Local artist heads to South Africa House

HIGHLANDS North resident and artist Eric Sher is among 20 South African artists whose work will be exhibited at South Africa House, London, next month.

The exhibition titled We Love Mandela is a tribute to former president Nelson Mandela and the role he played in our nation’s modern history.

Sher said the exhibition, curated by Natalie Knight, had been running for two months at the Mandela Square, Sandton, and would open at the South African High Commission in London on 3 October. There is the possibility that the exhibition will also travel to Paris and Berlin.

“This is my third show with Knight. I began working with her in 2008, when she included my Chancellor House piece in a show. I then decided to begin a series of works of historical buildings connected to Madiba,” said Sher.

He said he contacted Knight about his new series toward the end of last year, and earlier this year received a response from Knight in which she said his series would be perfect for the We Love Mandela exhibition.

“About 20 artists are involved in the show, and each artist has contributed between two and four works. And 60 works will be exhibited,” said Sher.

The 43-year-old artist schooled at Damelin College and went on to study art at Saxonwold’s now-defunct Art Foundation. From there, Sher studied graphic design at Inscape College, where he specialised in illustration.

“I spent 10 years in the advertising industry, but art has always been my passion. And 18 months ago, I decided to go into art full-time,” he said.

Sher’s preferred mediums are pencil, acrylic and oil paints.

“I’m passionate about drawing people. My drawing’s expressive, and I add my own interpretation. I also love historical buildings which have characters of their own and horses which have natural elegance and grace,” he said.

“Being part of the London exhibition is incredibly exciting, and I’m so happy to be a part of it,” he said.

Details: Facebook: Eric Sher Art