I am incredibly excited to finally be opening this exhibition and sharing a new body of work that has absorbed my time and attention for a good part of this year, and has been planned since mid 2021.  Woodblock and screen print work that is laden with ink and thoughts.  These pieces represent a push against against traditional processes and presentation and an embrace of experimentation and innovation, combining mark making and techniques in a different way.  Playing with oil and water based media in a manner that flouts the rules.  All in all, great fun and the development of a new way of thinking about my printmaking work.

Exhibiting Artists: Laurel Holmes, Kristen McClarty, Clare Menck, Jo Roets, Madeleine van Manen

This exhibition focuses on the artists’ responses to the realities of life and the challenges presented by the current context.  Rapid environmental degradation, the lasting implications of a pandemic, unrest, anxiety and uncertainty, the destruction of that which tells the story of our history, the inevitable personal hurdles and existences that must be coped with and dealt with and so becomes incorporated into their lives.  

These artists have lost and found themselves, again and again. Or they are still in-between, searching. They have lived in times of clarity and hope, juxtaposed with uncertainty and instability. They have looked for what makes them feel whole and connected and laden, and set this down in their preferred media. The exhibition encompasses the responses of this group of women, who find themselves between a rock and a hard place.

The exhibition will coincide with the Tenth Anniversary celebrations of First Thursdays in Cape Town, which will be centered around the AVA Gallery in the City Centre.

Artist walkabout: Saturday 10 September at 11am

Please contact Stefan Naude of the AVA for more information – stefan@ava.co.za or 0768275967.

Here is the link to the catalogue with pricing.