ON SHOW AT GALLERY 2

Opening ---- February 24th 

12:00  pm  

24th February - 24th March 2017

  SEE ART

Contemporary Abstract

 A group exhibtion

curated by   

Derek Zietsman  

 Gallery 2  is pleased to present   

Allen Laing, Bevan De Wet, Blake Daniels, Coljin Strydom,

Colin Cole, Daandrey Steyn, Gordon Froud, Heidi Fourie,

Io Makandal, Jenny Stadler,Lothar Bottchner,

Natasha Norman, Stephen Hobbs, Wayne Matthews, Sarah Grace   

_{SEE ART: Contemporary Abstract is the second instalment of theSEE ART series of exhibitions at Gallery 2 that focuses on contemporary art-making processes.}

_{This exhibition explores the myth that abstract art, as well as the contemporary art-making process in creating ‘abstract art’, is dead. Any art student can tell you of the two golden ages of abstract art, between 1912 and 1925; and again between 1947 and 1970. Artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian, and Jackson Pollock are some of the well-known artists from these eras.}

_{So, did this art form, known for informal composition and general independence from overt visual references to ‘reality’, expire after 1970? A brief internet search reveals that abstract art is generally still very popular, (think of artists such as Anish Kapoor and Gerard Richter). The question is, it may still be popular, but is abstract art still radical, still relevant? When Kazimir Malevich exhibited his first Black Square in late 1915, it was regarded as enigmatic, a work that demarcated the ‘new’ art from the ‘old’ art. Some current commentators speculate that it sometimes feel as if this ‘radical’ energy has dissipated}

_{SEE ART: Contemporary Abstract explores how selected artists approach this question, how they explore contemporary possibilities in abstract art-making.}

_{For example, abstract art is not necessarily abstract. In 1951 the Dutch artist Willem de Kooning said "There is no style of painting now. There are as many naturalists among the abstract painters as there are abstract painters among the subject matter school". The German artist Sigmar Polke, who died in 2010, moved paint, resin, meteorite dust and silk screens around in search of an image, or often maybe not. Many artists believe that, strictly speaking, there is no such thing as abstraction – that abstract art-making is a state of mind. The New Zealand artist Maxwell Harold says "The impulse moves between the instant and the gradual... in alertness and attention. … inherently mysterious, it’s a state of being where there is no recognizable ‘Mind’...".}

_{SEE ART: Contemporary Abstract is an exhibition that reminds us of the capacity of abstraction to visualise the unknown, to explore contemporary art-making processes that are free from tradition, which invents a new visual narrative for a post-modern, technological world.}

    FEBRUARY 24th - March 24th , 2018    

Please email us, info@gallery2.co.za, if you wish to view the catalogue or follow the link below to view the online catalogue, as well as find cataloges from previous shows.  

https://issuu.com/gallery2/docs/see_art_contemporary_abstract___cat

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