(Above: Laurie Glenny will be display some of her charcoal works at the exhibition)
Honouring the art of drawing, Online / Off is a group exhibition of new work by artists exploring the joy of drawing, opening at Ballito’s foremost innovative exhibition space, The Gallery at The Studios @ Lifestyle Centre on May 5, 2022.
“Artists can draw, but mostly drawing is a means to an end, and seldom the end product in itself. We thought we would have fun in asking some of our favourite artists to use the humble art of drawing as a starting point in creating some interesting new work. We are really looking forward to seeing what they come up with!” enthuses curator, Jane Digby.
“We want to look at the line, not just technique, texture and colour. Our focus is old school line drawing as a counterpoint to our high-tech digital complex world, hence the playful challenge in the title, Online / Off,” she says. “And we aren’t being prescriptive about it either, so line drawings will be part of the whole, but we anticipate artists taking the brief quite loosely which could be really interesting. We are looking forward to seeing what they come up with!”
A wide range of artists have been invited to participate, representing various genres of the art-making community. Some participants to look out for include: Members of the Garret Group of Artists, who haven’t exhibited on the north coast before and are regaining momentum after a lockdown hiatus; Hilton Arts Festival and Art in the Park regular wildlife artist Vincent Reid from Pietermaritzburg; 1000 Hills artist Lauriane Glenny who works with liquid charcoals; well-travelled brothers Justice and Fhatuwani Mukheli who typically work in mixed media including film; and Sharleen Boaden who captures fleeting moments with a feminine touch often using charcoals.
(Right: Work by Lesley Magwood Fraser)
Also on the bill are Anne Schwankhart whose wonderful whimsical drawings favour abstract which speaks to the soul; Hilary Grant Currie has an affinity for trees and works mostly in charcoal; Chris Khoury is an artist and teacher, with a graphic arts background, known for his soft touch and affinity to African nature; Bheki Ntshali from Midlands is with Ardmore and favours symbolic and story-based themes in his work; Brenda Kuhn is a local artist and ceramicist who has invited her group to participate with her; Wandile Ntlangoniso is an award winning East London artist working in lino-cut prints onto hand-made paper; Daryl Houghton plays with contemporary interpretations of naïve line drawings often with splashes of colour; and Lesley Magwood Fraser’s work is brooding in its simplicity favouring monochromatic stark images in charcoal.
Online / Off runs until May 29. From June, the gallery will once more host regular First Thursday events.
For more information, visit www.ballitolifestylecentre.co.za/thegallery or WhatsApp The Gallery on 072 245 8691
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