Veteran artist and mentor Pieter Vermaak is set to showcase his latest artwork alongside his students’ art during the upcoming Hermanus FynArts Festival exhibition next month.
The exhibition, which is set to be hosted in Onrus on 5 June, will host the work of the painter, who has spent more than four decades in the visual-art sector. He has built a stirling reputation as both a painter and a mentor to aspiring artists.
The Cradock native studied art in Stellenbosch before establishing his name, with a following as far afield as Paris and Marseille. Aside from South Africa, his work has been exhibited and sold across Europe.
“He opened his first studio in Stellenbosch about 36 years ago,” said Janette Kampherbeek, a colleague and past student. “While still teaching in Stellenbosch he opened a second art studio in Onrus in the year 2000.”
Vermaak described his art as rooted in imagination and fantasy, while possessing a strong emphasis on expression and creativity.
“Art is not just about making pictures,” he pointed out. “It is not just the skilful execution of an object. It is about the making of poetry in painting.”
The artist said his teaching style mostly focused on mentorship and encouraged his students to discover and develop their own artistic voices in a studio and environment in which collaboration persists and bears fruit.
The exhibition opens on 5 June at 18:00 and will run until 14 June. It will be hosted at 11 Sherwood Avenue, Onrus. Visitors and those attending will have an opportunity to meet the artist and his students during the exhibition.
