Art and Design

Last weekend saw two events running concurrently.  The Cape Town International Art Fair and the Design Indaba 2015.  What was very interesting as I went to the Art Fair was the fact that some of the exhibits to me were craft or design rather than art.  This fair focusses on African artists, promoted by local as well as international galleries. The different media represented were absolutely amazing, some combinations that I had never seen before. There were sculptures in blown glass, bronze and wood, and pictures in oil, watercolour, mixed media, lithographs, metal, textiles and more.

The difference in the works ranged from realistic to abstract, conservative to challenging, some uplifting, some quite depressing and not something I would like to have in my home, but most of them thought provoking.  Some had titles that helped to understand what the artist was trying to express, some left it to one's interpretation.  At a conversation yesterday my friend Elbe said that she finds the artist's comments very helpful to look at an artwork with different eyes, which I found very interesting.  Elbe is very involved in arts and crafts and has just launched her second book on this subject on Friday, so I really appreciate her opinion.  Anyway, I was completely overwhelmed after having seen so many different works and have attached a photo of a work which is not a wood cut or lino cut but a pencil drawing!  I had to look very closely to actually see the pencil marks.  Hope you enjoy this!

Artist: Cameron Platter

Title: You

Artist: Nature

Title: Moth in our kitchen yard