Four artists at the forefront at the AVA Gallery

Four emerging artists’ work is being displayed front and centre in a shared exhibition at the Association for Visual Arts (AVA) Gallery in Cape Town as part of this year’s Nando’s Creative Exchange in partnership with the Spier Arts Trust.

The exhibition, titled Home, has works by Adolf Tega, Thembalethu Manqunyana, Robyn Pretorius and Wonder Marthinus. The latter pair are the only two in the 2019 cohort who call Cape Town home.

According to his biography, Marthinus was a dancer whose life took a turn for the worse after a tragic accident left him severely injured.

“Unable to practise his craft, he eventually found himself living on the slopes of Table Mountain.”

It wasn’t until a chance meeting with an artist at a soup kitchen in 1995 that Marthinus’ art career began. The artist introduced him to Greatmore Street Studios where he honed his signature style. According to the Spier Arts Trust, Marthinus’ paintings walk a fine line between being representational and abstract.

“He makes use of photographic material, but his images are manipulated to such a degree that they become entirely independent from the sources.

“Some of these images leave the viewer with absolute freedom to interpret the work as they see fit.”

Robyn Pretorius’ painting. Picture: Supplied

Pretorius was exposed to art at a young age and continued to work part-time as an artist until 2015. In that year, she left the retail industry to become a full-time artist. She has previously showcased her urban-inspired artwork in New York and was one of seven artists chosen to participate in a New York trade mission in association with the South African trade and industry department.

“My portraiture is driven by the belief that the more we celebrate different experiences the more we are able to feel connected,” said Pretorius.

“The ethos of my work is encapsulated by the quote: ‘Art exists so that we know we are not alone’.”

Port Elizabeth-based Manqunyana’s work is inspired by Western theory and African art. He is also influenced by neo-expressionist master Jean-Michel Basquiat and Pablo Picasso’s Cubism period.

In addition to being a painter, he is also a sculptor, printmaker, performer, researcher and art educator. He describes his style as free form and he paints in oil and mixed media using bright colours.

Adolf Tega’s piece. Picture: Supplied

Tega, who hails from Zimbabwe, said he found inspiration in the mundane and often-overlooked aspects of life. As such, he has a particular interest in documenting the faceless and often disregarded masses.

Nando’s Creative Exchange was established in 2011 to recognise emerging South African fine artists who demonstrate exceptional ability. According to the brand, the four artists selected for this programme will be provided with mentorship opportunities and their art materials sponsored in addition to their work being displayed on such a large scale.

Speaking during the launch of the exhibition in December, head of the Nando’s art initiative Kirsty Niehaus explained that Nando’s is the largest collector of Southern African art in the world, with more than 21 000 works currently in their collection.

“Our aim with our art and creativity programmes, which have grown to include design and music, has always been to develop and showcase local talent in a way that makes a difference in the world.

“Nando’s Creative Exchange aims to help artists to develop their careers through assisting them to improve their business skills, providing access to markets and exposing them to gallerists, buyers and the art industry,” she added.

This year’s Creative Exchange artists were mentored by Sepideh Mehraban, an Iranian-born artist working and living in Cape Town as she completes a PhD in Fine Art at Stellenbosch University.

Last year, as part of her PhD research, she curated an exhibition in gallery MOMO in Cape Town and Johannesburg titled Cape to Tehran: Re-imaging and re-imagining personal history in post-apartheid South Africa and post-revolutionary Iran.

“Seeing their vision and the power of art to narrate stories that haven’t been heard yet was an exceptional experience,” said Mehraban when asked about her experience mentoring this year’s cohorts.

“The collaborative processes of monthly studio visits and having conversations around our practice created new spaces for thoughts and imagination.

“These creative activities made us all feel at home – free from where we are coming from and our social-political background.”

“The sense of belonging and having the freedom to share our experiences gave us agency. The universal language of art banished uncanny moments of feeling dislocated and instead felt homely.”

The AVA Gallery is located at 35 Church Street in the Cape Town city centre and the exhibition will run until 16 January.

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