(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.
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