7th Jun, 2023 18:00

20th Century & Contemporary Art

 
  Lot 8
 
Lot 8 - Wim Botha (South Africa 1974-)

8

Wim Botha (South Africa 1974-)
Blast Wave I – IV

linocuts on tea-stained Fabriano paper

Artwork date: 2005
Signature details: each signed, dated and numbered Workshop Proof 1/1 in pencil in the margin
Exhibited: Norval Foundation, Cape Town, 'Wim Botha: Heliostat', 29 September 2018 to 21 January 2019.; Stevenson, Cape Town, 'Wim Botha: Cold Fusion, Gods, Heroes and Martyrs', 17 March to 30 April 2005.
Literature: Kirsten, R. (ed). (2018). 'Heliostat: Wim Botha'. Cape Town: Norval Foundation, illustrated in colour on pp.52-53.; 'Wim Botha: Cold Fusion, Gods, Heroes and Martyrs'. (2005). [Exhibition catalogue]. Stevenson, Cape Town, an example from the edition illustrated in colour, unpaginated.

Sold for R91,500
Estimated at R80,000 - R120,000


 

linocuts on tea-stained Fabriano paper

Artwork date: 2005
Signature details: each signed, dated and numbered Workshop Proof 1/1 in pencil in the margin
Exhibited: Norval Foundation, Cape Town, 'Wim Botha: Heliostat', 29 September 2018 to 21 January 2019.; Stevenson, Cape Town, 'Wim Botha: Cold Fusion, Gods, Heroes and Martyrs', 17 March to 30 April 2005.
Literature: Kirsten, R. (ed). (2018). 'Heliostat: Wim Botha'. Cape Town: Norval Foundation, illustrated in colour on pp.52-53.; 'Wim Botha: Cold Fusion, Gods, Heroes and Martyrs'. (2005). [Exhibition catalogue]. Stevenson, Cape Town, an example from the edition illustrated in colour, unpaginated.

(4)

sheet size: 98 x 73.5 cm each; image size 48.5 x 49 cm each; framed size: 101 x 71 x 3.5 cm each

Provenance:

Private collection, Pretoria.

Stevenson, Cape Town.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

In Blast Wave (2005), Wim Both presents a set of four linocuts that evidently imitates a classic graphic work from the 1930s by master landscape artist J.H. Pierneef (1886 - 1957), the doyen of the Afrikaans artistic canon. Arranged in sequence, the work reads pictorially as a progressing scene of blowing devastation. A typical Pierneef-like Acacia tree, first depicted solely as strong and graceful, is sequentially torn to pieces by a seemingly gushing wind.

Indirectly referencing former British premier Harold Macmillan’s speech about the “winds of change” in 1960, the work construes a dark comedy – canonical art turned upside down, probing challenging questions about power structures, established norms and cultural identity. The work stands as a metaphor of a cultural revolution, the previously stately here turned comical in a bid to visually bend history.

Blastwave is indicative of Botha’s practice to engage complex socio-cultural issues by combining classical, religious, historical and contemporary elements, juxtaposed with unexpected objects or contexts. His works retain intellectual depth, technical mastery, and the ability to evoke contemplation and dialogue.

In 2010, Botha translated the conceptual theme of this work into a monumental sculptural installation consisting of four steel trees, as a special commission for the Nedbank Headquarters in Sandton, Johannesburg. This phenomenal installation earned him the Helgaard Steyn Award for sculpture in 2013.

Marelize Van Zyl

COLLECTOR'S NOTE

Wim Botha won the Standard Bank Young Artist award for Visual Art in 2005, the same year in which this work was produced. The following year, he exhibited work at Dak'Art, 7th Dakar Biennale in Senegal. Recent solo exhibitions have taken place at the 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville (2020); North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, and the 21c Museum Hotel in Durham (2019). In 2018, the Norval Foundation presented Heliostat, a retrospective exhibition of his work spanning two decades.

Exhibition Installation View: Wim Botha: Cold Fusion, God, Heroes

and Martyrs, Stevenson Cape Town, 2005. Image Courtesy: Stevenson

J.H Pierneef, Doringbome, Pietersburg, Northern Transvaal, 1936

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Auction: 20th Century & Contemporary Art, 7th Jun, 2023

 

Aspire Art will impress collectors with this focused, boutique-style auction in Johannesburg. A feature of the carefully compiled collection is a strong focus on contemporary African artists. Collectors of contemporary works from Africa will be spoilt for choice with works by Thierry Oussou (Benin), Richard Mudariki (Zimbabwe) and Banele Khoza (Swaziland). Local contemporary favourites include Nandipha  Mntambo, Cinga Samson and Gerhard Marx amongst others. Contemporary photographers are also well represented with works by Aida Muluneh (Ethiopia), Kudzanai Chiurai (Zimbabwe) and South African international superstar, Zanele Muholi, while important historical images are included with works of Winnie Mandela by Alf Kumalo and a portfolio of twelve works – chronicling the hardships of apartheid – from Ernest Cole’s seminal House of Bondage (1967).

A highlight of the sale is South African modernist Alexis Preller’s, Adam (1972) – a recently discovered, never before seen, work forming part of Preller’s series of Adamic-themed works from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Other significant modern pieces include a unique terrazzo sculpture by Edoardo Villa, still lifes by Maggie Laubser and works by Cecil Skotnes, Walter Battiss and J.H Pierneef. 

The sale concludes with a special section of  William Kentridge editioned prints led by the impressive Blue Head (1993 – 1998).

 

Viewing

Viewing will be open from  Friday 2 to Wednesday 7 June 8:30 to 16:30 and Saturday 3 June from 10:00 to 14:00.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE:


 

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