For more information, phone 031 277 1705.