The Weight of Things

Coming up in George soon (for those in South Africa), is an exhibit at 47 Market Street: artspace called Dorisduct. It features the work of sculpture Angus Taylor, and of Rina Stutzer, whose media are paint and pencil.

The artworks on show deal with, amongst other things, the animal as conveyer of meaning, and related notions such as baggage and the 'the weight of things'. Motivated by the title, both artists, Rina Stutzer and Angus Taylor give their individual and slightly satirical viewpoints on the Human Condition. Mediums include oil painting on cast metal sculptures.



Taylor has an interesting website (navigate at your peril!), and it starts with a statement: "… there seems, these days, to be some type of hierarchy in art where the seemingly conceptual genres (which may often be related to the emperor's clothes) are more highly rated than those works which are successful both in terms of concept and technical execution … The type of art that I appreciate enchants and fascinates me with the execution and the concept behind it. "

Find images of his work on the web is a bit tough, but I am intrigued by what I've found. Wish I could be there in person to check it out!





I am equally enamoured with Stutzer's work... she doesn't have her own website, but I found these.





So beautiful and inspiring.

Here is the official info from the gallery on the two:

Rina Stutzer

Rina was born in Vryheid, KwaZulu- Natal in 1976 and completed the BA (Fine Arts) and MA (Fine Arts) degrees at the University of Pretoria. She has been a part-time lecturer in painting and drawing in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Pretoria since 2000. Rina has won a number of awards, including the Bettie Cilliers-Barnard Bursary for excellence in painting, the New Signatures Art Competition: People's Choice and the first prize in the Ekurhuleni Fine Arts Award Competition (2007). She has participated in a number of group exhibitions since 2000 in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Stellenbosch and Potchefstroom, as well as the Soan Studio in London.

Angus Taylor

Angus Taylor (born 1970) is known in South Africa and abroad for his powerful, often large, works of sculpture, characterised by outstanding craftsmanship. Taylor is a graduate of the University of Pretoria which bestowed an Alumni Laureate on him in 2005.

In 1997, he founded his own undertaking, Dionysus Sculpture Works, where he casts his own and other sculptors' work. In addition to numerous solo and group shows (the last Solo exhibition was in October 2008 at the Everard Read gallery in Jhb), Taylor is predominantly involved in national and local government as well as private sector large scale commissions. Characteristically, Taylor currently incorporates large pieces of granite in his work, which he sources from locations such as Belfast.

I'd love to see this exhibit. If you're in that beautiful area, be sure to check it out, it's open between December 11 and January 15.