A body of recent work by artists, Johan Brink and Susan Kemp, will be exhibited in the quaint Storms River village on the Garden Route during the Easter school holidays. These two stalwarts of Art-for-All Gallery will put their most recent work on show from March 20 to April 3.
This is one of the regular seasonal art exhibitions presented by the gallery, that often represents up to 10 artists from the region, and Cape Town. This time, however, the show belongs to Brink and Kemp.
Brink, owner of Art-for-All Gallery, feels that no other medium can replicate the brightness and luminosity which can be achieved with watercolours.
“The depth and soul captured by a vibrant, bright watercolour is something extremely special,” he says.
“This, linked with the high level of skill required to render a good watercolour, makes the medium totally unique.”
His watercolours reveal the richness of tone and light of the South African landscape. His work has been incorporated into collections around the world, and continues to grow in popularity.
Kemp is a versatile artist who works in different mediums, as she sculpts in natural earthen clay and papier-mâché.
Her latest abstract artworks in acrylics will be on show.
She is also an art tutor, portraitist, book illustrator and cartoonist. Portraits of people (young and old) and animals (wildlife, too) are done from life or from photographs.
Apart from this fresh selection of Brink and Kemp’s work, visitors can also view a variety of their older artworks in the main part of the gallery, along with works by other regular artists, namely Marlene Liebenberg, Deon Coetzer, Ita Froneman, Nathalie Strassburg, Antoinette Neethling, and Tess Maas.
Art-for All Gallery first opened its doors in 2012 as Bitou Art Gallery & Studio.
They encourage local artists to exhibit their work with them, but back then represented only a few.
One of the first exhibitions was entitled Art-4-All, and mainly comprised a selection of small, framed paintings by four artists, sold at a very reasonable price.
The idea was that art should not be the exclusive domain of a few who consider themselves somehow superior when it comes to art appreciation, and look down on those who do not belong to their small clique of chardonnay-sipping “aficionados”.
Instead, art should be accessible to everyone, said Brink, whether you are a big collector or just someone who enjoys walking through a gallery admiring lovely things.
“That exhibition made it possible for almost anyone to become an art collector. You did not need to spend a cent if you preferred to merely appreciate art, and you were welcome whether you were wearing your bathing costume and flip-flops, or a three-piece suit,” said Brink.
“That has been the approach of the gallery ever since, and we have even changed our name to reflect our philosophy.
“Art-for-All Gallery now boasts a wide range of high-quality art in different mediums, but still at affordable prices. We offer signed, numbered prints of our best pieces, mounted and ready for framing at low prices, thus enabling anyone to enter the exciting and fulfilling world of art collecting.”
Visit the gallery online at www.artforallgallery.co.za and Art-for-All Gallery Facebook page.
