25th Mar, 2018 18:00
Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art
139
William Kentridge (South Africa 1955-)
aquatint and drypoint etching|signed and numbered Proof 3/3 in pencil in the margin|
aquatint and drypoint etching
Signature details: signed and numbered Proof 3/3 in pencil in the margin
aquatint and drypoint etching
Signature details: signed and numbered Proof 3/3 in pencil in the margin
(1)
sheet size: 120 x 91 cm
Notes:
William Kentridge’s prints of irises show his skill as a draughtsman to the very highest degree. This print, taken from a single plate that would be used along with others to create a composite image is, in some ways, a ‘showpiece’, demonstrating the artist’s ability to deftly define line and form within the rectangular structure of the image plane.The seemingly coincidental and ancillary lines that surround the flower speak of movement and a rejection of status in the classical still-life, while the delicate but massive forms that make up the plant propel the viewer into the core subject matter.The work has an obvious link to the iris painting of Vincent van Gogh, but Kentridge, unlike Van Gogh, tends to see them as singular entities, removed from their ground and thus presented more as a token or gift, much as a cut flower might be. Traditionally symbolic of faith, hope, wisdom and admiration, the iris, in its exquisite beauty, stands alone as an object of contemplation. I would suggest that the subject matter, with its seeming simplicity (but as the artist demonstrates here, also complex linear composition) is one that Kentridge sees as a drawing challenge.In another context he has written:We need the terrain of the half-solved, the half-solvable riddle, the distance between knowing and not knowing, and being aware of our own limits of understanding, the limits of our memory, but prodding the memory nonetheless. (Kentridge 2014: 18)This game with the self shows one way of addressing the riddle, a magisterial one, that demonstrates facility which, like the unexpected gift of a blossom, can literally take one’s breath away.
Andrew Lamprecht
Sources:
Kentridge, William. 2014. Six Drawing Lessons: The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press).
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Auction: Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art, 25th Mar, 2018
Aspire Art Auctions brought a unique offering to their second auction in the Cape allowing buyers to add quality and rarity to their collections.
Headlining the success of the auction was as a rare intaglio by Alexis Preller, Gold Angel (Arêté), which sold for R4 638 400. The piece was part of Preller’s last body of work shown at the Goodman Gallery in 1975, and took its place alongside the sale of his mid-period work, the exquisite small study Still life with Vase and Carved Head, which sold for R811 720. Other auction highlights included work by contemporary artists Robert Hodgins, Athi-Patra Ruga, Zander Blom, and Penny Siopis and sculpture by Deborah Bell, Willem Boshoff, Wim Botha, and Amadlozi alumnus Sydney Kumalo.
Viewing
Friday 23 March 2018 | 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday 24 March 2018 | 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 25 March 2018 | 10 am – 3 pm
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