2nd Jun, 2019 9:00
Modern & Contemporary Art
37
Cecil Skotnes (South Africa 1926-2009)
Still life with fruit and bottles
acrylic on board
Signature details: signed bottom right
acrylic on board
Signature details: signed bottom right
(1)
70 x 89 cm
Notes:
Known for his compassion, admired for his skill and revered for his talent, Cecil Skotnes’ works continue to capture the creative imagination of viewers and are appreciated both locally and abroad. Unsurprisingly, it was a work by Skotnes which became the first by a South African artist to be reproduced in the Encyclopedia Britannica.Skotnes is best known for his woodcuts, carved and incised panels and for his skill as a printmaker. [ii] His still lifes, such as this work at auction, are seen more seldom, although he painted them throughout his career. His first professional exhibition in 1955, held at Whippman’s Gallery, Johannesburg, featured still life paintings and landscapes.[iii] Subsequent years saw Skotnes engage with more graphic media until his move to the Cape in 1979 marked his return to painting, with a large body of his oil paintings exhibited in 1981.In this work, Skotnes’ awareness of the spatial planes and compositions possible in various media is evident. Illustrating a more painterly rather than graphic approach by the artist, the painting’s objects and colours appear animated. Skotnes’ flattening of the foreground and background allows for the bottles and fruit to appear as if delicately balanced between sliding off the picture or retreating from the viewer. Bringing to mind the colours more closely associated with his African-inspired woodcuts and panels, the warmth of the painting, the poise of its composition and its more unconventional realism conjoin as if to celebrate a humble scene, but one that is no less picturesque.
Marc Smith
Sources:
[i] Berman, E. (1975) The story of South African Painting. Cape Town: A. A. Balkema. p.224.
[ii] Proud, H. (2006) ‘Cecil Skotnes’. In Proud, H. (ed.), ReVisions: Expanding the Narrative of South African Art. South Africa: SA History Online and UNISA Press. p.160.
[iii] Harmsen, F. (1996) ‘Chapter 1: Artist Resolute’. In Harmsen, F. (ed.), Cecil Skotnes. Cape Town: South African Breweries. p.61.
[iv] Berman, E. (1983) Art & Artists of South Africa. Cape Town: A. A. Balkema. p.424.
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Auction: Modern & Contemporary Art, 2nd Jun, 2019
Aspire Art Auctions presented a focused and insightfully compiled selection of top-quality modern and contemporary art in their latest sale in Johannesburg.
The company’s commitment to innovation led to a bold and signature move in this sale, which featured a special section dedicated to photography. The medium has been traditionally strong among South African artists but has been without a proper focus in the local auction market. The ground-breaking segment featured a wide range of the most important South African photographers, including Pieter Hugo, David Goldblatt, Guy Tillim, and Zanele Muholi. In addition, the sale starred a number of the market’s big signatures – Alexis Preller J.H. Pierneef, Gerard Sekoto, and Maggie Laubser and top contemporary artists including, Diane Victor, and Wim Botha.
HIGHLIGHTS
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